Shoutout to the old timer who told me to try a heat gun on a stuck bolt

I was dead set against buying a heat gun for years, figured a torch was good enough for everything. Then my neighbor Joe in the 3rd floor unit showed me how he freed a rusted drain pipe under his sink in under 2 minutes without burning anything. Tried it on a seized lawn mower bolt last fall and it came right out, no drama. Anyone else fought with a torch too long before giving a heat gun a shot?

3 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

3 Comments

andrew8545mo ago

Oh, you're singing my song. I spent years with a propane torch on everything, and I set the wiring in my old shed on fire twice before I wised up. The heat gun is just so much more controlled, you can put it right on the bolt head without worrying about melting something nearby. It's become my go-to for anything with rust or thread locker, especially on smaller engine parts where a torch is just overkill.

5

casey3935mo ago

But did you ever try one of those induction heaters?

1

umaanderson5mo ago

Right, "go-to for anything with rust" is my new rule too since I ditched the torch for good.

1