Plastic clip removal tool

I've just been taking apart yet another gadget that looks like it has 4 big screws securing the case, only it doesn't. The case is also held down by the dreaded hidden plastic clips, the sort you need 15 flathead screwdrivers to pry open and usually end up breaking some.

I'm sure there must be a better way. Sometimes I've used a cake slice for trying to flip a row of clips at once... but it still damages the plastic. They must do this sort of thing regularly at the factory... is there a proper tool for it?

Cheers, Theo

Reply to
Theo Markettos
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'll probably still need 15 of them ...

Reply to
Adrian C

Particularly given the thing I want to open at the moment is about the size of a loaf of white sliced, and made of fairly strong plastic. It's not exactly an iPhone. Though an iPhone spudger or three might come in handy for smaller jobs...

Theo

Reply to
Theo Markettos

Various useful iPhone-ish tools at DealExtreme, at knockdown prices.

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more expensively at Amazon, among others.

Reply to
Bob Eager

I use guitar plectrums, only a few pence each and you rarely need more then two,to open most plastic casings like laptops.

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Reply to
Mark

En el artículo , Theo Markettos escribió:

Toshiba used to supply a tool to dealers called a T-wedge. It was a plastic tool used for popping apart the hidden catches on laptops without damaging the case plastic. It's essentially a T-shaped tool with a bevelled curve on the upper part of the T. Can post a pic somewhere if you want.

The key is to get the first catch open - once you've done that, you can run a (strong) thumbnail or a piece of plastic around the join to pop the other catches. An old credit card works.

Reply to
Mike Tomlinson

Thanks, that would be useful to compare with a spudger.

I'll give that a try, though they're sometimes too thick.

Theo (who discovered that Toolstation sells podgers, but not spudgers)

Reply to
Theo Markettos

I've used car body filler mixing blades to good effect, no sharp edges and slightly softer plastic than credit cards so even less likely to mark the case. They usually have a tapered edge which helps too.

Reply to
fred

En el artículo , Theo Markettos escribió:

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first pic shows the bevelled edge a bit better.

The T-wedges I have are about the thickness of a card. They need to be stiff enough not to flex when used but soft enough not to scratch the housing.

The trick is to get one catch undone by prying with the bevelled edge of the T-wedge or similar tool (there will always be one catch that is easier than the others), and once you have a gap, insert the card and slide it gently from side to side instead of prying. Experiment with angling the card up and down slightly as you go and you'll find a 'sweet spot' angle at which the join pops apart so easily you won't believe it.

Reply to
Mike Tomlinson

Interesting. What are the length markings on it for? They don't appear to be associated with the 'business' end of it...

Theo

Reply to
Theo Markettos

En el artículo , Theo Markettos escribió:

For measuring screws, so when a laptop is disassembled the right screws can be put back in the right places. Get it wrong and you either puncture a hole in the case, or worse, in some expensive internal component.

Some laptops are marked with the screw lengths next to the screw holes to aid in correct reassembly, some aren't.

Reply to
Mike Tomlinson

I always lay screws out in the positions they came out, but having lengths marked sounds like a very good idea (and ideally threads too: you want to know where the self tappers go).

Thanks for the pics: I might try whittling down a credit card to achieve the bevelled edge...

Theo

Reply to
Theo Markettos

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