Adam weight bolt removal

[Renegade4006]

I have an older Adam cue and am wanting to remove the weight bolt. The bolt is a 6mm allen head. I am unable to move the bolt and do not want to apply too much force. This is the first cue I ever bought (early to mid 90's I think) and I do not want to damage it. I have the cue stored but would like to start using it again, but it is heavier than I like.

Any tips or tricks??

 

[billsey]

You might try warming it with a blow dryer... Sometimes the bolt is epoxied in and the warming allows the glue to soften enough for it to come loose.

 

[garczar]

I've heated tight bolts with the tip of a soldering before too.

 

[Renegade4006]

Thanks for the tips. I'll have to find my soldering iron. I'd like to try that option first to apply direct heat to the bolt. That way I do not heat the end cap.

 

[Mike Rys]

If there are no metal rings, an inductive heater will make short work of it.

 

[Dave38]

What I have found is that the bolts can rust a little over time, and and act like loctite threadlock. Heat works (as mentioned, an induction heater is the TOOL) and an sturdy allen wrench held in a vice, make sure the bottom of the 'L' is in the vice so it cannot turn. Then wrap a rubber anti-slip mat around the butt of the cue and now you can use both hands and will have a lot of leverage to twist and unscrew. Sometimes turning it to tighten first breaks the tension.

 

[Renegade_56]

you can put the allen wrench in the head of the screw and then heat the wrench. The wrench will heat the bolt, and the glue, until the glue releases. I've done this many times on old meucci cues with a slotted head weight bolt using a large screwdriver. Use whatever tool fits the weight bolt well and heat it in contact with the weight bolt.

 

[Renegade4006]

you can put the allen wrench in the head of the screw and then heat the wrench. The wrench will heat the bolt, and the glue, until the glue releases. I've done this many times on old meucci cues with a slotted head weight bolt using a large screwdriver. Use whatever tool fits the weight bolt well and heat it in contact with the weight bolt.

I may give this a try. I did try using a soldering iron today but no luck. Held heat directly to the bolt for 2 minutes but no success. I felt the butt end becoming warm so decided to stop heating.

 

[Dave38]

I may give this a try. I did try using a soldering iron today but no luck. Held heat directly to the bolt for 2 minutes but no success. I felt the butt end becoming warm so decided to stop heating.

Adams if I recall correctly, never glued their weight bolts, it is probably rust buildup as I mentioned before. One thing to try is to put it in a refrigerator for 10 or so hours and try the wrench in a vice method I mentioned before and see if that works. At 40ish degrees, no damage to the cue but may cause the wood and the bolt to shrink ever so lightly that you may break it loose

 

[boogieman]

Note: I am not a cuemaker and don't know if this would be too aggressive or cause damage. I'd be curious to see what cuemakers think on this.

On old motorcycles, they often used philips screws, and they often seize. These impact screwdrivers work a treat. On a regular hex bolt you can sometimes strike the bolt with a hammer to help break them free. Again, I don't know if this would be recommended with screws being in wood. It may work as a last ditch effort, but it might damage the threads. I'd defer to a cuemaker's opinion on this, as a mechanic they make sense, but you're dealing with metal on metal.

 

[Renegade_56]

I may give this a try. I did try using a soldering iron today but no luck. Held heat directly to the bolt for 2 minutes but no success. I felt the butt end becoming warm so decided to stop heating.

Most weight bolts are glued in in production cues. It has to get warm to flash the glue. Soldering iron is likely not hot enough. Use a butane torch a few inches up the tool away from the cue.

 

[billsey]

Note: I am not a cuemaker and don't know if this would be too aggressive or cause damage. I'd be curious to see what cuemakers think on this.

On old motorcycles, they often used philips screws, and they often seize. These impact screwdrivers work a treat. On a regular hex bolt you can sometimes strike the bolt with a hammer to help break them free. Again, I don't know if this would be recommended with screws being in wood. It may work as a last ditch effort, but it might damage the threads. I'd defer to a cuemaker's opinion on this, as a mechanic they make sense, but you're dealing with metal on metal.

I'm not a cue maker either, though I've been in the process of turning into a hobbyist cue make for a while now. I also have been into old Honda motorcycles for more years than I care to remember. The issue with trying an impact driver on a cue that is different than on a MC is that the bolt is set in wood instead of aluminum. There is too much give to the wood to force the bolt to turn slightly...