How do I get this lag bolt out?

Question

As you can see, the (3/8") lag bolt broke off about 1.5cm beneath the surface.

I have a 18V cordless drill and a corded high speed dremel at my disposal.

My initial idea was to use some sort of EZ-out but I have heard that this may not be the best for my application. I'd prefer not to drill around the lag bolt if at all possible.

BTW, this is a follow-up to my previous question (Re-using lag bolt holes) from a few days ago. I realize that it may not be worth the effort and potential failure of trying to remove this lag bolt but I am just seeking ideas as to what can be done.

Answer 1

There's a lot of ways to remove it but from your prior post you seem to be set on re-using the hole so you'd really need to unscrew it. You "might" be able to cut a slot in it with the dremel and unscrew it with a screwdriver, being 3/8 that won't be a very strong slot and may snap off. If it was me I would remove enough of the drywall to be able to grab it with a vice grip and then unscrew it. Can't tell from the picture but if it broke off deep into the wood you'll need to abandon the idea of re-using that hole.

Answer 2

Left hand drill bit and bolt extractor.

The idea being you drill a hole in the center of your lag screw shaft, drilling in a counter clockwise direction which will avoid driving the shaft in deeper, once you have your hole in the shaft you use the extractor again in a counter clockwise direction which threads the extractor into the bolt shaft and the drill in counter clockwise motion tries to remove it.

That said I'd sooner go the holesaw route and epoxy a same size wood dowel back in the hole.