TOPIC: Help with stripped or stuck blade retention screw

Hi, everybody.

I was showing my Consular to a friend the other day, and things seemed normal when I popped the plug out and tightened the retention screw down on to the blade, but it won't loosen now. I'm not sure if I tightened it down too much, stripped the head, or what.

I tried a suggestion to get some torx bits, but I'm not getting anywhere trying to remove it with a T-9.

Any suggestions, tricks, or other tools I can try? I would feel awfully silly sending it back to SF to fix, warranty or not, and I want to leave that as the last resort.

I've seen this from others before so the first question for you is... are you 100% positive that you're trying to loosen the retention screw and not the led screw? I've seen people get confused between them before so make sure of that first lol. Seems silly but silly is what will get you! Lol

Absolutely, 100% positively sure it's the retention screw - the LED screw is below the emitter and I was able to turn / tighten it without a problem.

I also have the same issue with my Prodigal Son saber. Any help would be extremely appreciated.

i had the same exact thing happen to me the best thing you can do is send it in to get it fixed, they did mine with no issues at all and it looks as if nothing was ever even done to it, the only iffy part is if your willing to put out the money to ship it yourself.

While this won't always work, if you can find one of those wide rubber bands, set that overtop then push the hex wrench in as normal and see if that helps. I've used this to loosen more than a few stripped screws of varying types.

Got nothing to lose by trying, and it shouldn't damage anything attempting this.

I know this is a necro of the orginal thread, but for people with the same issue in the future there are a few different ways you can approach this.

There is stuff called "screwgrab" which is basically a fluid with sharp bits of material suspended in it. A dab of that into the set screw (blade retaining screw) will help the hex wrench get traction on a rounded out recess as the material is sharp and hard enough to bite into whatever material is left. Fine valve grinding paste will also work at a pinch!

The second option would be an "easy out". Imagine a tapered screw with a left handed thread. Normally screws work to the principle of "righty tighty, lefty loosey". These work the other way around so you screw them into the recess of your stuck fastener and the ridges bite into the recess and give you a fighting chance of getting even a rounded out fastener out of its hole!

Plan C is to use chemical metal to fix the hex wrench into the hole of the blade screw, let it set and then try to wind it out.

Plan D would be to drill it out. Drill though the set screw just far enough to release the blade. Use a small drill the same size as the blade screw wrench so that only the middle of the set screw is removed. When the tension on the threads is relieved, try removing the set screw as normal (or even now with the blade removed you could turn it forward into where the blade was and remove it that way.

if NONE of those work, use a Number 29 drill and drill the whole set screw out, remove the blade, then do ONE of the following:

a) tap a 10/32 thread and use a 10/32 threaded set screw to retain your blade OR

b) find a second area of the emitter with sufficient metal to drill and tap a new 8/32 hole for a standard size blade screw OR

c) use a helicoil kit to tap out the now expanded hole and install a helicoil to return the hole so that it is back to its original size of 8/32 threads, but is now far stronger than the original tapped aluminium hole OR
"
d) if you are feeling REALLY adventurous drill out the hole to 11/64" diameter then ream it out to a few thousandths of an inch less than 3/16", get 3/16" diameter aluminium rod (or brass if you are feeling raunchy) and freeze it in the deep freezer (or with freeze spray plumbers use). Meanwhile, put your emitter piece into the oven and bake it to about 80 degrees Centrigrade (for Farenheit multiply by 9/5 and add 32). (You can leave it in boiling water for a couple of minutes, but then you need to dry it quickly while its hot). Put the cold rod through the hole in the hot emitter, let the temperature normalise to room temperature and the rod will have expanded into the hole, while the hole will have shrunk over the rod, 'plugging' it with fresh metal. then you can cut the bar off to whatever height of protrusion you want, then drill and tap through the centre for a standard 8/32 blade retention set screw. Bear in mind that you need to make sure you don't put the rod in so far that you block the blade, because once it is in there and the temperature has equalised, it isn't coming back out without a drill!

Edit: We use this freeze plug type application for some structural repair techniques and other manufacturing processes (like fitting replacement axel stubs to aircraft landing gear) but we use liquid nitrogen rather than freeze spray! The principle is the same though and will work for a saber repair. If you do this successfully with brass, you have now learned a technique that you will be able to use to do some really funky customisation work on your saber!

Hope this helps.