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Those @#%&* servo arm screws!

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Those @#%&* servo arm screws!

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Old 11-10-2005, 12:57 PM
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wsmalley
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Default Those @#%&* servo arm screws!

Feel like I've been scr...........d for 2 hours, and didn't enjoy it. Why don't they use socket head screws to hold on the arms? Does anyone even use those crappy phillips head screws to hold their servos in? Had flap and aileron servos (a Futaba and a Hitec) imbedded in a new wing. Had the arm installed incorrectly and had to remove for proper centering. Try and take out those screw with a Phillips head screw driver at an angle-pure torture! Anyone got a better idea? Not sure if there is a socket head screw that would fit properly. We pay enough for this stuff, why can't these manufacturers even provide the socket head screws for installing the servos? I'd gladly pay the extra .04 cents!
Old 11-10-2005, 01:36 PM
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dr_wogz
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Default RE: Those @#%&* servo arm screws!

I hear ya!

I bought a stock of socket head cap screws for servos (Microfasteners) and havent' looked back since!

I save the phillips head ones for the little jobs here & there.

Which reminds me.. my stock is getting low!



What really really galls me, are that kits still come with slot head screws as standard!!

The only good use for a slot blade screw diver is to open paint cans!



Then again, we have 'Robertson' screws up here. Patented 'safety screws'!
Old 11-10-2005, 03:17 PM
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Default RE: Those @#%&* servo arm screws!

Yeah! I have run out of the socket head servo screws too. BUT, what about those servo arm screws-those are a Bi...... to get in and out when you can tackle them straight on. As for flat bladed screwdrivers, opening cans for sure! Then there's my other favorite new thing, the aerasol kicker-sprays everywhere! I wrote the company and asked why they couldn't incorporate the nozzle tube like WD40? Gosh, I'd pay a whole nickle extra for that! I'm allergic to that stuff, as I'm sure others are also.
Old 11-10-2005, 05:03 PM
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Default RE: Those @#%&* servo arm screws!

The only good use for a slot blade screw diver is to open paint cans!
Slotted screws are very good when one requires miscellaneous punched holes in the covering.

Often a screw can be attached to the screwdriver with a drop of locktite and heat from a lighter. CA might also work.

Bill
Old 11-10-2005, 05:34 PM
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Default RE: Those @#%&* servo arm screws!

wow, get a whia screw driver. I have never had a problem with the phillips screws in any airplane in 30 years. Would hate socket head screws. That would be a pain.
Old 11-10-2005, 05:54 PM
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Default RE: Those @#%&* servo arm screws!


ORIGINAL: wsmalley
Try and take out those screw with a Phillips head screw driver at an angle-pure torture! Anyone got a better idea?
Yeahbut . . . it's a bit late this time around.

First, I think I read somewhere that most of the Japanese stuff is built with JIS fasteners, not Phillips, which means that Phillips bits don't mate with the fastener correctly.

Second, I always install servos in tight places so that it can be removed with relative ease, meaning I don't have to diddle with the servo in situ. For example, the photo shows aileron servos installed on their side, in a mount. The mount rails are red oak, drilled and tapped for the machine screws. The bottom of the wing has a balsa cover plate. Four screws to remove the cover plate, and four more screws to remove the mount with the servo still attached.
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Old 11-10-2005, 06:01 PM
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Default RE: Those @#%&* servo arm screws!

The socket head screws allow the use of the ball head drivers which work easily at 30 degrees or more off center-try that with a standard screwdriver. I had to look up 'Wiha' tools, what size fits those servo arm screws-still don't see how they work at an angle? No problem in 30 years huh, well, you just haven't built the right plane yet, I guess.
Old 11-10-2005, 07:11 PM
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Default RE: Those @#%&* servo arm screws!

Plumber: your point is well made! Some of the time, I, too, build removable servo trays. Maybe I have too many 'builds' going at one time. Nevertheless, I still think a socket head screw is far easier to remove. As for JIS, I never heard of it-can someone verify this? If this is true, why don't they print that somewhere-or did I not read the instructions. There's Torx, allen, slotted, phillips and how many others. Come on, this is supposed to be a hobby.
Old 11-10-2005, 08:13 PM
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Default RE: Those @#%&* servo arm screws!

ORIGINAL: wsmalley

Plumber: your point is well made! Some of the time, I, too, build removable servo trays. Maybe I have too many 'builds' going at one time. Nevertheless, I still think a socket head screw is far easier to remove. As for JIS, I never heard of it-can someone verify this? If this is true, why don't they print that somewhere-or did I not read the instructions. There's Torx, allen, slotted, phillips and how many others. Come on, this is supposed to be a hobby.
JIS is Japanese Industrial Standard and

From March 2005:

TOKYO--Japan's trade ministry will start a quasi-governmental institute that will recommend to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and other global standards bodies that they adopt Japanese technological standards and oppose the creation of standards that discriminate against Japan, ministry officials said March 8.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will establish in April the International Standardization Support Center, a nonprofit entity backed jointly by the ministry and the private sector. The center, working closely with trade associations connected to industries, would urge the International Standards Organization, the United Nations, and other multilateral bodies to accept as global standards Japanese technologies in nanotechnology, digital electrical appliances, photosensitive catalyzers, and machinery, they said.

The center also would back up Japanese nationals in their efforts to run for executive positions in the ISO and other international bodies, they said.

Over the years, the ministry has been trying to sell Japanese technologies as global standards, but to date, only a fraction of technologies have been adopted, the officials said. They agreed that the results reflected weak Japanese influence in the international political theater and other countries' discrimination against Japan.

"The JIS [Japan Industrial Standard] standards on nuts and bolts were superior to ISO standards, but Japan lost the battle" and as a result, JIS screws and nuts have literally vanished from Japan,' one official said.

Thanks to its political clout, Europe historically has been savvy at making its standards the global standards, such as those for motor vehicles, electrical appliances, and the environment, the officials said.End of article graphic
And here's where you can buy the correct JIS-standard screw drivers.



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Old 11-10-2005, 08:53 PM
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Default RE: Those @#%&* servo arm screws!

Thanks for the info, maybe that will help! Hope it's a better design than the famous Nambu firearm!
Old 11-10-2005, 08:56 PM
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Default RE: Those @#%&* servo arm screws!

BTW, the above quote said "JIS nuts and bolts have literally vanished from Japan". Guess where they wound up!
Old 11-11-2005, 11:23 AM
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Default RE: Those @#%&* servo arm screws!

We've found that a touch of a grinder on the tip of a Phillips screwdriver works to adapt it to the Japanese screws. Of course, too much of a touch, and you're in the market for a new screwdriver!
Old 11-11-2005, 04:57 PM
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Default RE: Those @#%&* servo arm screws!


ORIGINAL: wsmalley
There's Torx, allen, slotted, phillips and how many others. Come on, this is supposed to be a hobby.
Just be glad the Brits haven't tried to inflict Whitworth fasteners on the modeling world.
Old 11-11-2005, 07:47 PM
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Default RE: Those @#%&* servo arm screws!

Those servo screws seem to be Pozidrive which is nowadays much more common than Philips in Britain. A number 0 (zero ) Pozidrive screwdriver fits well.
However to initially start these small screws in a servo etc nothing beats a ' pearlcatcher ' or ' pick up tool ' a tiny gadget with three wire claws which will hold any small object and grips firmly enough to start the screw.
An essential gadget for the modeller!

Whats wrong with Whitworth? Do not forget that Mr Whitworth pioneered standardised threads---before him every machine had its own threads and was non interchangeable. Every camera from Victorian times to the Leica and to the latest digital model seems to have Whitworth threads on it - the tripod bush is 1/4 or 3/8 whit, usually 1/4. For the record if you ever need a Whitworth tap or die they are easily obtained from British model engineering suppliers, but of course Metric threads are now the standard worldwide.
Old 11-25-2005, 05:57 PM
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Default RE: Those @#%&* servo arm screws!

I got a set of the JIS drivers and have not touched a phillips head screwdriver since I got them.
Old 11-25-2005, 06:33 PM
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wsmalley
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Default RE: Those @#%&* servo arm screws!

I did find that grinding a couple of thousands off the end of the phillips screwdriver helps a lot! I still think the ultimate solution is a socket screw!
Old 11-25-2005, 11:09 PM
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Default RE: Those @#%&* servo arm screws!


ORIGINAL: kdc
Whats wrong with Whitworth?
Everything, when you live where they can't be had and you're trying to refit your Gold Star.

That's when I learned what BSA really means.
Old 11-25-2005, 11:56 PM
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Default RE: Those @#%&* servo arm screws!

I agree about the socket head servo screws. I buy them by the 100's. They're good for much more than just being servo screws too. But if you get a chance, get a set of JIS drivers. You'll find that they fit the arf hardware perfectly-- and also some good ol USA hardware too.
Old 11-26-2005, 08:15 AM
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Default RE: Those @#%&* servo arm screws!

To Fred McClellan

There probably would not have been classic British motorcycles without Mr Whitworth! Glad you find British bikes worth saving.

One can still obtain BSF (whitworth fine ) nuts and bolts in small quantities from specialist suppliers in England such as [link=http://www.ekp.supplies.btinternet.co.uk]EKP Supplies [/link] a small business which manufactures them and offers mail order and export.

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