Arrrgh...those silly little toys you get from McDonalds and such places have screws with triangular heads. It's fun to take them apart, but not when you have to literally saw through the plastic, like I used to. This was time consuming, slightly dangerous, and often ruined the cool bits inside that I was after. I sought a better way.
I looked all over the internet, and you cannot buy a screwdriver with a head like this. (I KNOW everyone and his brother will correct me on this, and post nine links to sites where you can buy a bucket 'o these for two dollars. So, you cannot easily buy a screwdriver with a head like this.)
As our good friends at MAKE say, If you can't open it, you don't own it.
While primarily found on little toys from fast food restauraunts (not just McDonalds), I've found these little screws on other small figures with leds inside them. This should work with those, too.
I looked all over the internet, and you cannot buy a screwdriver with a head like this. (I KNOW everyone and his brother will correct me on this, and post nine links to sites where you can buy a bucket 'o these for two dollars. So, you cannot easily buy a screwdriver with a head like this.)
As our good friends at MAKE say, If you can't open it, you don't own it.
While primarily found on little toys from fast food restauraunts (not just McDonalds), I've found these little screws on other small figures with leds inside them. This should work with those, too.
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To make a triangle head screwdriver, you will need:
For mine, I opted to go with regular two-penny nails instead of an old screwdriver. Cheap, plentiful, and no big deal if I mess up. I recommend you make one with a nail before you put the grinder to your screwdriver, to get the hang of using the grinder if you're not used to it, and to make sure you know how to shape it properly.
If you don't have an angle grinder, you could use wet concrete, a la Tim Anderson's hunting knife. It might take a year or three to do it that way though.
- Old screwdriver
- Bench grinder
For mine, I opted to go with regular two-penny nails instead of an old screwdriver. Cheap, plentiful, and no big deal if I mess up. I recommend you make one with a nail before you put the grinder to your screwdriver, to get the hang of using the grinder if you're not used to it, and to make sure you know how to shape it properly.
If you don't have an angle grinder, you could use wet concrete, a la Tim Anderson's hunting knife. It might take a year or three to do it that way though.
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http://www.xavboxcube.com/fr/technique-du-bic-gamecube.php3
For some reason manufacturers seem to think that they have the only means to enter the devices they produce.
If they make it, there will be a way to alter it, and the triangle head screw is among the latest of their efforts. Of course, there are people that are just nosy.
The triangle head screwdriver, which happens to be very expensive, for a screwdriver, is a result of their efforts. Why? To get one to pay more for a very simple device that is unavailable to most people, and to try to protect their warrantees. Warrantee be damned!
So, in order to combat their selfishness I have found a very simple way to create this special screwdriver, and all it takes is an Allen (Hex) wrench just slightly larger than the screw you wish to ‘operate’ on.
An Allen wrench has six sides to it, and it is very easy to remove three of these sides to form a triangle head screwdriver. I managed to accomplish this with the wrench, hand drill and a grindstone.
Of course it can be made easier with a stand to hold these devices, and to easily calculate the angles to be removed with a vise and protractor, and proper grindstone but with some careful applications of the drill, and grindstone, and my hands, I did it in about a half hour, you could even use a file. It will require a sharp eye, and numerous trials for fit. I have no idea what size the bit is.
I now have a device to thwart their efforts! We wait for their next move.
Yep, that's pretty much the way mine are, too...glad this was helpful to someone! Thanks for taking the time to tell me. :)
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.19862 ($4.30) this one is 7mm rather than the above 6 mm. I don't know which was better.
Both of those are pretty pricey though. Here's a multi-bit set:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.42425 ($9.90) one of them looks like it might fit.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.42369 ($12.50) has two bits that might be a match
The problem with the bits is that the maker of the toy can create a narrow channel that's too small to admit the bit. The you are forced to braze the tip to something and then grind down the diameter at 3 AM in the morning.
I appear to have been the first to post a link to an actual product. Even so, at four bux a pop, I'd still probably go the grinder route on a nail myself.
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I was needing one of these screwdrivers to take apart Nintendo products. I found a nice auction on Ebay instead of making my own though.
The auction included:
a tri-wing screwdriver
a small security bit
a large security bit
Now I can take apart anything made by Nintendo!
(As a side note, these special screws are normally only on the outside. There are almost always typical flat head and Phillips head on the inside)
That sounds like an awesome buy. Thanks for the info on interior screws as well! :)