[bparker170]

boy those shroud hex screws on the tuna sbbn017 are easy to strip!
I was trying to replace the hex heads with the phillips type which i prefer when one decided it didn't like my new stanley hex key and despite my being careful it is now stripped and impossible to remove with a hex key.
Any tips or advice on removal?I can't find a small enough screw extractor anywhere?Maybe i'll live with the hex screws as it still looks ok,just stuffed if i need to remove the shroud in future.....!thanks bob

 

[spring-diver]

I use a 1.5mm hex for my Emperor Tuna with no issues at all.


I can only suggest using a small/tiny flat blade screw driver. You might have to file it to make it fit nice'n tight diagonally, providing you didn't strip it to the point to where the hex is now a circle.


Good luck on you can of worms...oops I mean Tuna


B/R
Shannon

 

[bparker170]

yes a 1.5mm hex key has served me well on my tunas usually but this particular screw softened to a ridiculous point in no time and is now a circle.I used a new stanley hex key as well;those hex screws must be very soft.never had any issues with phillips screws on tunas.

 

[barry]

That is a shame ...pop the screws you managed to get out back in (with some grease on the threads) then after degreasing your worn screw head and Allen key mix up a blob of epoxy resin and bond the two together...leave for at least 24 hours then try again.
If that fails PM me ... it will come out

 

[aurelius]

I used a screw extractor when the same thing happened on my Sawtooth. I would send it to you but it has disappeared (meaning I can't remember where I laid it down). I will see if I can purchase another and send it to you.

 

[bparker170]

that's a really great offer,i'm trying to track a screw extractor down in the uk to fit,could you remember what size extractor you used i would say anything larger than 2mm would be too big?you can get them easily at 3mm or above.some optical equipment suppliers sell them in small sizes this evening i've ordered one to try.

 

[Spencer PK]

There are sets of extractors here (in the U.S.) for sale that have five different sizes - they're fairly common - you hopefully should be able to find what you need. They work a treat!

 

[scuttle]

that's a really great offer,i'm trying to track a screw extractor down in the uk to fit,could you remember what size extractor you used i would say anything larger than 2mm would be too big?you can get them easily at 3mm or above.some optical equipment suppliers sell them in small sizes this evening i've ordered one to try.

I'd try 2 ton epoxy as Barry suggests before the screw extractor. It's much less invasive. Getting a screw extractor to work often involves drilling into the screw, which could go badly wrong. But if the epoxy grips, then its as good as the extractor. If it doesn't grip, then you clean the residue away. But 2 ton epoxy is amazing stuff. I've used it to replace threads that had stripped from a bicycle crank, the ones that hold the pedal. It held permanently - and that's a tough job; the force that goes through those cranks is quite something. (Cranks are the hardest part of a bicycle to manufacture, apparently. I'm a mine of fascinating information like that.)

Also:

- I'd lubricate the screw hole with most penetrating lube I could find (I felt dirty saying that) letting it drip slowly into the hole well in advance (ditto)

- I'd use a very high quality allen key with the other screws. My experience of bicycle repair taught me never to use a hex key that wasn't made of silicon hardened steel, especially in the smallest sizes. The softer the key, the more likely you are to have a disaster.

 

[aurelius]

The one I used is a #1 fine thread (there is a #1 course thread too but you want the fine thread).
No drilling is necessary especially with the hex screw.
I'll see if I can source one tommorrow.
The epoxy idea MIGHT work but I'm sceptical (no offence to anyone). I've tried that with limited success. If you try it, mask off the whole watch as a goopy nightmare is a definite possibility.

 

[badern]

Sounds scary! I cringe when i read that you stripped the hex screw. Hope this is only a one off thing and not the same for the other current tuna hex-screws.

I have removed and replaced the phillips screws on the older tunas multipl times and never had such issues.

Hope you are able to sort it out. Please keep us updated on the solution.

 

[bparker170]

guys thanks for your suggestions:will try a screw extractor first,carefully,i never had these issues with any of the phillips screws on my other tunas,so the moral of the story is TAKE EXTRA CARE when removing the new hex screws and use a high quality hex key.Will keep you posted!!

 

[scuttle]

Good luck!

..There is another trick I've known people use for removing stubborn screws - heat the thing that the screw is in. Obviously you'd have to take the mech out first. And even then I'd think the heating should be very gentle, if you were to try this trick at all. Rather than, say, the blow torch that I have known people use in bicycle repair...

 

[jadolley88]

The other thing to do is use a properly sized left hand drill bit, this is usually the preferred way to remove a screw before trying an extractor, as any bite of the drill bit will start the screw turning out.

Jim
WISconsin USA

 

[Motox12]

that's a really great offer,i'm trying to track a screw extractor down in the uk to fit,could you remember what size extractor you used i would say anything larger than 2mm would be too big?you can get them easily at 3mm or above.some optical equipment suppliers sell them in small sizes this evening i've ordered one to try.

Hi Rob, please can you get in touch about the Doxa Sub …..Cheers, Richard

 

[mmounce]

Last Hurrah, maybe try tapping a torx head driver into the stripped hole. Might bite enough.

 

[zeke441]

Hi Rob, please can you get in touch about the Doxa Sub …..Cheers, Richard

Probably not, this thread is 13 years old

 

[vincentg]

FWIW my extractor set is left hand twist boron coated twist drills for each extractor and often the drill itself will remove the offending screw I also like the new little one piece drill extractors, they are also left hand twist, one ond is the drill and one end the extractor and hex between them.