JIM HOLSONBACK wrote in a message to ROY J. TELLASON:

 JH> Hi, Roy.  (About tamper-proof torx screws)
-=> ROY J. TELLASON wrote to PHIL MARLOWE <=-

 PM> Did anyone find a solution to removing that type of screww when
 PM> this was being discussed here?

 JH> In the earlier thread, BIR the main suggestion was to buy the torx
 JH> bit with the little hole in the tip to receive the pin.

These days I would probably be so inclined,  particularly as they seem to
be more available than they used to be.  I could be mistaken,  but I think
I even recall seeing them at Sears.

 JH> In some of the recent replies, folks have suggested some more 
 JH> alternatives. BIR, I've had a bit of success sometimes with taking 
 JH> a center punch and knocking the top of that pin down far enough 
 JH> that a standard Torx bit would fit down in there far enough to 
 JH> catch.

 RJT> I have only a vague recollection of this thread,  but if it comes down
 RJT> to it I'll buy some tools.  Or drill the buggers out...

 JH> Back in the earlier thread, I had written that I burned up a 
 JH> high-speed drill bit trying to drill some of those things out from
 JH> an IBM power supply.

IBM again.  That's where I last remember encountering those.

 JH> Those screw heads are made of _hard_ metal, and standard drill bit 
 JH> configuration doesn't do much cutting right in the center, where 
 JH> that pin is located.

Good point.

 JH> I probably had the drill press set at way too high RPM, and BIR 
 JH> about the time I noticed that the bit wasn't cutting anymore, I 
 JH> looked down and saw that the bit was now red hot.  :-(. Needless 
 JH> to say, when I saw that I was a bit torked.  (hee)

Heh.  Red hot?  I don't think I've ever gone quite that far...

Worst experience I had with drilling was in my car.  I noticed a little
leak around the thermostat area,  so I figured I'd put a new gasket on
there.  The one bolt came out easy enough,  but the other one snapped off. 
Dumb design,  instead of just having them poke into the intake they had it
in a little pocket,  where anything that got to the screw was gonna stay
there.  So I drilled into the middle of the bolt,  stuck an ez-out in
there,  and snapped *that* off.  Talk about some hard material?  I got
carbide bits,  all sorts of stuff,  and nothing I tried would work to get
that thing outta there.  I ended up going to a junkyard and getting another
intake manifold,  and putting that on there.

Next time I'll use a bigger one.  :-)

Just did an oil change on that car,  we're taking a little bit of a trip
this weekend.  Oh,  and "that van" was over here not too long
ago,  I somehow got talked into doing brakes on it.  Too bad I let people
know I knew how to do that...  Don't like doing it,  don't care to do it
any more!  Remember that van?

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