gasket999
getting there...
- Messages
- 354
- Location
- Manchester, UK
Bit of an odd one, but I need to make a new tool and hoping for some advice.
I do a lot of scuba diving and one of the bits of equipment I use is an aluminium backplate that you bolt onto the wing (the inflating bit) and carry on your back to control your buoyancy underwater.
Due to the shape of the kit, the standard, low profile, fasteners used are known as bookscrews and they always have a very wide slotted head on each side. The slot is typically about 15mm long x 2mm wide.
I'm forever marring the screws as they're tightened quite frequently and I can't find a screwdriver bit wide enough.
Up to now I've been using my Snap On Marine Drain plug screwdrivers which have a 13mm (1/2") x 2mm tip and do the job well. But they weight a tonne are a bit valuable to leave sitting around and I can't take them in hand luggage.
So I thought I'd make a pair of little drivers (there's a slotted head on both sides of the fastener - like a "sex-bolt") that I can put in my dive bag - I'm thinking something like the tools used for chainrings on a bicycle:
I can't just modify a chainring tool as they're usually only about 1.25mm thick and 10mm wide. But I do have a Stakesys metal folder for my vice so should be able to bend up a bit of steel.
It'll never see the same torque as a normal screwdriver (the fasteners are stainless and are just nipped up) but if I'm doing the job right I was wondering what would be the right type of steel to use? I'd ideally like to be able to fold it and still be left with a strong tip - I'm open to some form of heat treatment provided I can do it at home (have mapp gas, an IR thermometer and a domestic oven). I'd be looking for a type of steel that I could get in small quantities off ebay and that is available in approx 2mm thickness.
Any tips?
I do a lot of scuba diving and one of the bits of equipment I use is an aluminium backplate that you bolt onto the wing (the inflating bit) and carry on your back to control your buoyancy underwater.
Due to the shape of the kit, the standard, low profile, fasteners used are known as bookscrews and they always have a very wide slotted head on each side. The slot is typically about 15mm long x 2mm wide.
I'm forever marring the screws as they're tightened quite frequently and I can't find a screwdriver bit wide enough.
Up to now I've been using my Snap On Marine Drain plug screwdrivers which have a 13mm (1/2") x 2mm tip and do the job well. But they weight a tonne are a bit valuable to leave sitting around and I can't take them in hand luggage.
So I thought I'd make a pair of little drivers (there's a slotted head on both sides of the fastener - like a "sex-bolt") that I can put in my dive bag - I'm thinking something like the tools used for chainrings on a bicycle:
I can't just modify a chainring tool as they're usually only about 1.25mm thick and 10mm wide. But I do have a Stakesys metal folder for my vice so should be able to bend up a bit of steel.
It'll never see the same torque as a normal screwdriver (the fasteners are stainless and are just nipped up) but if I'm doing the job right I was wondering what would be the right type of steel to use? I'd ideally like to be able to fold it and still be left with a strong tip - I'm open to some form of heat treatment provided I can do it at home (have mapp gas, an IR thermometer and a domestic oven). I'd be looking for a type of steel that I could get in small quantities off ebay and that is available in approx 2mm thickness.
Any tips?