Out, out, damned bolt!

I modified a drill bit extension for this project -- I turned its outer diameter down a bit on the lathe at work to get to .500" diameter to fit into the bolt hole. There's just enough thickness left on the barrel of the extension for its set screws to get some grip, but just barely.

I was able to use that extension with a left-handed drill bit to get out the #9 head bolt shank. Whew! Although I did drop one of the extension's set screws down the pushrod hole -- I was able to dig it out with a magnet-on-a-stick.

The new #9 bolt wouldn't set in all the way, so I pulled it out and ran it through a die - now it sets great.