Broke three drills on a grub screw. Solutions?

The Bean

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I overdid the locktite a couple years ago (I was an RC newb), and the rust from recent bashes hasn't helped.

When replacing about 24 bearings, I had to take off my Slash's MIP axles. Most of 'em went fine, except for this one. It's been rounded out, and I've tried drilling the screw out as well. Three broken drill bits later, I haven't achieved anything, except for putting a new piece of metal (broken drill bit) inside of the grub screw. It's flush with the hex.

Any other solutions on how to get this out? Or should I just buy a new one for $10?
 

Tex Koder

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I overdid the locktite a couple years ago (I was an RC newb), and the rust from recent bashes hasn't helped.

When replacing about 24 bearings, I had to take off my Slash's MIP axles. Most of 'em went fine, except for this one. It's been rounded out, and I've tried drilling the screw out as well. Three broken drill bits later, I haven't achieved anything, except for putting a new piece of metal (broken drill bit) inside of the grub screw. It's flush with the hex.

Any other solutions on how to get this out? Or should I just buy a new one for $10?
What is the grub screw going into?
 

Relimar

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They're in-stock online, the 18141 and 12140, total $26.98 + shipping. As the drill bit tip is broken off inside the setscrew, I'd cut your loses and order the new ones.
 

Hector_Fisher

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How hard were you pressing to break the drill bits off inside the grub..????
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Usually slow and steady wins the race here, but I might also suggest just buying a new one. At some point, your time sunk into recovering this hex has value too, so I'd evaluate for cutting your losses. Using a drill bit to drill through a drill bit will likely yield diminishing returns (unless you have a super hard set that you're willing to test out on).
 

Notorious J

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View attachment 272389
I overdid the locktite a couple years ago (I was an RC newb), and the rust from recent bashes hasn't helped.

When replacing about 24 bearings, I had to take off my Slash's MIP axles. Most of 'em went fine, except for this one. It's been rounded out, and I've tried drilling the screw out as well. Three broken drill bits later, I haven't achieved anything, except for putting a new piece of metal (broken drill bit) inside of the grub screw. It's flush with the hex.

Any other solutions on how to get this out? Or should I just buy a new one for $10?
I don't think all is lost here. If you heat the sh!t out of it now, you might be able to get a small flat head or torx bit in, and unscrew it. With as little metal that's left on the screw, the heat might be enough to soften the metal and allow you to back it out. Heat first is the one lesson I've learned after destroying many a screw in my time. Hopefully it won't elude you from today forward.
 
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