Klein tools

[Gold]

I was using "fresh" high quality stainless hex keys as sold by a respected local industrial supply company

It’s not common to find stainless hex keys. Wiha doesn’t sell stainless hex keys anymore. PB Swiss doesn’t sell stainless hex keys. I actually couldn’t find stainless hex keys last time I looked.

Most if them are chrome plated tool steel or black oxide coated tool steel. The chrome plating is very hard and mars button head hex screws. The black oxide doesn’t but wears off and doesn’t look good.

 

[JohnRoberts]

For chuckles I just took shorty outside to see if there was anything left of the hacksawed screw head to unscrew....

In no great surprise, no luck.

JR

 

[Gavin Pursinger]

My local NAPA auto parts store carries the Craftsman line of tools. I have 100 lbs of 'inches' tools and pneumatics sockets .
...both our vehicles are metric....so I go to Napa alot !

 

[scott2000]

For chuckles I just took shorty outside to see if there was anything left of the hacksawed screw head to unscrew....

In no great surprise, no luck.

JR

Brian's suggestion of grinding a slot for a slotted driver works pretty well at times. I've got some pretty large bolts out that way..Vice grips on a giant screwdriver large...

there enough meat left for vice grips? maybe all you need...

 

[JohnRoberts]

Brian's suggestion of grinding a slot for a slotted driver works pretty well at times. I've got some pretty large bolts out that way..Vice grips on a giant screwdriver large...

there enough meat left for vice grips? maybe all you need...

If I remove what little head is remaining I can get the housing off... then I might be able to grab the screw with a vise grip, or not,

I gave the condenser coils a good flush spraying my garden hose through the fan opening... the heat pump seems to be pumping more heat but I will revisit this again next summer during warmer weather.

JR

 

[JerryS]

I recently had to tighten a screw that had about 1" of clearance between the screw head and a wall. Hopefully only a one-time effort, so I bought this inexpensive tool -

Amazon.com

An old wood paint stirrer levered against the drive head provided axial force. Worked like a champ!

JerryS

 

[sr1200]

Lets not look past the other side of the tools too.. I recently got some solar deck lights. Halfway decent quality, but very cheap. The actual lights seem solid, but the hardware in the box... i swear the screws were molded solder. The instant any torque was put on the head the metal started peeling and deforming. Not even pot metal. I could easily bend one by pressing it against the concrete.

 

[amplexus]

If I remove what little head is remaining I can get the housing off... then I might be able to grab the screw with a vise grip, or not,

I gave the condenser coils a good flush spraying my garden hose through the fan opening... the heat pump seems to be pumping more heat but I will revisit this again next summer during warmer weather.

JR

What you need is a pair of these!

Absolute lifesavers for all kinds of stuck screws. The sharp teeth and flush milled faces will grip even the tiniest bit of leftover screw or screw head.

https://www.knipex.com/twingrip/

 

[JohnRoberts]

Maybe before I hacksawed the screw head in half... When weather warms up more I will finish grinding off the screw head.

Thanks for the suggestion.

JR

 

[scott2000]

i swear the screws were molded solder. The instant any torque was put on the head the metal started peeling and deforming.

My neighbor brought over his laptop he tried getting into and it was a fight getting out what was left of the few screws that gave up the ghost on him...

 

[MicMaven]

took shorty outside to see if there was anything left of the hacksawed screw head to unscrew....

Gee ... um ... ahem ... I am sorta, kinda curious why you hacksawed the head before receiving the short screw driver you ordered? Why order a new tool, but not use it?

Sidebar followup Comment -

Parenthetically, I received a set of four new Wera brand Philips head screw drivers, and they are WONDERFUL. Very nicely made, with comfortable sure-grip handles and really well formed tips that fit and hold screws much better than my older budget set of drivers.
Special thanks to @Brian Roth for putting me on the right trail. While I did not order the Wiha set he suggested, I would not have found this set had he not pushed me in the right direction.

Happy trails y'all. James

 

[JohnRoberts]

Gee ... um ... ahem ... I am sorta, kinda curious why you hacksawed the head before receiving the short screw driver you ordered? Why order a new tool, but not use it?

I responded to a weather report indicating a cold front coming through days before the shorty screw driver would arrive.

My heat pump at 4 years old had never been cleaned and was losing output. I grew impatient and the spray foam cleaner I ordered at the same time was already in hand, so I tried to get the screws out using my cobbled together 1/4" drive ratchet with screwdriver bits. I was able to remove all but one screw. The ratchet has a release button on the back of the head so prevented me from putting heavy pressure on it to grab the screw head better.

I vacuumed my indoor unit and pulled out some dust/dirt but I still need to clean it better. I have some spray cleaner on order (Simple Green) and a small compressor that I use for pumping up my car tires, so that is next week's mission.

My single heat pump cooling and heating my entire house was clearly marginal but has degraded output noticeably over the years, compared to when first installed. Right now it is indicating that it isn't holding temperature, despite pushing out 83' warm air (I have remote thermometer in the corner where the indoor unit is mounted).

I am too cheap to add a second heat pump, but seriously considering it.

JR

Sidebar followup Comment -


Happy trails y'all. James

View attachment 119804

 

[MicMaven]

I responded to a weather report indicating a cold front coming through days before the shorty screw driver would arrive.

I grew impatient and . . . . I am too cheap to add a second heat pump, but seriously considering it.

Ah... yes. Impatience IS a wicked step sister. And yet, contrasting Michigan winters, I sorta, kinda giggle at the notion a Mississippi cold front would be sufficient motivation to rush the project . . .

But seriously folks, is the Simple Green on order a specialized product, or the regular green stuff we find in discount and dollar stores? Do you guys have to order it online? (Serious question - not poking fun.) I dilute and spray it to clean mold and dirt of exterior siding - works great - it is "mighty powerful medicine, Jed." (Remember Granny on the Beverly Hillbillies rheumatism medicine?)

I would probably add a second heat pump, especially if it would assist the first unit cooling the house in warm, humid weather. Serious Southern humi-did-dity is no joke and has a big impact on one's whole day. It would be worth the extra expense to tame the sort of moisture Gulf Winds bring in warmer months.

Good luck fixing the existing unit! James

 

[kags]

I recently had to tighten a screw that had about 1" of clearance between the screw head and a wall. Hopefully only a one-time effort, so I bought this inexpensive tool -

Amazon.com

An old wood paint stirrer levered against the drive head provided axial force. Worked like a champ!

JerryS

I bought a Harbor Freight right-angle drill attachment for around 10 bucks a few years ago that has come in handy every few months. It has worked well enough that I would recommend it. I've used it three times to drill 1/4" holes through 8mm aluminum SSL console frames and the tool has held up.

I've also had good experience with screw extractors instead of cutting a groove in a broken/worn screw head. I have a set of screw extractors that I bought probably 20 years ago that sees use about once a year - right before my lecture to our staff on *not* using cordless drills to mount rack gear (!!)

 

[JohnRoberts]

Ah... yes. Impatience IS a wicked step sister. And yet, contrasting Michigan winters, I sorta, kinda giggle at the notion a Mississippi cold front would be sufficient motivation to rush the project . . .

yes I was not complaining about how cold it gets in MS, but how my heat pump was not keeping up.

Was born and grew up in the North. That said the coldest I ever felt was while walking guard duty around empty buildings at Ft Riley KS. I was so cold I couldn't take off my gloves to open the bottle of brandy I had in my pocket.

But seriously folks, is the Simple Green on order a specialized product, or the regular green stuff we find in discount and dollar stores? Do you guys have to order it online? (Serious question - not poking fun.) I dilute and spray it to clean mold and dirt of exterior siding - works great - it is "mighty powerful medicine, Jed." (Remember Granny on the Beverly Hillbillies rheumatism medicine?)

I would probably add a second heat pump, especially if it would assist the first unit cooling the house in warm, humid weather. Serious Southern humi-did-dity is no joke and has a big impact on one's whole day. It would be worth the extra expense to tame the sort of moisture Gulf Winds bring in warmer months.

Yes, I just looked at what I paid back 4-5 years ago and current mitsubishi mini-split pricing is up around 33% + installation. I already know where I'd put it, but I am not ready to pull the trigger just yet (I'm cheap).

Good luck fixing the existing unit! James

The existing unit is already working better than it was before my recent cleaning efforts.
===
I suspect I have tweaked the thermostat up higher than it was in previous winters and that makes current performance look worse.

JR

 

[RoadrunnerOZ]

Stuck bolts and nuts were a big thing when I was working in the luxury Supercar workshop for 5 years. We had a couple of Ferrari F40’s in at different times for restoration. To get the wheel nut off you needed penetrating oil, an 8 foot breaker bar and a lot of heave to get the frozen on nuts released (surprise surprise one side turns the opposite way to the other side of the car - one of our apprentices nearly blew a heart valve trying the wrong way).
In one old VW Kombi and a 1950’s Jeep we had in there were frozen bolts all over the place and after spraying with Shift Ya Bastard and other penetrating oils some still wouldn’t release. I found that by giving a sharp wrench in the do-it-up direction and then undoing would free up a lot of problem bolts.
The ones that would not undo we would slot the top (after giving the bolt head a solid hit with a punch end on to crack the rust) then using a smaller screwdriver and hammer, insert the tip of the driver at the outer edge of the slot at an angle and belt the end of the driver to start the undoing - then just use a slotted bit that fits fully to the slot in a large handled ratchet driver to undo.
The really bad ones you have to drill out and fit heli-coils.
Button hex if frozen can be removed using the same hammer principle into a corner of the hex, but you have to replace them afterwards - if the hex key doesn’t fit after hammering to free up then hammer in a Torx, it’ll cut its way in, failing that cut a slot, hammer the outer edge to free it up and undo with a slotted driver as with bolt heads.
I still have a pair of side cutters and long nosed pliers my grandmother used in the WWII - she made bombsights and gunsights and the associated electrics in a war factory. They still work fine but the spring is long gone from the cutters.
The old school hex handled screwdriver was intended to be able to use a shifting spanner on the handle - the rubber handled ones don’t give that extra edge unless they have a hole or slot in the top where you poke another screwdriver through as a lever except the slot’s usually too narrow to be useful.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Speaking difficult threaded items to unscrew, I have a sacrificial anode in my hot water heater that I gave up trying to break loose. I decided to replace it before it was barely 2 years old but no luck. I hit it with two different impact wrenches with no luck. I even hired my plumber to break it loose and he couldn't.

I expect the hot water heater manufacturers could come up with an easier design to service, but they don't mind replacing hot water heaters before their time.

JR

 

[scott2000]

I hit it with two different impact wrenches with no luck

A breaker bar with a cut down aluminum fence post is usually my weapon of choice for the stubborn things. Even had to use a 5 foot piece a few times but had the room...

I'd imagine the hot water heater would be moving though?

 

[RoadrunnerOZ]

Speaking difficult threaded items to unscrew, I have a sacrificial anode in my hot water heater that I gave up trying to break loose. I decided to replace it before it was barely 2 years old but no luck. I hit it with two different impact wrenches with no luck. I even hired my plumber to break it loose and he couldn't.

I expect the hot water heater manufacturers could come up with an easier design to service, but they don't mind replacing hot water heaters before their time

What’s the warranty on the heater?
Those anodes seem to weld themselves to whatever is holding them in place and the surrounding metal as well as they have to be in electrical contact with the metal they protect. Half the problem is stopping the tank rotating but a band strap and brace would sort that, then a nice long breaker bar with a pipe sleeve to lengthen it - but I’m sure your plumber tried all the options. It’s worth trying to give it a little tighten - that may crack the rust.
They use them on boats also - try getting a prop shaft collar anode off after a few years. Some anodes use a link wire to the metalwork.

 

[JohnRoberts]

A breaker bar with a cut down aluminum fence post is usually my weapon of choice for the stubborn things. Even had to use a 5 foot piece a few times but had the room...

I'd imagine the hot water heater would be moving though?

What’s the warranty on the heater?
Those anodes seem to weld themselves to whatever is holding them in place and the surrounding metal as well as they have to be in electrical contact with the metal they protect. Half the problem is stopping the tank rotating but a band strap and brace would sort that, then a nice long breaker bar with a pipe sleeve to lengthen it - but I’m sure your plumber tried all the options. It’s worth trying to give it a little tighten - that may crack the rust.
They use them on boats also - try getting a prop shaft collar anode off after a few years. Some anodes use a link wire to the metalwork.

Yup, I have a 1/2" drive breaker bar with piece of pipe handle extension for more torque. The heater moves and I worry about breaking the plumbing pipes attached. When I hired my plumber to break it loose he brought along a helper to hold the tank but the two of them didn't do any better than me alone. I looked at trying to secure the heater in place but couldn't attach it firmly enough. I tried an electric impact wrench and then a stronger air tool impact wrench. The only thing I didn't try was using a torch to heat up the anode/tank to break it loose.

It's pretty easy to imagine alternate ways to deal with this that would be more easily serviceable (like making the ground connection separately from the threads), but I really doubt the manufacturer has any economic motivation to make these last longer than the warranty.

JR