That tip about heating stuck screws changed everything for me last week

I was fighting a seized screw on a Ricoh XR-10 for almost 45 minutes. A old repair guy named Frank at the shop in Denver told me to hit it with a soldering iron for 10 seconds. I thought he was nuts because I was scared of melting plastic. Turns out the heat loosened the thread locker just enough and it came out smooth. Now I keep a cheap 30 watt iron just for this and it saves me at least 20 minutes per job. Anyone else use heat on stubborn camera screws or do you have another trick?

2 comments

2 Comments

sage_perry3d ago

Frank's trick with the soldering iron is solid but you gotta be careful with the plastic around the screw holes on older cameras. That stuff gets brittle over time. One thing nobody brought up is using a tiny butane torch instead of an iron if the screw is really stuck and you have some metal nearby to soak up the heat. I use one of those little creme brulee torches from the kitchen on the screw head itself for just a few seconds. Works way faster than waiting for an iron to heat up. Just don't let the flame touch any plastic or you will have a bad day.

anthony1272d ago

Gotta disagree with you on the torch. Had a buddy try that on a Nikon F2 and the heat spread too fast. Warped the metal plate around the screw. Soldering iron gives you way more control. You can touch it right to the screw head and nothing else gets hot.