MetalworkingFun Forum

I have a 15" king planer with a spiral cutting head and I am in the process of turning the cutters BUT.....

I have stripped 4 torx bits already. Are these things not hardened? Where can I get one that does not strip/bend/twist. I have gotten many of them but still have more than 1/2 to go and no more bits. Before I go out and buy another piece of junk, what should I be getting?

Do these bits/tools come in some hardened models from someone?

schor, I haven't experienced your problem with torx screws but "King" makes me think of Asia and they are notorious for crummy fasteners. Have you tried getting quality replacement screws from someone like Spae-Naur?
Oh, BTW, what do you mean by "turning the cutters"?

(08-21-2014, 07:31 PM)stevec Wrote: [ -> ]schor, I haven't experienced your problem with torx screws but "King" makes me think of Asia and they are notorious for crummy fasteners. Have you tried getting quality replacement screws from someone like Spae-Naur?
Oh, BTW, what do you mean by "turning the cutters"?

It's a helical head with 4 sided cutters, you unscrew them, turn them 1/4 turn and tighten them down, instead of replacing complete blades. It's an indexed head if you want to think of it like that.

Wow! I see what you mean by poor torx screws ! The only thing I can think of is replacing them with better quality screws.
Try Spae-Naur they're just up the road from you (ha-ha) in Kitchener .
http://www.spaenaur.com/

It's hard to tell because of the damge to them, but is there any chance those screws would be Torx Plus screws? The difference between Torx and Torx Plus is that the Plus is a different shape. regular Torx sockets are a hexobular shape with a 15º pressure angle. Torx Plus is more like a spline drive with a 0º pressure angle.

See if you can post a close-up photo of an undamaged one. What size Torx wrench are you using, and have to tried the "next size up"? If it's a regular Torx shape such as T10, get a Wiha or Bondhus tool. If you think it may be T0IP (Torx Plus), try getting a T10IP wrench and test the fit.

Wow - I think you may have a tool with more inserts than Ken does!

Have you actually indexed these inserts previously or is this the first time you have tried to undo the fasteners? If it is the first time, they may have been glued in with Loctite or similar. Try applying some heat to a torx screw and see if that helps.

(08-21-2014, 09:44 PM)PixMan Wrote: [ -> ]It's hard to tell because of the damge to them, but is there any chance those screws would be Torx Plus screws? The difference between Torx and Torx Plus is that the Plus is a different shape. regular Torx sockets are a hexobular shape with a 15º pressure angle. Torx Plus is more like a spline drive with a 0º pressure angle.

See if you can post a close-up photo of an undamaged one. What size Torx wrench are you using, and have to tried the "next size up"? If it's a regular Torx shape such as T10, get a Wiha or Bondhus tool. If you think it may be T0IP (Torx Plus), try getting a T10IP wrench and test the fit.

I think you're right. Most Torx screws for inserts are different, although you can get away with using a standard driver if you are careful, at least I've been able to. Using the wrong size, easier than you may think in the smaller sizes, or using power tools will produce the results pictured. I only buy named brands normally like Wiha or Wera and I've had not problems.

They are not loctite'd and although a couple of the screws look a bit damaged I am having more of a problem with the torx bits getting stripped.

I found Lee Valley carries Wiha, I'll be picking some up today.

Ahhhh - stripping the actual tool, not the screw Sorry - I misunderstood you. So you have removed some of the screws? Buying a quality tool should help.

Ya, I have been able to get many of them loosened so far. Heading out now to get a good tool.