[ARC5] BC-221-D, tool needed to undo knobs

[Richard Knoppow]

    I must agree from bitter experience. An Allen head requires an Allen 
wrench. Get the right size. If you have worn ones grind or file the ends 
square and beyond the work part. A worn key will take the corners off 
the socket and ruin it. There isn't anything to be done with damaged 
sockets. If there is lock paint on the screw try heating the wrench as 
well as dosing the screw with solvent.

On 10/4/2017 3:05 PM, WA5CAB--- via ARC5 wrote:
> I am sorry to have to say it, but that is very bad advice.  Either the 
> Bristol or the Torx are vastly superior to Allen in the smaller sizes 
> against the wrench turning in the screw and having to be drilled out.  
> If you try to loosen a #8 or smaller Allen in older equipment and it 
> works, you are lucky.  If it doesn't work the first time, you are up the 
> creek.  Twisting an Allen driver in an Allen screw once almost always 
> ruins both the screw and the driver.  We had an example just today in a 
> piece of pipeline inspection equipment.  The #8-32 Flat Head Screws were 
> bought and installed last Spring over my objections.  The originals had 
> had the Canadian square drive heads.  When removed, none had torqued out 
> despite having been installed about 1998 and run in several pipelines.
> 
> In a message dated 10/03/2017 15:25:13 PM Central Daylight Time, 
> releazer at earthlink.net writes:
>> A small screwdriver of the right size might work.  Wedge it in there.
>>
>> I have not tried it yet but an undersized Torx might work, too.  I had 
>> to buy a couple of sets of small Torx in order to work on a Tek scope.
>>
>> And then when they are out, throw away those Bristols and put in some 
>> Allens - which is what I did with the Torx screws.
>>
>> Wayne
>> WB5WSV


-- 
Richard Knoppow
1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com
WB6KBL