Phillips screw security bit?

[Michael A. Terrell]

"M.Joshi" wrote:

You didn't mnetion what a Kill-A-Watt P4460 is in your original post.
For the benefit of others, I did a search online. It's an electricity
power meter to display how much energy you are using.

The maximum power of an appliance plugged should not exceed 1875 VA.

What did you have plugged in and how much power does it require?

The Torx bit with a hole in the centre is commonly found in modern
security bit sets. You should be able to find one in your local
hardware store/supermarket. Otherwise, you'll find one on Ebay.

Hell, just go to Harbor Freight for security bits. A lot cheaper
than a radware store, or Ebay + Shipping. They even have the small
sizes needed for hard drives.

--
Politicians should only get paid if the budget is balanced, and there is
enough left over to pay them.

 

[Wild_Bill]

Well, now you've had a look inside the unit, at least.

There are quite a few newer styles of fasteners that are generally only in
specialized sets, not usually found in local store hardware departments.

When trying to find some of them a while ago, I came across a driver
style/type referred to as tri-wing.. looks like phillips head at a glance,
but only 3 "wings".

There are tri- and quad- (looks even more like a phillips) types too, and
the peculiar characteristic is that the wings don't converge in the center,
the way phillips and pozi-drive recesses do.

There are also some tri- types that have a plain center with 3 radial
notches, but I don't know what they're commonly called.
The 2-notch types aren't much of a challenge, and either of these types may
not require the specific driver, if one can exercise a little persistence.

I picked up a couple stes of security drivers at a hamfest about 2 years
ago, that have the 1/4" hex "bits" in a rubbery holder for about $7. Cheap
Chinese-made drivers, but effective.

The Torx security fasteners with a pin in the center are fairly old.. I
first noticed them on a 1980 El Dorado, securing the frontend sheetmetal.

When these newer types of fasteners are installed in deeply recessed holes,
they can be a little stubborn, but they're just screwed into plastic, so
more of an annoyance than a problem.

Fasteners that have a low spot in the center of the head can often be
removed with a low speed left handed twist drill, and there are now some
driver "bits" that are ground just like a LH drill point, marketed
especially for removing stripped-out phillips screw heads.

I encountered a plastic case a few years ago that appeared to have 3
phillips screws and a fourth fastener that had a plain flat, round head, and
they were in deep recesses.
I managed to pierce the plain, flat part with a sharp tool point, and it
turned out to be a thin, small, plated brass cap that was pushed into the
hole, on top of the plain phillips screw. It came out fairly easily with a
dental pick.

Searching for triwing or tri-wing screwdrivers or driver bits will likely
turn up numerous sources for tool sets of the newer, somewhat peculiar
fasteners, for future encounters.

--
Cheers,
WB
..............


"David Farber" <farberbear.unspam@aol.com> wrote in message
news:i9i65d$898$1@news.eternal-september.org...

I'm trying to disassemble a Kill-A-Watt P4460. A device that was plugged
into it had some electrical problem and caused the circuit breaker in my
house to trip. When I removed the Kill-A-Watt from the ac outlet, the
ground pin had a nice burn mark on it and now the display is dead. There
are three Phillips screws on the back of the unit but one of them appears
to have one of those raised points in the center of it which prevent you
from putting in a regular bit. I cannot find any security tool in my
collection that fits this type of screw. I'm not even sure what to search
for online. The screw looks like a torx bit but it only has four notches.
Any idea what tool fits this?

Thanks for your reply.
--
David Farber
Los Osos, CA

 

[David Nebenzahl]

On 10/18/2010 7:53 PM Michael A. Terrell spake thus:

"M.Joshi" wrote:

You didn't mnetion what a Kill-A-Watt P4460 is in your original post.
For the benefit of others, I did a search online. It's an electricity
power meter to display how much energy you are using.

The maximum power of an appliance plugged should not exceed 1875 VA.

What did you have plugged in and how much power does it require?

The Torx bit with a hole in the centre is commonly found in modern
security bit sets. You should be able to find one in your local
hardware store/supermarket. Otherwise, you'll find one on Ebay.

Hell, just go to Harbor Freight for security bits. A lot cheaper
than a radware store, or Ebay + Shipping. They even have the small
sizes needed for hard drives.

Yep. I've got that set. Got it right here in front of me, ackshooly.
It's got, lessee, 32 bits: Torx-with-a-hole-in-the-middle,
hex-with-a-hole-in-the-middle, tri-wing, "spanner"-type slotted, and
some weird offset 4-wing bits.

Of course, even with that many bits there are some "security" fasteners
these won't fit. But it's a very good start, and cheap, too.


--
The fashion in killing has an insouciant, flirty style this spring,
with the flaunting of well-defined muscle, wrapped in flags.

- Comment from an article on Antiwar.com (http://antiwar.com)

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

David Nebenzahl wrote:

On 10/18/2010 7:53 PM Michael A. Terrell spake thus:

"M.Joshi" wrote:

You didn't mnetion what a Kill-A-Watt P4460 is in your original post.
For the benefit of others, I did a search online. It's an electricity
power meter to display how much energy you are using.

The maximum power of an appliance plugged should not exceed 1875 VA.

What did you have plugged in and how much power does it require?

The Torx bit with a hole in the centre is commonly found in modern
security bit sets. You should be able to find one in your local
hardware store/supermarket. Otherwise, you'll find one on Ebay.

Hell, just go to Harbor Freight for security bits. A lot cheaper
than a radware store, or Ebay + Shipping. They even have the small
sizes needed for hard drives.

Yep. I've got that set. Got it right here in front of me, ackshooly.
It's got, lessee, 32 bits: Torx-with-a-hole-in-the-middle,
hex-with-a-hole-in-the-middle, tri-wing, "spanner"-type slotted, and
some weird offset 4-wing bits.

Of course, even with that many bits there are some "security" fasteners
these won't fit. But it's a very good start, and cheap, too.

That is only one of many sets of security bits they sell.


There is a set of 100 (with some duplicates) bits:

<http://www.harborfreight.com/100-piece-security-bit-set-91310.html>


A set of 32 (+ extension) in the soft plastic skin:

<http://www.harborfreight.com/33-piece-security-bit-set-93388.html>


A set of 32 longer security bits

<http://www.harborfreight.com/32-piece-3-inch-long-reach-security-bit-set-95680.html>


And a set of six from T-5 to T-9:

<http://www.harborfreight.com/6-piece-star-bit-set-93316.html>


A screwdriver with T-3, T-4, T-5, T-6, T-7, T-8, T-9 and T-10 bits.

<http://www.harborfreight.com/9-piece-precision-star-bit-pocket-screwdriver-66472.html>


They also have sets for automotive work:

<http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?category=&q=star+bit>


Including some 'e' sockets for external torx screws:

http://www.harborfreight.com/16-piece-star-e-socket-and-bit-set-36562.html


--
Politicians should only get paid if the budget is balanced, and there is
enough left over to pay them.

 

On Mon, 18 Oct 2010 12:09:59 -0700, "David Farber"
<farberbear.unspam@aol.com> wrote:

I'm trying to disassemble a Kill-A-Watt P4460. A device that was plugged
into it had some electrical problem and caused the circuit breaker in my
house to trip. When I removed the Kill-A-Watt from the ac outlet, the ground
pin had a nice burn mark on it and now the display is dead. There are three
Phillips screws on the back of the unit but one of them appears to have one
of those raised points in the center of it which prevent you from putting in
a regular bit. I cannot find any security tool in my collection that fits
this type of screw. I'm not even sure what to search for online. The screw
looks like a torx bit but it only has four notches. Any idea what tool fits
this?

Thanks for your reply.
The tool is called a Phillips Security Bit. They aren't uncommon.

I've seen them at swap meets, ham fests, and are available on eBay.

PlainBill

 

[AZ Nomad]

On Mon, 18 Oct 2010 12:09:59 -0700, David Farber <farberbear.unspam@aol.com> wrote:

I'm trying to disassemble a Kill-A-Watt P4460. A device that was plugged
into it had some electrical problem and caused the circuit breaker in my
house to trip. When I removed the Kill-A-Watt from the ac outlet, the ground
pin had a nice burn mark on it and now the display is dead. There are three
Phillips screws on the back of the unit but one of them appears to have one
of those raised points in the center of it which prevent you from putting in
a regular bit. I cannot find any security tool in my collection that fits
this type of screw. I'm not even sure what to search for online. The screw
looks like a torx bit but it only has four notches. Any idea what tool fits
this?

trashcan

 

[Allodoxaphobia]

On Tue, 19 Oct 2010 09:28:28 -0700, PlainBill47@yawho.com wrote:

On Mon, 18 Oct 2010 12:09:59 -0700, "David Farber"
farberbear.unspam@aol.com> wrote:

I'm trying to disassemble a Kill-A-Watt P4460. A device that was plugged
into it had some electrical problem and caused the circuit breaker in my
house to trip. When I removed the Kill-A-Watt from the ac outlet, the ground
pin had a nice burn mark on it and now the display is dead. There are three
Phillips screws on the back of the unit but one of them appears to have one
of those raised points in the center of it which prevent you from putting in
a regular bit. I cannot find any security tool in my collection that fits
this type of screw. I'm not even sure what to search for online. The screw
looks like a torx bit but it only has four notches. Any idea what tool fits
this?

Thanks for your reply.
The tool is called a Phillips Security Bit. They aren't uncommon.
I've seen them at swap meets, ham fests, and are available on eBay.

Harbor Freight sells a small rubber block holding 32 bits for all manner
of styles and sizes of such weird drivers. Use'em in a 1/4" hex nut
driver (or, 1/2" power drill....) All Made in Chia -- but you can't
avoid that easily now-a-days.

Jonesy
--
Marvin L Jones | jonz | W3DHJ | linux
38.24N 104.55W | @ config.com | Jonesy | OS/2
* Killfiling google & XXXXbanter.com: jonz.net/ng.htm

 

[David Nebenzahl]

On 10/19/2010 4:07 PM Allodoxaphobia spake thus:

On Tue, 19 Oct 2010 09:28:28 -0700, PlainBill47@yawho.com wrote:

On Mon, 18 Oct 2010 12:09:59 -0700, "David Farber"
farberbear.unspam@aol.com> wrote:

I'm trying to disassemble a Kill-A-Watt P4460. A device that was
plugged into it had some electrical problem and caused the
circuit breaker in my house to trip. When I removed the
Kill-A-Watt from the ac outlet, the ground pin had a nice burn
mark on it and now the display is dead. There are three Phillips
screws on the back of the unit but one of them appears to have
one of those raised points in the center of it which prevent you
from putting in a regular bit. I cannot find any security tool in
my collection that fits this type of screw. I'm not even sure
what to search for online. The screw looks like a torx bit but it
only has four notches. Any idea what tool fits this?

The tool is called a Phillips Security Bit. They aren't uncommon.
I've seen them at swap meets, ham fests, and are available on eBay.

Harbor Freight sells a small rubber block holding 32 bits for all
manner of styles and sizes of such weird drivers. Use'em in a 1/4"
hex nut driver (or, 1/2" power drill....) All Made in Chia -- but
you can't avoid that easily now-a-days.

I have that set, as I mentioned elsewhere in this thread, but it doesn't
have the bit the O.P. needs (Phillips-with-a-hole-in-the-middle). It
does, however, have some other interesting "security" bits, and as
Michael Terrell pointed out, HF sells other security bit sets that may
have it. The quality is very good, BTW.

But any decent hardware store will probably have the needed bit. (*Not*
the big orange store.)


--
The fashion in killing has an insouciant, flirty style this spring,
with the flaunting of well-defined muscle, wrapped in flags.

- Comment from an article on Antiwar.com (http://antiwar.com)

 

[Allodoxaphobia]

On 19 Oct 2010 23:07:23 GMT, Allodoxaphobia wrote:

... All Made in Chia -- but you can't avoid that easily now-a-days.

My apologies to the makers of the Chia Pet -- which I did not mean
to denigrate. (But, it's probably made in China now, too...)

Jonesy

 

[N_Cook]

David Nebenzahl <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote in message
news:4cbe33a3$0$2451$822641b3@news.adtechcomputers.com...

On 10/19/2010 4:07 PM Allodoxaphobia spake thus:

On Tue, 19 Oct 2010 09:28:28 -0700, PlainBill47@yawho.com wrote:

On Mon, 18 Oct 2010 12:09:59 -0700, "David Farber"
farberbear.unspam@aol.com> wrote:

I'm trying to disassemble a Kill-A-Watt P4460. A device that was
plugged into it had some electrical problem and caused the
circuit breaker in my house to trip. When I removed the
Kill-A-Watt from the ac outlet, the ground pin had a nice burn
mark on it and now the display is dead. There are three Phillips
screws on the back of the unit but one of them appears to have
one of those raised points in the center of it which prevent you
from putting in a regular bit. I cannot find any security tool in
my collection that fits this type of screw. I'm not even sure
what to search for online. The screw looks like a torx bit but it
only has four notches. Any idea what tool fits this?

The tool is called a Phillips Security Bit. They aren't uncommon.
I've seen them at swap meets, ham fests, and are available on eBay.

Harbor Freight sells a small rubber block holding 32 bits for all
manner of styles and sizes of such weird drivers. Use'em in a 1/4"
hex nut driver (or, 1/2" power drill....) All Made in Chia -- but
you can't avoid that easily now-a-days.

I have that set, as I mentioned elsewhere in this thread, but it doesn't
have the bit the O.P. needs (Phillips-with-a-hole-in-the-middle). It
does, however, have some other interesting "security" bits, and as
Michael Terrell pointed out, HF sells other security bit sets that may
have it. The quality is very good, BTW.

But any decent hardware store will probably have the needed bit. (*Not*
the big orange store.)


--
The fashion in killing has an insouciant, flirty style this spring,
with the flaunting of well-defined muscle, wrapped in flags.

- Comment from an article on Antiwar.com (http://antiwar.com)

Has anyone mentioned cracking off the pip with a bit of ground down
toolsteel hammered punch-fashion in the head of the screws? Sometimes even
the shortened shaft of a pop-rivet (universal meaning?). I watched a "how do
they do it" on Peterbild ? USA truck maker and they called them Hucker bolts
?

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

N_Cook wrote:

Has anyone mentioned cracking off the pip with a bit of ground down
toolsteel hammered punch-fashion in the head of the screws?

That can damage some equipment. The Kill-A-Watt P4460 is in a small
plastic case.

Sometimes even
the shortened shaft of a pop-rivet (universal meaning?). I watched a "how do
they do it" on Peterbild ? USA truck maker and they called them Hucker bolts
?

Old truck driver's joke:

Old truckers never die. They just get a new PETERBILT


http://www.peterbilt.com/history.aspx


--
Politicians should only get paid if the budget is balanced, and there is
enough left over to pay them.

 

[N_Cook]

Michael A. Terrell <mike.terrell@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:beudncu4sJGrnSLRnZ2dnUVZ_u-dnZ2d@earthlink.com...

N_Cook wrote:

Has anyone mentioned cracking off the pip with a bit of ground down
toolsteel hammered punch-fashion in the head of the screws?


That can damage some equipment. The Kill-A-Watt P4460 is in a small
plastic case.


Sometimes even
the shortened shaft of a pop-rivet (universal meaning?). I watched a
"how do
they do it" on Peterbild ? USA truck maker and they called them Hucker
bolts
?


Old truck driver's joke:

Old truckers never die. They just get a new PETERBILT


http://www.peterbilt.com/history.aspx


--
Politicians should only get paid if the budget is balanced, and there is
enough left over to pay them.

so those blind rivets are Huck bolts

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

N_Cook wrote:

Michael A. Terrell <mike.terrell@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:beudncu4sJGrnSLRnZ2dnUVZ_u-dnZ2d@earthlink.com...

N_Cook wrote:

Has anyone mentioned cracking off the pip with a bit of ground down
toolsteel hammered punch-fashion in the head of the screws?


That can damage some equipment. The Kill-A-Watt P4460 is in a small
plastic case.


Sometimes even
the shortened shaft of a pop-rivet (universal meaning?). I watched a
"how do
they do it" on Peterbild ? USA truck maker and they called them Hucker
bolts
?


Old truck driver's joke:

Old truckers never die. They just get a new PETERBILT


http://www.peterbilt.com/history.aspx


--
Politicians should only get paid if the budget is balanced, and there is
enough left over to pay them.

so those blind rivets are Huck bolts

I've never heard that term before today.


--
Politicians should only get paid if the budget is balanced, and there is
enough left over to pay them.

 

[David Nebenzahl]

On 10/20/2010 8:39 AM N_Cook spake thus:

Michael A. Terrell <mike.terrell@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:beudncu4sJGrnSLRnZ2dnUVZ_u-dnZ2d@earthlink.com...

Old truck driver's joke:

Old truckers never die. They just get a new PETERBILT

http://www.peterbilt.com/history.aspx

so those blind rivets are Huck bolts

1. How can a rivet be a bolt?

2. That joke apparently flew right over your head.


--
The fashion in killing has an insouciant, flirty style this spring,
with the flaunting of well-defined muscle, wrapped in flags.

- Comment from an article on Antiwar.com (http://antiwar.com)

 

[AZ Nomad]

On Mon, 18 Oct 2010 15:42:40 -0400, Rich Webb <bbew.ar@mapson.nozirev.ten> wrote:

On Mon, 18 Oct 2010 12:09:59 -0700, "David Farber"
farberbear.unspam@aol.com> wrote:

I'm trying to disassemble a Kill-A-Watt P4460. A device that was plugged
into it had some electrical problem and caused the circuit breaker in my
house to trip. When I removed the Kill-A-Watt from the ac outlet, the ground
pin had a nice burn mark on it and now the display is dead. There are three
Phillips screws on the back of the unit but one of them appears to have one
of those raised points in the center of it which prevent you from putting in
a regular bit. I cannot find any security tool in my collection that fits
this type of screw. I'm not even sure what to search for online. The screw
looks like a torx bit but it only has four notches. Any idea what tool fits
this?

Hmmm. Just checked the back of the 4460 here and all three screw heads
are Philips. It's a few years old, though, so maybe their lawyers got
involved or something.

Regardless, I wonder if a "spanner security bit" would work here? It's
shaped rather like a regular flat-bladed screwdriver but with a notch in
the center. You could probably make one by sizing a small flatblade with
one of the other screws and grinding a notch in the center.

For a device like the kill-o-watt, just grab the screws with a sharp pair of
diagonal cutters and turn. Then use needlenose pliars to finish turning the
screws out. That POS isn't worth a $5 tool investment.

Or are they recessed? Tapping a sharp standard screwdriver with a hammer till it
bites would do the trick.

 

[Jamie]

AZ Nomad wrote:

On Mon, 18 Oct 2010 15:42:40 -0400, Rich Webb <bbew.ar@mapson.nozirev.ten> wrote:

On Mon, 18 Oct 2010 12:09:59 -0700, "David Farber"
farberbear.unspam@aol.com> wrote:


I'm trying to disassemble a Kill-A-Watt P4460. A device that was plugged
into it had some electrical problem and caused the circuit breaker in my
house to trip. When I removed the Kill-A-Watt from the ac outlet, the ground
pin had a nice burn mark on it and now the display is dead. There are three
Phillips screws on the back of the unit but one of them appears to have one
of those raised points in the center of it which prevent you from putting in
a regular bit. I cannot find any security tool in my collection that fits
this type of screw. I'm not even sure what to search for online. The screw
looks like a torx bit but it only has four notches. Any idea what tool fits
this?


Hmmm. Just checked the back of the 4460 here and all three screw heads
are Philips. It's a few years old, though, so maybe their lawyers got
involved or something.


Regardless, I wonder if a "spanner security bit" would work here? It's
shaped rather like a regular flat-bladed screwdriver but with a notch in
the center. You could probably make one by sizing a small flatblade with
one of the other screws and grinding a notch in the center.


For a device like the kill-o-watt, just grab the screws with a sharp pair of
diagonal cutters and turn. Then use needlenose pliars to finish turning the
screws out. That POS isn't worth a $5 tool investment.

Or are they recessed? Tapping a sharp standard screwdriver with a hammer till it
bites would do the trick.
Or, you can go to a place like Harborfrieght and get a large set for

cheap which has that fork tungue bit in it of various sizes..

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?category=&q=security+bits