Been into a few fix and upgrades on some Engines and seems theres 3 sizes of screws on Aristos, but I cant buy any extras anywhere? Ideas? they are tiny…, Thanks ps, Im fairly new to this… go easy lol
call a few dealers: ART 29403 - misc screws assortment
Thanks!!
I have found many small screws in the laptops I scrap.
I removed all the screws on several and have found tham very useful, and these fit the Aristo 27 and 75 mhz transmitters perfectly.
It also helps to get a couple of JIS phillips drivers. Their tips fit the screws better.
Magnetized screwdrivers help some, too.
It’s the coarse, self-tapping ones that are different and unique to Aristo. The USAT ones are slightly different. It’s enough to make a difference in screws not holding or stripping out existing holes.
Greg
When I worked on aircraft, I had every single tool imaginable. (Well, almost every tool) LOL. In reality, these screws are confounding to me. Aristo-Craft does appear to utilize several sizes, but for the most part, replacing them requires an act of Congress. LOL Seriously though, they are replaceable. Just requires some research and patience. My chief complaint though is how easily stripped they become. Even when using a really nice well made screwdriver.
I sometimes use EzGrip, commercial grade - http://www.ezgrip.net/ - on stubborn ones. So far it has not attacked any of the materials that I have used it on. The bottle seems to last forever.
Mark,
Thanks for the link, neat stuff.
John
John:
I started using this when doing some woodworking with slotted-head brass screws. Its ability to virtually preventing the caming-out made me a believer.
Mark
If you Yankee fellas ever go for an Act of Congress about screwing, get those Phillips screws outlawed!
(As if that’s going to happen, sigh…)
,and switch to that miraculous Canadian invention, the amazing Robertson screw!
Seriously, folks, the Robertson screw makes the list of Canada’s top ten best things every year, usually right at or very near the top of the list!
OK, now that all those fine gentlemen have offered you some help I will add one other item. Go to Micro Mark on line and buy a screw checker for both SAE and Metric threads! Best investment I made, Why, because you can determine the correct size and typw of screw you will need. Then goto Microfasteners and buy a 100 of the little suckers, or Micro Mark and buy a few of them and invest in containers to keep them in.
Paul
It is too bad that the Phillips is so ubiquitous and works as designed (unfortunately). Heck our Congress can’t even get us to standardize on the metric system, what chance does a simple screw have?
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screwdriver#Blade_types
The rounded, tapered slots of the Phillips head were deliberately designed for the screwdriver to “cam out” (pop out) of the screw head recess under high torque on high-speed factory assembly lines.[6] This prevents stripping damage to the screw threads, at the expense of possible damage to the recess in the screw head. Modern torque-limiting power driver tools for professional use eliminate overtorquing damage much more reliably. Market inertia and ignorance of the design’s historical intent have led to widespread misapplication of Phillips head fasteners in applications where cam-out is not desirable
MicroFasteners is my goto company for hard to find screws of all kinds. Just recently, I needed some pan head self-tapping screws for the small brackets for my marker lamps on 1/8th scale caboose. These were #0 x 3/8" long. Just under .060" in diameter. MicroFasteners had them, in black oxide finish, for $5 per 100. I can use them for other items to be attached to my 1/8th rolling stock…grabirons and stirrup steps, also ladders for box cars and refrigerator cars.
The screws in these engines manufactured overseas are in a word, sucky. LOL
However, what really bothers me no end is when the plastic these screws go into becomes so worn from constant removal, that it seems as though you could turn them forever and they will never ever tighten up. Lock tight is out of the question, for obvious reasons. I once snapped a plastic post because I was stupid enough to use a form of lock tight for a screw that seemed like it would never tighten up. I learned me a lesson that day. Not railroad related, but really upsetting just the same.
Fasteners are a great idea. if only manufacturers would invest in that idea…
Stacy
Stacy:
I sometimes use Loctite 425 Assure low strength adhesive with success on plastics. I have both applied it to the threads before assembly and just to the head and surrounding area after assembly depending on the need. I have not (yet) had an issue with subsequent dis-assembly.
I find, in copier repair, that many folks don’t put self threading screws back in properly. When putting them back in, you need to turn them, slowly, counter clockwise, until you feel the screw threads drop into the threads already cut into the plastic. Then tighten the screw. that way you do not cut new threads into the plastic each time you put the screws in. Also, when the screw is tight, STOP. Giving that “extra” quarter turn will weaken the threads cut in the plastic.
If the screws are put back in properly, they should work after several dis-assembly/reassembly cycles. Doing it incorrectly will strip the holes in the plastic real quick.
I also put a bit of Armorall type stuff on the screw threads, lubes them a bit, but seems to keep the plastic from “wearing out” or fatiguing. Just snug the screws up, tighten even less since there is lower friction now.
Greg