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Best bolt puller

Allegheny Tom

Allegheny Tom

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2018
Messages
6,041
Location
Western Pennsylvania
I was curious about how difficult it would be to remove bolts that were in a tree for an entire growing season so I drilled several holes in a junk black walnut back in April.
As of today, most of the bolts were firmly tight in the tree. I wanted to see how easily they would unscrew.
I took my mini vice grips and easily unscrewed the bolts.

I know some guys prefer to carry an allen wrench or hex wrench, but here is why vice grips are better.
They grab the bolt. I can unscrew and not worry about the tool slipping off and dropping it. And if I did drop it, vice grips are easier to find than a tiny allen wrench.
I can also pull on the bolt while turning it...can't do that with an allen or hex wrench.
And I have a variety of bolt heads. Some are hex, some are allen, and some are round heads. They can get mixed within the same tree. Vice grips can remove ALL types of bolts.
I was leery about prepping trees with bolt in March for fear of stuck bolts after a growing season. That doesn't seem to be an issue.
Next March, we are heading 1,000 miles to Iowa to prep for Nov 2020. I will have no worries about bolting trees in spring time.
Tiny vice grips do a big job.
f4e6b101c832e75ae96dae08306dffe5.jpg


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Good tip! What are your bolts wrapped in that is black and red?
 
redhawk said:
Good tip! What are your bolts wrapped in that is black and red?
Click to expand...
The red is 3:1 marine grade heat shrink tube. Its great stuff.
The black was an experiment with plastic dipping where the heat tube wasn't gonna cover. The black is what didnt get peeled off. It did cover the treads until I realized it was a mistake to dip threads. Never dip the threads...bolts will be a bi*ch to insert.
Plastic dip is not the way to go if you want padded bolts.
That grade of shrink tube is durable, fast to apply and instantly ready to use...no waiting for it to dry, and with zero mess.

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Aeds151 said:
Black walnut? Yikes


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Click to expand...
That's why I said "junk" walnut. Not all walnuts are timber value. I have dozens of them that aren't worth anything. In fact, they are unwelcome in many habitats. Walnut trees emit juglone which is toxic to lots of other plants. There's a lot of stuff that can't be grown in the vicinity of black walnut trees.
Wanna buy some of mine? I will make you a great offer.
 
Kinda why I said yikes. I worked with some land owners to get rid of theirs. They forked too much below 16ft and were hell on the surrounding area. Any of them have burls? You can get someone to take the tree out just to get those.


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Aeds151 said:
Kinda why I said yikes. I worked with some land owners to get rid of theirs. They forked too much below 16ft and were hell on the surrounding area. Any of them have burls? You can get someone to take the tree out just to get those.


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Click to expand...

I thought you meant "yikes" because you thought walnuts were good. Common misconception many people have is that walnut trees are gold.
I have a pile of them, but none with burls.
Several of them are in my yard...nice shade but a mess when nuts are falling.
I have hickory, too. My yard is squirrel central. I counted over 38 at one time several years ago. Here is a pic in my barn from 2 years ago. Red squirrels had thousands and thousands of walnuts stored in there.
I have lots of walnuts not in the yard. Nobody wants to buy them.

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65fe7b38d8825b74b357428791179e26.jpg
 
Last edited:
Wait, the squirrels stashed all those? I have a pecan tree in my yard. Not once have I had a good pecan. The squirrels get to them first. Those bolt mods look good.


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Aeds151 said:
Wait, the squirrels stashed all those? I have a pecan tree in my yard. Not once have I had a good pecan. The squirrels get to them first. Those bolt mods look good.


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Click to expand...
Yes squirrels stashed those. But what that pics shows is a tiny fraction of how many were in other places. EVERYPLACE, that they could stuff a nut contained a nut. When I said many thousand, it was an understatement.
And yes, those bolt are nice.
Here I go...jacking my own thread.

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How are you guys heat shrinking bolts? I don’t have a heat gun. Could I dip them in boiling water with tongs?
 
Nutterbuster said:
Harbour freight, man, harbour freight.

$10 and you'll wonder how you lived without one after the fact.
Click to expand...

Reckon I’ll be paying harbor freight a visit next time. I’m sure it would go much faster with a heat gun. I used a candle and lighter after trying to boil them for about 5 minutes. The boiling didn’t work too well for me—It shrunk them down some but not enough. Maybe it just takes long, idk. The lighter/candle works but it’s a slow process.
 
HappyChappy said:
Reckon I’ll be paying harbor freight a visit next time. I’m sure it would go much faster with a heat gun. I used a candle and lighter after trying to boil them for about 5 minutes. The boiling didn’t work too well for me—It shrunk them down some but not enough. Maybe it just takes long, idk. The lighter/candle works but it’s a slow process.
Click to expand...
The propane torch works really well, and its fast.
Turn the flame as low as it can go and just quickly pass the bolt thru the heat just above the flame, not thru the flame itself.
After you do one, you will have a feel for it.
I'm assuming most everyone owns a propane torch.
 
Tom I imagine if you actually climbed the bolt a few times they would come out much easier. I tried a few also. It’s not like removing a freshly drilled bolt but no worse than a screw in step. I guess a faster growing tree may be worse but that would be the case no matter what you use.
 
Allegheny Tom said:
I was curious about how difficult it would be to remove bolts that were in a tree for an entire growing season so I drilled several holes in a junk black walnut back in April.
As of today, most of the bolts were firmly tight in the tree. I wanted to see how easily they would unscrew.
I took my mini vice grips and easily unscrewed the bolts.

I know some guys prefer to carry an allen wrench or hex wrench, but here is why vice grips are better.
They grab the bolt. I can unscrew and not worry about the tool slipping off and dropping it. And if I did drop it, vice grips are easier to find than a tiny allen wrench.
I can also pull on the bolt while turning it...can't do that with an allen or hex wrench.
And I have a variety of bolt heads. Some are hex, some are allen, and some are round heads. They can get mixed within the same tree. Vice grips can remove ALL types of bolts.
I was leery about prepping trees with bolt in March for fear of stuck bolts after a growing season. That doesn't seem to be an issue.
Next March, we are heading 1,000 miles to Iowa to prep for Nov 2020. I will have no worries about bolting trees in spring time.
Tiny vice grips do a big job.
f4e6b101c832e75ae96dae08306dffe5.jpg


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Click to expand...

Here a little firefighter diy that we’ve done for a long time that would help retain vice grip if u drop it

Put an eye-bolt in it

U can tie a pc of cord to it and wrap it around ur wrist or clip it to u

121fcf5a9f8966da01c31cd1e830141a.jpg
6f7a46714b1416af73328debbe267f5f.jpg



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EricS said:
Tom I imagine if you actually climbed the bolt a few times they would come out much easier. I tried a few also. It’s not like removing a freshly drilled bolt but no worse than a screw in step. I guess a faster growing tree may be worse but that would be the case no matter what you use.
Click to expand...
I'm not really sure I understand your point.
I'm talking about using the vice grips to remove bolts (by unscrewing them) that the tree has grown tightly around.
Some of those bolts might loosen when you climb on them and some might not. Yeah, it depends on the tree species and how long the bolts have been in it. I want to be prepared to get all bolts out. That little vice grip is noting in my pack, so I'm gonna have it with me.
There has been several comments in previous threads on carrying allen wrenches or hex wrenches. Good idea, but
VGs work better. That's my point of this thread.
One thing about bolts compared to screw in steps...there is nothing to grip to unscrew (or pull out) with hands on bolts. Screw in steps, yes.

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How about leaving bolts in long term? I will be using bolts pretty much exclusively this year.. At this point I have not prepped any trees I plan to drill and hunt. However I do plan on leaving bolts and a ring of bolts in trees that have been constant producers and we’ll known spots. Do you guys recommend pulling them completely after season then going back and re drilling, simply checking them bust them loose and leave them, or drill all new holes for each year when pre setting in the spring?


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