Alden 8440P Pro Grabit Broken Bolt and Damaged Screw Extractor 4 Piece Kit

After reading so many bad reviews, I almost didn't buy the ProGrabit. But, I gave it a chance, and bought and used the product to remove some 2.5" screws from an old pool table railing. Out of the 5 I used on, I succeeded on 4. The one I didn't was not due to a bad product, but me not knowing the screw was in at an angle, thus I drilled at the wrong angle and brock off half the screw head when extracting. Since I haven't seen or used a product that works any better, I see no reason not to give it 5 stars. One must follow the directions exactly, and use the extraction part at as low of a speed as possible on a variable speed drill while applying a lot of pressure. See my video of the actual screws removed, and with one still attached to the extraction head. It grabbed the screws so well, that on some, I had to use a pliers to remove the screw from the grabit after extraction. I'd say that those that complained about it either used too small of a grabit in ration to their screw, (the video shows the largest grabit holding the 2.5" screw, although I found using the second to largest to work even better), or they didn't apply enough pressure, or they ran the drill too fast during extraction, or they drilled the hole either too deep or not deep enough. The directions spell this all out very specifically, but as with any product you buy, you must READ THEM... So, as one who has hassled with many of stripped out screw heads in the past, I highly recomend this product, and would give it as a gift, and will probably buy a second or third set to have around in case I do ever break one.

This kit works astonishingly well. My first chance to use it was on my daughter's Kia. I was putting in a new ignition coil when the small hardened bolt snapped off, leaving just a small, uneven stub sticking out about 1/4 inch from the valve cover housing where it goes. I was dreading having to replace the whole housing when I remember I had this tool. In less than 5 minutes, the broken stub was out -- cleanly and smoothly with absolutely no damage to the housing. I've tried other products with little or no success. In several cases, I've ruined whatever it was that had the broken bolt stuck in it. Not this time, this time I was home free in a minute or two. Tips: #1. The instructions don't include pictures, and it took me a few minutes to realize that with each bit one tip is for drilling a small recess into the top of the damage bolt and the other is for torquing into that hole once it has been made. #2. GO SLOW, and with LIGHT pressure. The biggest mistake you can make (other than using the drill in forward rather than reverse) is to fail to align the drill portion with the center of the broken bolt. The bolt surface will be uneven so don't press into it. Position the drill right above it and start it spinning, then gently bring the tip of the bit into contact and let it make its own hole right in the center. Once you've got it started, you can add a little pressure but take your time. Make the hole good and deep. Then when you flip the bit and use the extractor side, it will astonish you with how well it bites right in and out comes your bolt. #3. Reverse, reverse, reverse. Both the drilling part and the removing part must be done with the drill in reverse.

This is one of those tools you see and think, "Well, I really don't need it. No point in spending the money." Then a few months goes by and you hang some shades up at about 10 pm on a Sunday. A screw strips out. Now you have no shades, a screaming infant, and a mad wife who is telling you it was her idea to hang the shades yesterday when the store was open. After the spit and foam from your profanity fueled tirade dries you think, "Why didn't I order that BEFORE I needed it?" These are pretty simple to use. There's two sides -- a drill side and a corkscrew looking side. Process goes like this. Place driller side out. Tighten chuck. Put drill in reverse. Drill out a little crater in the broken screw. Flip extractor bit around to corkscrew side. Put drill in reverse. Very slowly drill it into the crater you just made. Screw should come right out. I never tried this on anything high test. Just junky little made in China screws around the house. That's probably why they all stripped anyway. If it was some aerospace hardened screw and you're doing some sort of in orbit repair, your results might vary. I don't know. It's a good product that you will use probably 12 times in your entire life. But still, worth the money. And Amazon was far cheaper than any of the big box retailers in the area.

I needed to extract an Allen head bolt whose head was stripped - the 3mm opening had gotten rounded out. I used the drill part first then used the extractor side of the bit running the drill counterclockwise and very slowly and the screw backed out! I have to admit, I was skeptical but it worked.

I made the mistake of thinking that even if this did not work, it would not make the problem worse. Wrong. I needed to remove several 3/4" screws which were frozen in a cooktop. The philips slots were worn, but otherwise the heads and screws appeared undamaged. To make things as easy as possible for the screw remover I sprayed the screws with PB Blaster and let that work for 2 days. The burnishing end made appropriately sized holes. However, the remover end simply would not grab the edges of the hole the burnishing end made. And, yes, my drill was in reverse, at low speed. I applied pressure and angled the remover per the instructions, no luck. Until I got to the third screw. On it the removing end threaded into the screw head as it was supposed to do. The screw started to back out. One revolution. Looking good. Second revolution. Making progress. But then, words that may not be reprinted in this review. The tip of the removing end broke off, firmly embedded in the screw head, just as is reported by so many other reviewers who have given it 1 star. Because the remover is "Tempered twice for extra hardness" it is brittle and prone to breaking, and when it breaks it is a bear to grind out. If you choose to ignore this warning and buy this product, be sure you have your dremel at hand with a good supply of grinding stones. I believe this is the first 1 star review I have given, but 1 star is generous. I figure that 1 star is appropriate for a product of no value, but since this made my problem worse when it broke off, I would like to give it a negative rating. I know that many people have had success using this product. I congratulate them on their luck. But too many people report the same problem of the removing tip breaking off. Since it broke for me while the screw was turning I must conclude that I was not overstressing it, and there must have been a defect in the metal or manufacturing process. Once I cleaned up the mess left by the broken tip, and removed the head of the screw, I was able to grab the screw shaft with a vise grip, and the screw came out easily. Do yourself a favor and do not take a chance with this product.

These things are a lifesaver!

Taking the roof rack off an FJ cruiser, bolts were seized a bit but with a little luck and elbow grease they were coming out...until they werent. T40 torx head screws and I ended up stripping two of them out. I tried some of many no name types you see on amazon that you hit in w/ a hammer and ratchet out, no luck. I then saw a Project Farm video where he reviewed extractors and called GrabIt Pro the best. My next option was probably an 8 hour day of pulling down the headlines, so figured why not. I got these in a couple days and after a little squirt of PB blaster and very little effort on the part of the GrabIt Pro, both screws were out and my butt was saved. I can't recommend these enough!

Be aware, these do "work" but the metallurgy is garbage and they will break. That is not to say don't buy them - definitely do buy them - it's just that the quality is not up to snuff. The convenience factor is very high with this tool. The work fairly well and are much faster and less expensive than the alternatives from Irwin and others. Buy the Irwin as a quality tool and use the Irwin tool on anything that matters. Buy this tool as a small, compact, easy-to-carry stopgap and use this tool on anything you would have otherwise bashed with a hammer out of anger because it doesn't matter - you'll get a much better result. If you know tools, this will make sense to you. Lastly, DO NOT use an impact driver on these, they will snap like matches. use a hand tool and go slow.