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Aphototaker
Tinkerer
Username: Aphototaker
Post Number: 196
Registered: 12-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 14, 2010 - 11:27 am: | 
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Which screwdrivers would be the most recommended ones to dismantle or open cameras and lenses?
I have been using a couple from a local hobby store but they leave a lot to be desired. I have noticed that especially in lenses, one needs more torque to open the screws. I have also had to file away the tips of the drivers to fit some Canon screws.
The usual sizes that I have used so far are PH00, 2.5 mm and 1.4 mm. I am thinking of buying a set of better screwdrivers. What sizes should I be looking for? I see micro-tools mentioned here as a source. Any others that I should try?
Thanks. |
Ron_g
Tinkerer
Username: Ron_g
Post Number: 16
Registered: 07-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 14, 2010 - 02:14 pm: |
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I have a set of Starretts that I bought many years ago,Micro Tools carries them although I did not buy mine there.You can buy new bits for them if needed.I also have other brands but I know when I should be using my Starretts and I sometimes regret it when I don't.Ron G |
Sevo
Tinkerer
Username: Sevo
Post Number: 63
Registered: 09-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 14, 2010 - 02:36 pm: |
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A set of decent watch makers/precision mechanics screwdrivers (or a grip with set of blades) to start with. For me, the handle and tip sets in the budget section of serious hardware shops (or the high price segment of hobbyist tool shops) have always worked well enough.
Plain blades can (and often have to be) filed to measure - you'll encounter more sizes than any single maker offers.
I tend to shun screwdrivers with excessively hardened tips - they are widespread on high-price tools as they won't wear down in factory assembly lines, but they are risky when disassembling stuck screws, as they tend to break and/or foul up the screw where a softer one would have bent before the screw gave way. Besides, they are hard to righten, sharpen and file down.
Cross-bladed ones are not as easy to modify - you will have to get hold of a JIS set, or you will foul up Japanese camera screws. |
Aphototaker
Tinkerer
Username: Aphototaker
Post Number: 197
Registered: 12-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 14, 2010 - 04:48 pm: |
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Where should I look for a JIS set? ikaswebshop.com seems to be one source. Also, what number am I looking for (mainly for Canon lenses and cameras)? Probable ones are:
HOZAN D-130-75 JIS +00 Screwdriver, 3" Shaft
HOZAN D-140-100 JIS +0 Screwdriver, 4" Shaft
Any others? |
Paul_ron
Tinkerer
Username: Paul_ron
Post Number: 214
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 15, 2010 - 05:50 am: |
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Micro Tools has em all. WHIA is a good set of screwdrivers at a very resonable price. |
Aphototaker
Tinkerer
Username: Aphototaker
Post Number: 199
Registered: 12-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 15, 2010 - 09:00 pm: |
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Okay. Thanks for the feedback.
Time to get some more tools!  |
Ron_g
Tinkerer
Username: Ron_g
Post Number: 17
Registered: 07-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 16, 2010 - 05:06 am: |
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I agree on the WIHA products.I bought a nice set of miniature torx drivers from them and they are first rate.That T1 bit is so small that it is hard to see and that is the one that I needed when I purchased the set.
I would not be afraid of anything with their name on it.Ron G |
Prasanna
Tinkerer
Username: Prasanna
Post Number: 54
Registered: 10-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 16, 2010 - 08:11 am: |
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You may also try a local neighborhood electronics store, such as, Radio Shack. You may need 1mm for the small set screws in many lenses. Some of them come with magnetic handles and that help keep the screws from falling away. When I use the non-magnetic screw drivers I dip the tip in Grease so the screws stick to the driver. You may also try a watch makers' tool shop. |
David_nebenzahl
Tinkerer
Username: David_nebenzahl
Post Number: 277
Registered: 12-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 22, 2010 - 12:59 pm: |
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For flat (i.e., non-Phillips) screwdrivers, some of the cheap Chinese sets available Everywhere©® can be made to work quite well. Usually available for about a buck ($1 USD) at dollah stores and the like.
I say "made to work" because these el cheapo screwdrivers are not likely to work well out of the box. The tips are usually far too thick and not well squared up. But with a little judicious grinding and cleaning up, they can be about as good as any much higher-priced Wihas or whatever.
If you're going to do this, it pays to get a tool to help get the tip square. I have a grinding aid that has a barrel with a hole through it and two little wheels that you secure onto the shaft of the screwdriver, giving a fixed angle against a grinding stone.
My cheap Chinese micro-screwdrivers have served me well for many years.
Also, since they're so cheap, you can buy an extra set or three so you can modify the tips to make split-tip drivers for special screws, etc. |
Fred_m
Tinkerer
Username: Fred_m
Post Number: 1
Registered: 04-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 23, 2010 - 10:23 pm: |
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Don't waste your time on cameras without Wiha, Ideyama, or equivalent screwdrivers. |
Mndean
Tinkerer
Username: Mndean
Post Number: 224
Registered: 08-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 23, 2010 - 11:36 pm: |
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Ron,
Same here. I got what was probably the same set of Wiha Torx wrenches and they has been invaluable to me. But I'll use a cheaper screwdriver/hex driver set as well, and I made a small pin vise out of an old compass. Whatever works. |
David_nebenzahl
Tinkerer
Username: David_nebenzahl
Post Number: 281
Registered: 12-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 23, 2010 - 11:51 pm: |
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Well, that's what I'm saying: whatever works. Wiha and whatnot if you feel you want to spend that kind of money, or cheap Chinese tools that you can improve yourself for very little. No need for tool snobbery here. My screwdrivers work quite well for camera repair, thank you very much.
(I will say that the Chinese Phillips screwdrivers are absolute junk; I just throw them in my metal scrap recycling pile.) |
Ron_g
Tinkerer
Username: Ron_g
Post Number: 18
Registered: 07-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 24, 2010 - 06:13 am: |
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I also have a set of "General" screwdrivers that have been invaluable to me on digital cameras,their phillips heads are spot on,in fact their smallest bit is seldom used because I never find anything that needs it.I cannot remember where that I got them but they look like the WIHA line of tools.I am not a big fan of modifying a tool to "make it fit".
I will on occasion but I am hardly ever happy with the compromise.I do make tools on my lathe from time to time but generally buy anything that will see a lot of use.Ron G |
Mndean
Tinkerer
Username: Mndean
Post Number: 225
Registered: 08-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 24, 2010 - 08:36 am: |
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One thing I've found over the years is that I hate blackened screwdrivers (the Wihas are Torx wrenches, so don't count). It's hard enough to see the screws when working on a black lens or body, black bit screwdrivers make it more difficult for me to tell if I have the right one in there. My screwdrivers are some brand called Companion and I've had them so long I forgot where I bought them or what I paid for them. I lost them for awhile, which is how I came to have that hatred. |
Addison
Tinkerer
Username: Addison
Post Number: 1
Registered: 07-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 04, 2010 - 11:48 am: |
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RE:tools to open cameras & lenses
Micro-Tools has a variety of spanners and rubber-plug tools for this purpose.
hope this will help u.
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