Unusual (?) tamper-proof screws.

Hi all,

My toaster has stopped working, and before trashing it I wanted to take a quick peek inside just to be sure it isn't something really easy to fix.

Unfortunately, like so many things now, it is held together with 'special' screw that don't match any of the types I've seen before.

The heads look a bit like a flower with six petals. Unlike e.g. Torx the shape is NOT an indentation in the head, it sticks out. So something like a very small socket is needed to undo them.

Does anyone know what these are called? As far as I can tell from the pictures and descriptions they are not included in most anti-tamper bit sets. The perfect search term for Google has escaped me so far!

Even better of course, does anyone in the Cambridge area have one I could borrow for a day or so?

Thanks,

David

Reply to
David Micklem
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Torx heads exist in both internal and external variants. They look like a hex with hollowed out flanks. In extremis it is often possible to loosen them using a tool designed for a plain hex head, though the correct tool is obviously preferred.

Reply to
BigWallop

In article , David Micklem writes

Sounds like a System Zero fastener. There's an example at

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, search for 524-528.

If that's it they have drivers too, code 444-7891, 444-7908 or 444-7914 depending on size.

Off on a tangent, if anyone has spotted Torx fasteners with only five lobes, they are from the Torx Plus TR (Tamper resistant) range and drivers are available :-). Note: Ordinary Torx Plus are still 6 lobed.

Reply to
fred

does sound like them - nintendo used them on the SNES :o)

Reply to
a

Hi. It might be much quicker to file them slightly to give 2 flat surfaces on a hex shape, then use a monkey wrench.

Regards, NT

Reply to
N. Thornton

It is a safety screw, often Torx, and the necessary socket drivers are easily available from the likes of Farnell, RS, or CPC.

Reply to
harrogate

Is it actually the inverse of a torx? If so a torx bolt, a nut and an old bracket or something with some loctite or epoxy could make up a tool.

Reply to
Chris Hodges

444-7914

System Zero tamperproof screws are manufactured by Deltight Industries. I haven't got the address to hand, but they were near Bloxwich in Walsall. No doubt they can be found by searching the net. I bought several boxes of various sizes, and matching drivers several years ago to keep customers from messing up the equipment I service. They make a far larger range of sizes than RS stocks. If the screw has a domed head ( slippery for pliers & drill bits) as well as 6 lobes it sounds like System Zero. If you can get a Dremel type tool with a cutting disc to the screw you can slot it, flat the sides or simply cut the head off. They work best when fitted down a hole so they can't be sawn or filed. In that case you really need the matching tool. (The tool comes in at least 3 different sizes)

Hth

David

Reply to
David Kemper

Thanks for all the replies.

As David, fred and others have suggested, it looks as though they are System Zero. Definitely NOT Torx. Apparently Deltight Industries have been taken over by BAS Components but there is no mention of System Zero on their site. RS are the only stockists I've been able to find.

Unfortunately most of the screws are well recessed and inaccessible to modification by a Dremel (even if I had one) so I may have to buy the right tool/just scrap the toaster. (Probably the latter: with postage the driver will cost 8 quid or so, not far off what the toaster cost in the first place).

Thanks again for the info - this newsgroup knows EVERYTHING!

David

Reply to
David Micklem

D-I-Y... Modify an old screwdriver with a few needle files - I did similar mods to a "swiss army" knife thingy and it works ok if the screw are not /too/ tight.

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Reply to
Geo

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