:MAD: Striped allen heads

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FSTFBDY

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I have a All Aluminum Maxx. and Everyone of the allen head screws in this things are In tight as heck. Striped 3 heads out trying to get a few out. So I soaked everything down in PBR penetrate let it sit a night. soaked em all more.

Grrrrrrrr striped 3 or 4 more.. and found lots already striped.

I know the Dremal trick to grove a line in em, but does anybody know a diff way. like I said this is a ANCN chassis, arms, bulks etc. All nice aluminum I'm about to repolish and Dont want to hit it with the dremal. Ya Its a bashing maxx but still....
 
1.) what kind of allen drivers are you using?

2.) have you ever used loctite (of any color)?
 
I use Snap on T handle ball end and regular.( I'm a Aircraft mech.) Belive me I've tried a few things. craftsman makes a nive striped screw bit but they dont make one this small. :(


I got the Max like this so I dono if loc tite was used or not.

anti seze should have been used with steel screws and alum parts. grrrrrrr
 
Well, this is my winning combo. I don't strip screws anymore ... EVER!

Tools
First, you can probably appreciate a good set of tools. For RC, we're talkin metric allen drivers. A high quality set will be machined out of extremely hard steel. I've heard it called "spring steel" and others insist the steel used is the same stuff they use for drill it blanks. There are 3-4 different companies making allen driver sets out of this stuff.

OFNA:
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXBN25&P=

HUDY:
http://www.ashfordhobby.com/prod322.htm

DYNAMITE: (what I have)
http://h1071118.hobbyshopnow.com/products/description.asp?prod=DYN2904

(using the above part numbers your LHS should be able to order any of them that tickles ya)

Loctite is Bad Ummm K?
Blue or Red, it doesn't matter loctite will eventually kick you in the ... butt. I stopped using loctite about the time I had to dremel slots in my engine mounting screws to get them out (common trick where you use a flat head screw driver). If you can't get your dremel onto the screhead, maybe try an easy out.

Use a Quality Screw Set
I can't stress this enough. If you've got the best drivers in the world and the screw is soft, it's just going to strip on you no matter what. One of the best hopups you can give yourself if a completely new set of screws for your ride.

RCScrewz sucks. They don't fit right and stainless steel is softer than 12.9 and 10.9 grade screws. Sadly these are the kits you see stocked at your LHS. :( So you're kind of left searching for good screws.

www.hexcrews.com seems to have a sweet setup going. One of my buggies has a hexcrews screw set in it and it's everything it's advertised to be. The one down side is the price he charges.

www.tonysscrews.com this is a local guy who's doing the same thing. I think his prices are a little bit better, but you have to order them via Crispy Critters Hobbyshop in Jersey.

www.mcmaster.com now, if you wanna get down right serious about screws, this is where you head. The site is huge and finding what you need will take some time. You're looking for the best grade metric screws in the size and length you need. The best grades are 12.9 and 10.9. This is the same product sold at the above sites (you just pay the above companies extra for sorting and packaging). Also remember that you can always make a screw shorter, but can't make one longer. So buy your screws a bit on the long side and cut them down. This will save you money too cause the smallest QTY you can buy is 100 I think. When you're done adding screws to your cart, you may be spending as much as $60-$70 on screws. You can, however, make a half dozen or so of the above $30-$40 screw sets.

"Wood Screws"
Well they're not really "wood" screws, but they kind look like them and I've heard way too many people call them that. I'm talking about the self-tapping course threaded screws that typically hold plastic parts together. In all the above sources you will not find ONE "wood screw". Why? Cause you don't need em. Take your wood screws out and stick in their place the appropriate sized machine threaded screws. Now, you won't have to worry about the little buggers backing out ever again! Just don't over tighten them.

Conclusion
As long as you have the proper tools, the proper screws and you stay away from the little tube of blue you will find your RC Zen and all will be wonderful when wrenching.

Sorry for writing a book I figured I could copy and paste this next time someone asks. :)
 
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Thanks for the Book, but I already know all this.

These are the Tools I have.
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...group_ID=11560&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...group_ID=11559&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...&group_ID=2140&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...&group_ID=2141&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog


I dont think I need to link em all. belive me I have the right allen keys if the Maxx had GOOD screw. I prob have $6k in tools for automotive and aircraft work.

yet I have screws that striped way to easy. Which makes me belive they have loc tite on em.

Drilling em out a little to use a extractor is my last resort. just a PITA. :(

mcmasters is a great place to but TONS of stuff.
 
if you have a dremel (sounds like you do) take the carbon circular blades and trim them down to half size....then when you make the cuts into your screw heads the chances of slicing into the chassis are minimal.......I always find that when I can get down to one screw there is a way I can keep moving the 2 parts screwed together in a way that lets me loosen the screw to where I can grip the head w/ pliers or vise-grips......Barbaric but it does the trick.....I have those same snap on allen set and I broke down and got a set of the integy drivers.....I haven't had the issue w/ screw heads anymore.....I thought I had 4 stripped heads before I bought the drivers....I actually had 1 , it was my snap-ons that were slipping.......my pop has a snap-on truck next door to him and the guy turned into a peepee when I showed him that the integy stuff was better, Oh well.....
 
FSTFBDY, do those wrenches ever get buggered up to the point you have to refresh the tips with the dremel?
 
Why is loctite bad on screws? I thought you were supposed to use loctite on all metal-to-metal applications. Please fill me in. Lol, I use RCScrewz in my maxx, and they do suck, i need a new kit of better quality!
 
In the past with striped out allens I have taken a small left handed Drill bit.
Like a 1/8th or a 5/32nd this will start to drill in to the screw more times then not it will extract the screw out just as it starts to dig in..Try it I works great! :2cents:
 

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