iqchicken

hhahaha... thanks... one of my favorite movies...

John

What about using a Dremmel type grinder bit to grind the head off? Here in Canada we can buy a cheaper version made by a competitor complete with grinding stones and points for about $10 at Canadain Tire.

For heaven sake wear safety glasses.

John

iqchicken

well getting the rivets off with a drill is a simple chore.. i guess i was just hoping I'd missed some kind of simple trick... I had no idea they designed these things to be such a pain in the butt.. I just hope that If i take it out.. i'll be able to put something back up fairly easily

Square Eye

Here's the box support bracket I'd use when you replace the box and light fixture;
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1295720&cp=1254879.1254958.125 9139&parentPage=family&searchId=1259139



When you twist the rod it expands. It's small enough to fit in the hole left by the box and will support a ceiling fan. You're going to be fine.

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iqchicken

well i just bought a simple ceiling box that cost a buck or two.. I'm just going to put the light back up.

I cracked the original cieling box with a tough screwdriver and a hammer. Then I just pulled it out of there. The new ceiling box is the standard metal.. whatever it is.. aluminum, steel.. lol.. i don't know what it is.. standard though

So underneath the old worn-out ceiling box, I finally get to see how it was mounted. There is a tiny section of stud on which a bracket is attached. The ceiling box was rivited only to the bracket.

Of course, since I'm a newbie I bought the wrong replacement ceiling box. But I can make it work. It is the correct overall size, but doesn't have holes for me to nail into the stud. It only has the standard break out holes used for wiring, and the holes in the top of it for securing to the ceiling. I don't think I can really use the holes in the top because the bracket looks like swiss cheese. There are tons of holes in it already. So I'm betting that I can only nail into the small section of stud. So my plan is to drill out a couple of holes in the ceiling box on the side where the stud is, and nail some nice big 16 penny nails into the stud.

Any problems with this idea? If I ever build my own house, I now know how I will NOT be designing the ceiling fixtures...