Now I did it! T8 is FUBAR

B

Buck268

Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Messages
1,864
Well, looks like I finally fell to the infamous Spyderco locktite. The T8 scale screw on my Sage 5 was stuck fast so I put in on the soldering iron until the opposite side felt hot to me finger tip. Got my best T8 driver out, placed a significant amount of pressure down into the bit and gave it a turn. Pop. The bit cammed out of the torx head and rounded the star nicely. I'm a little worried that even with that much heat into it the thing still stripped. Now what?? No chance of cutting a flathead slot since the scale screws are recessed. Looked like that side of the liner is just going to be unremovable hence forth...

Painted the screwhead black for easy reference later...
K7dFWdP.jpg
 
You could try gently hammering an Allen head bit of similar size into it. I've done that before, sometimes it works
 
Never use that much strength to remove a screw. If it still feels tight, then add more heat and try again. Have you checked to see how hot your soldering tip gets? It should get between 600 - 700°F. I use a Hot-Air Rework station, 250C for blue and 300C for red Loctite. If the screw still feels tight, I add more heat until it comes out without using enough force to strip the screw.
 
Not sure if it would work for you, but I've heard people in similar situations say that they were able to turn a stripped screw by disassembling the rest of the knife and turning the handle scales around in opposite directions of each other.

But if that's a metal tube pressed through the lanyard hole it might not be possible to perform such a technique with that knife. Unless you can also push the tube out.
 
I have a seller WLC100 soldering station which is rated for 900F on max. Not saying the screw was that hot but it was pretty warm.

I’m going to try some more heat cycles and maybe drip some acetone into the back end (all other screws came out including the opposite one). It’s really buggered though. Might have to epoxy a bit on it’s eventually :(
 
Buck268 said:
I have a seller WLC100 soldering station which is rated for 900F on max. Not saying the screw was that hot but it was pretty warm.

I’m going to try some more heat cycles and maybe drip some acetone into the back end (all other screws came out including the opposite one). It’s really buggered though. Might have to epoxy a bit on it’s eventually :(
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Sir, I urge you to just order some small Easy Outs and have done with it. You gently tap the tip of the bit into the ruined end of you Torx and it works like a reverse drill bit (sort of). Crank it counterclockwise and it digs in. Once it bites, it will have enough purchase to easily remove that hardware. Worst case you have to drill the screw head a bit to get the fit just right.

You'll have to replace the screw but that's already a given, and you'll own the set forever should you need it again. I work on a ton of small to mid size mechanical and electrical hardware, these things have saved the day more times than I can recall.
 
Acetone may harm your scales, heating the screw to 430f ? is what breakes down the thread locker.
 
You could always send it back to Spyderco and see if they can replace the screw. I would consider doing that before drilling a hole for an easy out.
 
killgar said:
Not sure if it would work for you, but I've heard people in similar situations say that they were able to turn a stripped screw by disassembling the rest of the knife and turning the handle scales around in opposite directions of each other.

But if that's a metal tube pressed through the lanyard hole it might not be possible to perform such a technique with that knife. Unless you can also push the tube out.
Click to expand...

Taichung's lanyard tubes aren't press fit.

OP, have you tried hammering the screw? But the driver in, hammer the end to shock the loctite loose. That's what spyderco recommends.
 
I’m with HeavyHanded on this. Get the easy outs. Hate to say it in a knife forum, but, Occam's razor. “The simplest of competing theories be preferred to the more complex.”
 
According to Spyderco repair dept.,,,,, they hammer the Torx bit into the screw head to break the Locktite bond.
They also recommend Wiha bits, which are much tougher steel than the bargain tools in general usage.
Heat from a soldering tip applied directly to the screw head will also help break loose the bond, it does not require high temp to melt the Locktite into liquid,,, only enough to lower the bond strength for breaking loose the assembly.

Regards,
FK
 
Well good news is the impact driver after some heat did the trick. Never needed one before but it sure worked well. Tried the Icon torx sockets from HF for this. They seem pretty good. Tight fit and no deformity of the T8 after some relatively enthusiastic hammering.
 
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