=== Roy J. Tellason wrote
 
---------------DISPOSABLE
---------------VCR
 
> Phil Marlowe wrote in a message to Mike Ross:
 
 MR> As for repairs, pretty soon they will do away
 MR> with access screws altogether.
 
 PM> I have a TV like that. The outer shell is held
 PM> on with plastic rivets -- the whole thing
 PM> supposedly disposable if anything goes wrong.
 
 RJT> They're doing that *now*?!  Jeez...!
 
 Yep, and it isn't even a -very- recent model.
 A few years old. I haven't tried to open it, since
 it's working okay, just noticed the rivets when I
 was originally setting it up. I thought the
 'tunnels' that lead to the access screws looked
 unusually wide, so I took a peek.
 
 While there are such things as plastic screws,
 these are smooth surfaced rivets. No slots or
 anything on the head of the rivet to get them off
 or out.
 
 Which reminds me of another problem: I vaguely
 remember a thread here on how to extract one of
 those screws with a star-shaped slot with a pin in
 the center. Not having seen one of those at the
 time, I didn't pay much attention. But I now have
 to deal with some of those screws on a kitchen
 mixer. However, can't get the buggers out. I've
 ruined at least a couple of small screwdrivers
 trying to break the center pin off. The screw must
 be made of -- what's that Superman element --
 kryptonite. Indestructible. The pin won't even bend.
 
 Absolutely no other reason I can see for adding
 that center pin except another d*** scheme to make
 stuff disposible.
 
 Did anyone find a solution to removing that type
 of screww when this was being discussed here?
 
 

--- Maximus/2 3.01