How To Install And Remove a Carriage Bolt

The setup

When installing carriage bolts, the first thing we need to do is to make sure we have the right parts and tools to do this. For this job, we will need a:

ㆍHammer

ㆍDrill

ㆍDrill bit

ㆍPiece of wood

ㆍCarriage bolt

ㆍNut

ㆍWasher

In our example, we have previously pre-drilled a hole in a piece of 2×4 and connected it to the vice. This will serve as an installation surface for our carriage bolts.

Understand the carriage bolt

The carriage bolt is a bolt with threading all the way up the shank to the small square shoulder, with a domed head. The square shoulder of the carriage bolt prevents it from rotating because it is screwed into the surface of the material. You usually don't use this type of bolt-on very hardwood because it may not dig into the material correctly, which will cause the bolt to spin into place. Once you pass the bolt through the hole, the job of the nut and washer is to pull the bolt tightly into the material. Since the half-round head of the bolt has no drive device, this is the only installation method.

Install

The installation process is quite simple. First, you drill a hole in the wood that matches the size (diameter) of the bolt. Next, you slide the bolt into the hole (you may need a hammer because the hole should be just enough for the bolt to go through).

Now that you have the nut through the wood, it's time to attach the nut and washer. Place the washer on the nut behind the bolt. The washer will help distribute the force you are about to apply on the nut to pull the bolt into the wood. This not only protects the wood on the backside but also prevents the bolts from digging in and jamming.

When you tighten the nut, the square shoulder on the bolt will be pulled into the wood. Once the underside of the headrests is on the wood, the carriage bolts are officially installed.

Remove

Removing the carriage bolts is a fairly simple process. First, you have to loosen the nut lose to the end of the bolt. Do not completely separate the nut from the bolt, you will need it to help move the bolt along.

Once the nut is retracted to the end of the bolt, hit the nut with a hammer. The force should begin to move the square shoulders out of the wood. When you push the bolt out, the nut will get closer to the wood. When this happens, continue to step back from the nut and hit it again. Repeat this process until the bolt is loose enough to be removed by hand or the nut can no longer clamp the bolt.

If you find that the bolt is stuck, but the nut can no longer be fixed to the bolt, use the nail remover on the hammer to pry the bolt out of the hole.

It's that simple

There you go now know everything you need to know about installing and removing carriage bolts. We are carriage bolt manufacturers. Please feel free to contact us if you are interested in our products.