Obscure screw added so appliance cannot be disassembled
Basic blender went bad (motor ran but spindle wasn't rotating). I wanted to disassemble to see if it could be repaired. Three of the four screws were Phillips head. I had to cut the casing open in order to discover why I couldn't unscrew the fourth. It was a slotted spanner.
There is a screwdriver that you can get at the hardware store for this type of screw. You shouldn’t have to, I definitely agree. But fuck ‘em, repair your shit with the $5 screwdriver.
hahahahahaha, about three years ago now, I bought a hunting knife from Amazon that came with a sheath which had a belt clip that was held on by one of these fucking screws.
at the time, i couldn't figure for the life of me what it was or if there was a tool for this so I went to Home Depot, bought a .99 cent flathead our of their bargain tubs, took it to their tool rental department where they also will cut metal for you if you ask nicely. had them make a notch in the top of the flathead, brought it home and after some filing got it to get in there and loosen up this devil screw top.
now i know it's called a U or H type screwdriver. my way was cheaper, but nice to know the real solution now.
That belt clip is there to make the knife technically legal in some areas. A 3"+ blade can't be concealed by putting it in your pocket, so the workaround is to have the clip showing on the outside of your pocket, making it visible. That's why they use screws like that. At least that is my understanding - I could be wrong.
Just a basic security screw. It's so kids (and people who don't know enough about repairing appliances to know about security screws) don't disassemble the dangerous machine.
Grinding a notch into a flathead screwdriver is annoying but it'll still work fine as a flathead even afterwards. I would probably just grind the bulge out of the screw though.
Phone camera; $30 digital microscope; $30 Endoscope. There are just so many better ways available to look down a hole to see what's at the bottom than to tear apart the space around it.
Spanner bits are available in sets starting as little as $7. They are anything but "non-standard".
This right here. I bought their security bit set and, true, I've only ever opened the case three times in the few years I've had it, but in those three times nothing else would have worked without a more destructive solution
Here’s the link, it’s helped me out a bunch of times in the 6-8 years I’ve had it.
2 notes though
these are hard cheese grade metal. Don’t plan on removing any high torque, Rusty or partly stripped screws with them, they’ll either break or round off.
if the screw is too recesses down a narrow hole, these won’t help. The bit holders are too wide to fit in. I have a Honeywell Air Purifier with one security Torx that is 3-4” down a hole that this set failed me on.
It's called an "H-type" head. I found some tools for that on eBay but was reluctant to spend any money on something I'd probably never need again, ever. But this video shows a hack using scissors.
I didn't have a pair laying around that worked but the video inspired me to MacGyver my way to remove that aberration against all that's good in humanity.
Buy a security bitset! It is surprisingly handly to have around. Sometimes, I've needed a certain screw size that they don't have in imperial, but they do have in metric at the hardware store. But it's a security bit only.
They also work on regular, non security bits in a pinch.
Phone camera; $30 digital microscope; $30 Endoscope. There are just so many better ways available to look down a hole to see what's at the bottom than to tear apart the space around it.
Spanner bits are available in sets starting as little as $7. They are anything but "non-standard".
If you haven't already, look into getting a ratcheting screwdriver with replaceable bits, and a pack of various bits for it. Idk where I got it, but I've got all kinds of screwy bits (including the H-bit head) that I need very infrequently, but I'm always happy when I do and I already have it.
I think the bit pack I got was for the security torx and it came with a bunch of other stuff.
I think this was at the bottom of a deep hole, as you can see where the plastic was cut around it. A standard bit and holder wouldn't fit down that, I don't think. What the other guys said about a flathead and dremel/grinding wheel is the only option really, but you'd have to be able to ID the little fucker first.
That's a flathead with a bead welded in the middle. Source a local dremel, some earplugs and eye pro, and do some quick converting.
Oh wait I think I understand the image. You had to saw the plastic apart to expose the screw. Yeah fuck those dudes. I guess another option would've been to get a cheap screw driver and modify it with a dremel? Either way, fuck Kenmore.
Oh wait it think I understand the image. You had to saw the plastic apart to expose the screw. Yeah fuck those dudes. I guess another option would've been to get a cheap screw driver and modify it with a dremel? Either way, fuck Kenmore.
Take a flat screwdriver and moubt it on a vice. Take your angle grinder, mount a disk for metal grinding. Grind away the middle of the flat screwdriver head.
Done it before for the exact same purpose.
I didn't even know that that screw type had its own name until I saw it in another comment, but the first thing I thought was to just do what you said.
The bit set and tool set from IFixIt has those. I'm not sponsored by them in any way, but I will shamelessly recommend their tools when I can because they're objectively good for this kind of stuff.
My library has a lendable "Ultimate Screwdriver Kit" that has every bit size and type I've ever heard of, security Torx, pentalobe, oval, gamebit, spanner, etc etc. Also a bunch of different styles of bit holder, and a bunch of attachments like angle adapters, depth setters, torque limiters, etc. Only tangentially relevant I guess... but if you run into a problem like this again, check your local library to potentially avoid having to buy obscure bits online!
A single tamper proof screw that all that's required to remove is knowledge... Yes. Unfortunately stupid people try to do things they shouldn't and that single screw removes an idiots ability to sue after they screw with things they know not.
My vacuum cleaner. You know how the roller brush gets all tangled up with hair and threads and whatnot, and the way you fix that is to remove the roller and cut it all out?
The external screws are torx security bits. The internal screws are Phillips. The only reason is to get someone who isn't persistent to go buy a new vacuum cleaner when their roller gets tangled
I just pull the hair directly off the roller as is. No need to take it out. I clean it often enough that it would take more time to take it off no matter what screws it has. The worst part imo is the internal screws being phillips. Torx (whether "security" versions or not) > Phillips/Flathead.
The security bit is doing it's job. If this is a barrier for someone, then they aren't the kind of person who should be playing with the internals of a dangerous electronic device.
i feel like if someone has the capability of bitching about a security screw on the internet, they probably have the intelligence to unplug a blender from the wall.
If this is the standard for security screws, hex/torx will almost certainly do it's job, but significantly better.
This is the same person that had to smash open the device like a caveman banging rocks together. Posting a rant online instead of just buying a security bit isn't a good second step either. OP may certainly be the exact type of person to keep out: bold enough to try to break open electronics, but stopped by a fairly standard security bit.
honestly i'd be concerned about somebody without tools opening a blender. Why are they in there? How did they get in it? And what did the blender do to them?
ah yes a classic we call this a flathead, but without the part of the flathead that makes it good at not being a shit screw, but also it's located now so the driver doesn't slip out of the screw, so it's actually kinda better than just a flathead screw, but it probably strips a lot easier than a flathead, since there's a lot less surface area on it. Screw.
edit: there's a lot of people coping on this thread for some reason, bro it's a blender, who cares, it's like 20 dollars, 99% of the population is buying a new one anyway.