The special screwdriver for opening compact Macs...

[MinerAl]

I know this isn't a revelation to the old timers, but new people get their first compact Mac every day, and they come to this forum for help, so:

The screws on the back of your compact Mac need a Torx #15 driver with at least a 6 inch (15cm) long shaft to get to the under-handle screws.

Unless you have a very complete tool-set, you will probably need to buy one. Stubby T15 bits in extenders tend not to work, because the extender is usually too big for the small inner-diameter wells the screws are at the bottom of under the handle on the top of the Mac.

You can get the long bit that's usually on eBay for $4.50+shipping, or you can walk in and get a screw-driver shaped one at Sears for $6.29 (prices at time of posting).

A vital (and cheap) addition to your Mac toolbox.

 

[commodorejohn]

The cheapest one I could find back when I first needed one had a 24" shank. So I now have a handy makeshift barbecue skewer as well as a useful tool

 

[uniserver]

here is what i use,

The handel pops open at the end concealing storage for (4) bits

I bought this at a dollar store for a dollar.

I think it was dollar tree.

the 12" bit extension was $3.49 at Lowes

the proper torx bit was included in the handle.

Its the same size torx, a-lot of auto manufactures use to hold in tail lights.

 

[gobabushka]

An old trick is also to jam the T15 bit into a BIC pen.

 

[TheMacGuy]

It's time I invest in one of those. I never put the 2 top screws back in Performa 200 or 512kE, although I still have them. It was a big enough pain getting them out, why put them back in? Now I will no reason not too.

Probably run down to Sears later.

 

[uniserver]

An old trick is also to jam the T15 bit into a BIC pen.

I Like knowing of tricks like this!

You never know, someday you might find your self in a pickle and will have to make do with what you have.

 

[waynestewart]

A couple decades or so ago when I first wanted to open a compact Mac I didn't have a long enough screwdriver so I used a dremel tool to cut a slot on the back of a torx bit and hot glued it to a long flat screwdriver. Not pretty but it worked well enough.

 

[markyb86]

MACgyver

 

[uniserver]

lol,

 

[redrouteone]

Heck I remember one time I had a set of really cheap dollar stores screw drivers. Took a bastard file to a flat head and it only took about 30 seconds to get something that would fit a T15 torx.

 

[TheMacGuy]

Went and bought the Craftsman and it worked like a champ. Put the screws back in the 512kE and going to with the P200. It is a little tuff to turn because it needs to get all the way to the front of the case, but does the job for $7.

Also, my local Sears Grand wanted $6.99. I guess only Sears.com had it on sale.

 

[James1095]

Back in the day I filed down the tip of a long flathead screwdriver so it fit the Torx screws. Once removed, I replaced them with ordinary Philips screws that were easier to find tools for.

Now I have a proper long Torx driver but they were not nearly as easy to find in the pre-internet days.

 

[Scott Baret]

I've had my Craftsman Professional T-15 long-shafter for a decade now and it's never let me down. Most Sears stores do seem to carry them (although it's getting tougher to find some Torx drivers a la carte anymore, namely the smaller ones with the green caps--which are perfect for working on newer laptops).

Another advantage to Craftsman is the lifetime warranty. One of my Torx drivers with a plastic handle and shaft (pretty sure it was a T7) cracked. I took it back to Sears and they swapped it for a new one, free of charge.

As a bonus--many of their products are still made in the USA.

It's one of those brands you just can't go wrong with, right up there with Nicholson files or Wiss shears. If only Stanley would bring some of their manufacturing back to the States!

 

[James1095]

I was disappointed a couple years ago to find that quite a lot of Craftsman hand tools are now made in China. If the name brand stuff is Chinese, I'll just buy the Chinese stuff at Harbor Freight for a fraction the price. I'll pay a premium for quality US made tools, but I won't pay more just to get the name. A lot of the generic stuff is junk, but some of it is pretty good.

 

[Byrd]

Once in a deal I received the proper long-handled Torx screwdriver which will remain with me until my death, however prior to this I had no issues using a long coathanger wire with one end hammered/filed off to a phillips head, a bend on the other end it worked perfectly opening any B&W Mac.

 

[TheMacGuy]

I was disappointed a couple years ago to find that quite a lot of Craftsman hand tools are now made in China.

I'm yet to see a Craftsman tool that says "Made in China". But if that is the case, Harbor makes some decent tools. I use one of their "General" branded screw driver sets to open up almost all my Macs.

 

[Brett B.]

I've been using a long flat blade screwdriver for years. The blade fits just right in the T15 screws. I think it's an 1/8" one.

RE Craftsman, blech. I love their wrenches, but most everything else is crap these days. Lifetime warranty is worthless if it keeps breaking - oh, and Harbor Freight has lifetime warranty on a lot of their stuff, as does pretty much anywhere else.

 

[MinerAl]

Some amazon possibilities:

http://www.amazon.com/Xcelite-XTD15XL-Chromium-Vanadium-Screwdriver/dp/B004UN93J2

http://www.amazon.com/GearWrench-80086-Material-Screwdriver-18-Inch/dp/B001M0O17A

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002T5O5LO

http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-TX15601-Torx-T15-6-Inch/dp/B003VNKOAE

 

[James1095]

I'm yet to see a Craftsman tool that says "Made in China". But if that is the case, Harbor makes some decent tools. I use one of their "General" branded screw driver sets to open up almost all my Macs.

Have you been to Sears recently? Last time I went was a couple of years ago, but a good number of wrenches were stamped China. A friend of mine noticed recently that even one of the Snapon tools he has was made in China, and the fit & finish is noticeably inferior to the older US-made one.