Basic blender went bad (motor ran but spindle wasn’t rotating). I wanted to disassemble to see if it could be repaired. Three of the four screws were Phillips head. I had to cut the casing open in order to discover why I couldn’t unscrew the fourth. It was a slotted spanner.
What brand?
Yeah we should be shaming companies that do this sort of shit.
OP, please tell us which brand designed this. I’d love to know to stay away from their crap as much as possible.
Kenmore
Can less
Barbieless
There is a screwdriver that you can get at the hardware store for this type of screw. You shouldn’t have to, I definitely agree. But fuck ‘em, repair your shit with the $5 screwdriver.
Comon, do some reading:
I had to cut the casing open in order to discover why I couldn’t unscrew the fourth.
Just a basic security screw. It’s so kids (and people who don’t know enough about repairing appliances to know about security screws) don’t disassemble the dangerous machine.
It’s a blender… As long as it’s unplugged you’ll be fine.
PLUG IT IN UNDER WATER!
Well your blender problems would be over at least.
Seriously. I’m not sure why people think it’s so dangerous. Unplug it and remove the blades. Its just a motor for God’s sake
I think the concern is that you would re-assemble it with the safety bypassed, not that you would harm yourself while disassembling the appliance.
Comon, do some reading:
I had to cut the casing open in order to discover why I couldn’t unscrew the fourth.
Harbor freight has sets of tamper resistant bits. They are also handy for regular Allen and torx heads.
This right here. I bought their security bit set and, true, I’ve only ever opened the case three times in the few years I’ve had it, but in those three times nothing else would have worked without a more destructive solution
Here’s the link, it’s helped me out a bunch of times in the 6-8 years I’ve had it.
2 notes though
- these are hard cheese grade metal. Don’t plan on removing any high torque, Rusty or partly stripped screws with them, they’ll either break or round off.
- if the screw is too recesses down a narrow hole, these won’t help. The bit holders are too wide to fit in. I have a Honeywell Air Purifier with one security Torx that is 3-4” down a hole that this set failed me on.
Just to add to your comment, the sell a smaller set for a few dollars less and also a “precision” screwdriver set that has some similar bits not but the full set. Both are very handy to keep around for this exact thing.
It’s called an “H-type” head. I found some tools for that on eBay but was reluctant to spend any money on something I’d probably never need again, ever. But this video shows a hack using scissors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA6_S9YkZEc
I didn’t have a pair laying around that worked but the video inspired me to MacGyver my way to remove that aberration against all that’s good in humanity.
A grinder to the center would make that compatible with a flathead screwdriver.
Your gonna need a teeny tiny grinder. Maybe a dremmel?
Everyone should have a Dremel. Damn thing is so useful.
At that point you might as well just do it to the screw instead and use the normal screwdriver.
I’d use my dremel to finish the slot that was only partially cut.
Or use the dremel to cut a slot in the end of a flat screwdriver.
If you haven’t already, look into getting a ratcheting screwdriver with replaceable bits, and a pack of various bits for it. Idk where I got it, but I’ve got all kinds of screwy bits (including the H-bit head) that I need very infrequently, but I’m always happy when I do and I already have it.
I think the bit pack I got was for the security torx and it came with a bunch of other stuff.
Grab a dremel tool and make that piece of shit into a flathead
If you have a Dremel, I bet you could take out the center bit and use a regular slotted screwdriver.
The security bit is doing it’s job. If this is a barrier for someone, then they aren’t the kind of person who should be playing with the internals of a dangerous electronic device.
Shit take.
Cut that middle bit out and make it into a flathead.
The screw head was at tho bottom of a 2 inch shaft. I destroyed the casing just to find out what the issue was.
Wow that’s terrible.
The bit set and tool set from IFixIt has those. I’m not sponsored by them in any way, but I will shamelessly recommend their tools when I can because they’re objectively good for this kind of stuff.
I mean a blender isn’t exactly the worst things to have security bits on.
Really? It seems to me that if you believe blenders should be tamper-proof, you must believe that all appliances should be.
A single tamper proof screw that all that’s required to remove is knowledge… Yes. Unfortunately stupid people try to do things they shouldn’t and that single screw removes an idiots ability to sue after they screw with things they know not.
and that single screw removes an idiots ability to sue after they screw with things they know not.
It’s not how it works…
That’s exactly how it works and honestly this photo series is a pretty good illustration of why it works.
Or they could just not be able to sue a company for being an idiot 🤷♂️
Excuse me, I thought this was America!
There’s the way the world works and the way the world aught to work according to xyz.
One is reality the other isn’t. Realistically if you don’t expect a security screw when taking apart dangerous electronics you probably shouldn’t be working on them.
Personally to me I think we need to stop idiot proofing everything.
I’m not saying remove all safety standards or warnings but we’ve gone too fuckin far to the point a complete moron has to be protected and treated like a child which just holds the rest of us back.
I’m all for having less idiots but reality differs.
Thought they might sell these specialty tools online, but 3 minutes of searching came up with nothing. Might be time to get creative.
Do you have the room to get a Dremel in there the cut it so a regular flathead will work?
If not, maybe try to use needle noise pliers as your screwdriver.
As a last resort, pick up a cheap screwdriver and cut it to make it slotted.
Edit: I love how quickly several people have commented with links to the needed tools. Thanks to all of you!
I have this exact set. The bit he needs is second from the right, third from the bottom
Depending on the size, I’ve absolutely gotten small versions of these bits in IT/Electronics repair kits.
I had drill bits for such screws for decades, never had the reason to use them though. It’s nice to see that there’s a use for them after all!
Well, the drill bit wont fit if the hole is too long and thin, so its not always quite that easy.
