How to Remove a Broken Umbrella Pole From a Concrete Table

When the pole of an umbrella breaks off inside the center pole shaft of a concrete table, the broken segment must be removed before you can use an umbrella with the table again. If you can still see the pole, the job won't be too difficult. If you can't see it, the removal process involves some creative extraction techniques. It doesn't matter if the umbrella pole is made of fiberglass, metal or wood. The pole material has little bearing on the removal difficulty. The real challenge is having the proper extraction tools.

Things You'll Need

• Needle-nose pliers
• 12-inch-long extraction screw

Instructions

Pliers

1. Look inside the center hole of the table. If you can see the pole, try grabbing it with your fingers. You might be able to just reach it and pull it out. If you can't grab it with your fingers, go to Step 2.

2. Grab a pair of needle-nose pliers and slide the jaws of the pliers down into the hole.

3. Open the jaws and grip the end of the pole. Grip it wherever you can get a hold on it. If the pole is hollow, it should be easy to grip on the edge. If the pole is solid, open the jaws enough to grip the diameter of the pole or a shard of the broken portion.

4. Pull the pole up and out of the shaft of the concrete table. Grab it with your hand as soon as there is enough surface area protruding. This will ensure that it doesn't fall back down the hole. If the needle-nose pliers don't work, go to Section 2.

Extracting the Pole With a Long Screw

1. Slip a long screw down into the center hole of the concrete table.

2. Hold a flashlight over the hole so you can see where the end of the screw tip is in relation to the center of the umbrella pole.

3. Twist the screw into the umbrella pole as far as you can get it to go. Push down on the screw with as much pressure as you can muster to get the screw to thread into the pole material. The downward pressure will also help keep the pole from spinning while the screw turns.

4. Pull up on the screw as soon as the threads have gotten a good hold on the pole. Pull up until you can grab the broken pole with your hand.

Tips & Warnings

• The ends of a broken metal, plastic, wood or fiberglass umbrella pole may have sharp splinters that could puncture your fingers. Use caution while extracting the pole.