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Which Hex driver?

Lee T

Lee T

pfm Member
I need to remove the bolt underneath my cd3.5 to remove the drawer (see pic, poor quality, sorry)

I need a high quality job because this bolt is held like a vice.

Any suggestions.

 
Worth owning a decent set of both metric and imperial allen keys as really you only get one go at something as tight as a Naim heatsink bolt! Use the wrong one and you’ll likely mash the head. The right one will be a very nice tight fit. Someone here likely knows the actual size anyway.
 
Has it really come to this?
The picture isn't even in focus

Sorry OP, I know I'm being unkind, but come on!
 
Looks like 3mm to me, +1 for a decent Allen key.

Its the friction between the countersunk head and the case, plus some fretting that makes them so hard to undo.

Pete
 
Wera make a scalloped allen key that engages tight into the points of the hex, they allow far greater torque to be applied.
 
bugbear said:
"ouch" on the price.

BugBear
Click to expand...

Nah, money well spent. They pay for themselves the first time they free a stubborn bolt that you'd otherwise have to drill out and extract. Or maybe your time is worth a lot less than mine :) What is it with pfm and penny-pinching anyway? Is it a competition?
 
Also, some useful ideas to the OP - a dab of WD40 that is allowed to flow into the thread and around the countersunk part *might* make things a bit easier, but don't make a mess with it and get it into the electronics. Other freeing agents are also available :) If you can remove all other fixings from the drawer part so that it's only fixed by this one bolt, try turning the drawer part back and forth, you can probably get more torque on this than on the piddly hex hole of the bolt and you might be able to free it up. This top tip works a dream on stubborn Naim NAPA / 250 reg board bolts, if you can get one bolt out then you can move the module back and forth and the other bolt can be freed no matter how stuck it is.
 
Ragaman said:
I need to remove the bolt underneath my cd3.5 to remove the drawer (see pic, poor quality, sorry)

I need a high quality job because this bolt is held like a vice.

Any suggestions.

Click to expand...
Could be the lack of focus, but it looks to be somewhat rounded in there already. Best to try one of those Hex-Plus keys, maybe add a box end wrench as extra leverage.
 
Don't use Magnusson/screwfix sh*t. You can get a decent set of Bahco allen keys for not a lot of money.
 
Had the same problem with heatsink hex head screws on a NAP250, the correct size regular L shaped allen key I had was a bit loose in the screw head so I bought a Snap-On 1/4" drive stubby hex bit which fit nice and tight and allowed enough torque without rounding the inside of the hex screw head..... because you definately don't wanna do that!!!!! The Snap-On bit was worth every penny.
Also I don't know about the CD3.5 specifically, but on my CDX there are 2 screws for the adjustment of the drawer hinge pillar, one you adjust to get the drawer fascia centered and level in the case hole - at this point the drawer assy hing pillar is still kinda loose, then you tighten the other screw to apply pressure onto the adjustment screw so the hinge pillar is held firmly and the drawer hinge pillar doesn't wobble around, IIRC one of them might even have been left hand thread, or was one screw Torx and other one hex, I can't remember now but there was something unusual.
 
I use the Bahco hex keys and a 6 inch alloy tube to get leverage. The tube was my first tonearm tube from my teens! (It wasn't very good)
The ability to hold the head firmly in place and apply steady but controlled pressure helps a lot.

John
 
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