Impossible Screw

Looking at a zoomed-in section of the photo around the screw, it is a Torx screw, not a hex (Allen) screw. Looks like a round-head screw, and the resolution of the image is poor enough so I can't tell whether there is a security pin in the center, or that is just a reflection off the shiny metal at the bottom of the Torx socket.

Look at the shape of the socket -- it is kind of like a six-tooth gear, not a flat-sided hex like an Allen socket.

Get a set of security Torx screwdriver bits, and you are fine. One of them should fit, whether it is a security screw or not. Just be a little weaker than a non-security bit of the same size.

Probably somewhere between a T-8 and a T-20 Torx socket. (Hard to judge the size as there is nothing near enough to use as a reference.

As for fancy putty versions to get a look at it -- just go to a toy store and get some sili-putty, and stick some of it onto the end of a wood dowel to shove it down there and get an impression. It won't be strong enough to measure (with your packed-away calipers), but it will be something to look at with a magnifying glass to see what the shape is.

Enjoy, DoN.

Looks like a Torx Security that has a hole in them that allows the 'shaft' from the head to push up into. If a hole, (and it isn't ) then there isn't security - any Torx works.

I got my security set from MSCdirect - but I see smaller kits in Automotive and even Home Depot. Bathrooms have them also...

Mart> >

Harbor Freight has a nice kit, too. I've been off the group for almost two months, but I finally made it back.

e:

I do have such a tool:

But none of the bits would work. The range of sizes are as follows: T7, T8, T9, T10, T15, T20, T25, T27, T30, & T40

So I picked up a long screw drive and went to work on my grinder I made a t ool that managed to get the screw out. Not because I was able to grind it d own to the proper size, but because I basically made two pointy prongs and used it to dig into the head of the screw so I could turn it.

Now that it is out it seems that T25 or T27 fit the head. (Go figure).

Now I have an even bigger problem. I can't figure out the trick to getting the TV case open. (Sigh).

Darren Harris Staten Island, New York.

There are tabs along the edges to keep the seams together. You have to find and release them by sliding a thin screwdriver, or old credit card alone the seams. They make tools for the job, but the only place I know to get them is on Ebay, from Asian sellers. It took over a month to get the ones I bought.

That is not the problem.

The TV itself is car shaped.

I can get the sides disconnected slightly without those tools you mentioned:

But I need to get the case open to repair that rear connection that was broken off and deep inside(where the wheels are located) the TV's sides remain secured:

I managed to get a screw out of each rear wheel, but the second screw in the inside of each of those wheels(near the bottom) is blocked by the case itself:

So there is no way to get to them.

Darren Harris Staten Island, New York.