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Thread: Do you have to make your own tools or can you buy them?

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    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
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    Default Do you have to make your own tools or can you buy them?

    I have a couple of Sheaffer Lady type pens and somehow managed to get the nib unit out of one of them by using a small international sized cartridge.
    Inside the section there is a screw threaded nut below the cartridge piercer that has to be unscrewed in order to remove the nib and feed unit.

    Now it's out I know it needs a 4mm hex key or a T25 torx key, but hex keys don't come with holes in them that would work with the piercer. I've seen some torx keys that may or may not have "holes" in the "long arm" and have already bought a set that had to be returned because the holes either aren't there at all, or aren't deep enough because they are only "dimples."

    Does anyone know where to get a hex or torx key that's hollow and long enough for a section or maybe even a cap?
    (I'm also thinking of attempting to unscrew the torx screw in a Montblanc Boheme cap)

    I don't have a pillar drill so buying a random hex or torx key and drilling a hole through it would entail holding the drill by hand and fixing the key into a vice. Not easy to control drilling a strong 4mm key.

    Pentooling don't have any tools like this. Sheaffer must have done at some point. So who uses what and where did it come from?
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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    Senior Member FredRydr's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you have to make your own tools or can you buy them?

    In the USA, torx bits with the holes are often called security bits, because the torx screws are designed to be tamper-proof...or were until the tools became widely available! Search for "torx security" on Amazon. I never saw a hex security screw, but I see that a search for "hex security" also works.

    Last edited by FredRydr; August 17th, 2019 at 05:28 AM.

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    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you have to make your own tools or can you buy them?

    I've seen some of those on Amazon, but they are all from Hong Kong and have some reviews suggesting that the holes are small. I would like to ensure they will be exactly right for fountain pen repair jobs so I wouldn't have to return them all that way.
    Last edited by Chrissy; August 17th, 2019 at 09:43 PM.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you have to make your own tools or can you buy them?

    As of right now my OH has drilled a hex key with a hole wide enough and long enough to work in the Sheaffer Lady, but I'm aiming to buy a set of hollow torx keys (that is the latest search I have tried after "security" didn't get the right ones.)
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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