23 Sep
2013
23 Sep
'13
4:19 p.m.
Does anyone here have any clue where I can find 6-32 1/4" screws with torx
heads of the sort one would use to secure hard drives? The only source I
know is scrouging HP stuff and I'd really like a better source than that.
Philips screws annoy me to no end..
--
David Griffith
dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu
23 Sep
23 Sep
5:24 p.m.
On Mon, Sep 23, 2013 at 01:19:43PM -0700, David Griffith wrote:
Does anyone here have any clue where I can find 6-32
1/4" screws with
torx heads of the sort one would use to secure hard drives? The only
source I know is scrouging HP stuff and I'd really like a better
source than that. Philips screws annoy me to no end..
eBay -- unless it's against your religion. Lots to choose from.
John Wilson
D Bit
5:40 p.m.
On Sep 23, 2013, at 16:19, David Griffith <dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu> wrote:
Does anyone here have any clue where I can find 6-32 1/4" screws with torx heads of
the sort one would use to secure hard drives? The only source I know is scrouging HP
stuff and I'd really like a better source than that. Philips screws annoy me to no
end..
In the US, McMaster-Carr comes to mind for that sort of thing.
- Dave
7:11 p.m.
On Monday, September 23, 2013 at 13:19, David Griffith wrote:
Does anyone here have any clue where I can find 6-32
1/4" screws with
torx heads of the sort one would use to secure hard drives?
McMaster-Carr:
http://www.mcmaster.com/
-- Dave
7:50 p.m.
On 9/23/13 3:19 PM, David Griffith wrote:
Does anyone here have any clue where I can find 6-32 1/4" screws with
torx heads of the sort one would use to secure hard drives? The only
source I know is scrouging HP stuff and I'd really like a better
source than that. Philips screws annoy me to no end..
www.fastenal.com
Doc
10:43 p.m.
On Mon, 23 Sep 2013, David Griffith wrote:
Does anyone here have any clue where I can find 6-32
1/4" screws with
torx heads of the sort one would use to secure hard drives? The only
source I know is scrouging HP stuff and I'd really like a better source
than that. Philips screws annoy me to no end..
What shape head and what type of steel? The combo T15+slotted (and other
T15) 6-32 screws that Compaq (now HP) once used for their drives which had
a "cheese head" were custom made. Compaq also used an assortment of T15
and T10 6-32 "button head" screws for securing drives, including some with
conical or star type lock washers. Generally most of Compaq's screws were
zinc plated steel, but sometimes you would see type 304 (18-8) stainless
steel screws as well. You generally want to avoid using stainless with
aluminum though (such as with hard drives or the older cast-aluminum frame
floppy drives) since stainless steel and aluminum are dissimilar and the
stainless could cause the aluminum to corrode.
I don't have a source for those custom T15 cheese head screws, and if you
find a source for them in bulk, I'm looking for both the 6-32 and M3x0.5
sizes myself.
If you just need a few button head screws for a project, I can probably
help you out. If you need a lot of them, I'd say look on eBay since
McMaster-Carr's prices for button head screws is /extremely/ high. I
bought some stainless steel button head 6-32 screws (I think they are T10)
~6 months ago but I already had a small package of 6-32 button head in
zinc plated steel.
24 Sep
24 Sep
9:02 a.m.
On Sep 23, 2013, at 10:43 PM, Tothwolf <tothwolf at concentric.net> wrote:
On Mon, 23 Sep 2013, David Griffith wrote:
On the other hand, if you don't need the cheese or button heads,
McMaster has T15 6-32x1/4" pan head screws for 6.22 per 100,
which doesn't seem like a terrible price to me. Aside from some
visual finish, what's the advantage of a button/cheese head?
- Dave
Does anyone here have any clue where I can find
6-32 1/4" screws with torx heads of the sort one would use to secure hard drives?
The only source I know is scrouging HP stuff and I'd really like a better source than
that. Philips screws annoy me to no end..
I don't have a source for those custom T15 cheese head screws, and if you find a
source for them in bulk, I'm looking for both the 6-32 and M3x0.5 sizes myself.
If you just need a few button head screws for a project, I can probably help you out. If
you need a lot of them, I'd say look on eBay since McMaster-Carr's prices for
button head screws is /extremely/ high. I bought some stainless steel button head 6-32
screws (I think they are T10) ~6 months ago but I already had a small package of 6-32
button head in zinc plated steel. 
12:39 p.m.
On 09/24/2013 06:02 AM, David Riley wrote:
On the other hand, if you don't need the cheese or
button heads,
McMaster has T15 6-32x1/4" pan head screws for 6.22 per 100,
which doesn't seem like a terrible price to me. Aside from some
visual finish, what's the advantage of a button/cheese head?
If you're working on a piece of older Compaq gear, the cheese head is
part of the slide-in mounting system for the disk drives. That is, the
cheese head forms the protrusion that slides in the groove of a plastic
guide.
That being said, ordinary slotted cheese-head 6-32 screws will work
fine--the only thing lost is the Torx feature.
HP also used some Torx-washer-head screws on some of its hard drive
mounting kits.
--Chuck
2:47 p.m.
On Tue, 24 Sep 2013, Chuck Guzis wrote:
On 09/24/2013 06:02 AM, David Riley wrote:
Exactly. The older gear has a metal frame though, and only the later
systems starting sometime around the Deskpro EN line or so used those
plastic retaining brackets. The Socket-7 Pentium based Deskpro 2000 and
4000 used these screws, as did the PII based Deskpro 6000, all of which
had the drives slide directly into the metal chassis. The original Deskpro
8086 and 286 have their drives mounted directly to the chassis, and the
later Deskpro 286, 386 and 486 use Compaq-specific metal drive slides.
All of these computers also used cheese head screws for assembling the
chassis and mounting components such as the motherboard. Compaq used these
torx fasteners because they wouldn't cam out like phillips head screws
when used with the torque limiting pneumatic and electric screwdrivers
they used in the assembly plant.
On the other hand, if you don't need the
cheese or button heads,
McMaster has T15 6-32x1/4" pan head screws for 6.22 per 100, which
doesn't seem like a terrible price to me. Aside from some visual
finish, what's the advantage of a button/cheese head?
If you're working on a piece of older Compaq gear, the cheese head is
part of the slide-in mounting system for the disk drives. That is, the
cheese head forms the protrusion that slides in the groove of a plastic
guide. That being said, ordinary slotted cheese-head 6-32
screws will work
fine--the only thing lost is the Torx feature.
Have you had any luck in finding those sort of cheese head screws in
M3x0.5?
HP also used some Torx-washer-head screws on some of
its hard drive
mounting kits.
They also had screws, in both 6-32 and M3x0.5, that were like the cheese
head screws, but had a larger diameter outer lip at the face of the screw
somewhat like a shoulder screw. Those were used in combination with the
cheese head screws in some of the Deskpro chassis for holding drives into
the guide grooves. These were often (but not always) used in pairs for the
two front-most screws closest to the drive bezel with two cheese head
screws used for the rear screws. Some systems only needed one of these
special screws per drive.
2:56 p.m.
On Sep 24, 2013, at 12:39 PM, Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> wrote:
On 09/24/2013 06:02 AM, David Riley wrote:
Ah, yes, I had forgotten about that. I've actually removed
a few of those drives before, and have a few of those screws,
though they've mostly been repurposed.
- Dave
On the other hand, if you don't need the
cheese or button heads,
McMaster has T15 6-32x1/4" pan head screws for 6.22 per 100,
which doesn't seem like a terrible price to me. Aside from some
visual finish, what's the advantage of a button/cheese head?
If you're working on a piece of older Compaq gear, the cheese head is part of the
slide-in mounting system for the disk drives. That is, the cheese head forms the
protrusion that slides in the groove of a plastic guide.
3:47 p.m.
On Tue, 24 Sep 2013, Chuck Guzis wrote:
On 09/24/2013 06:02 AM, David Riley wrote:
The reason I asked about this is because I'm getting increasingly annoyed
with philips screws.
--
David Griffith
dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu
A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?
On the other hand, if you don't need the
cheese or button heads,
McMaster has T15 6-32x1/4" pan head screws for 6.22 per 100,
which doesn't seem like a terrible price to me. Aside from some
visual finish, what's the advantage of a button/cheese head?
If you're working on a piece of older Compaq gear, the cheese head is part of
the slide-in mounting system for the disk drives. That is, the cheese head
forms the protrusion that slides in the groove of a plastic guide.
That being said, ordinary slotted cheese-head 6-32 screws will work fine--the
only thing lost is the Torx feature.
HP also used some Torx-washer-head screws on some of its hard drive mounting
kits.
4:13 p.m.
On Sep 24, 2013, at 15:47, David Griffith <dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu> wrote:
The reason I asked about this is because I'm
getting increasingly annoyed with philips screws.
Understood there. That's why I use Torx head decking screws on
all my home improvement projects unless there's a valid reason
to use something else. Philips head screws were, after all, DESIGNED
to cam out because the power tools of the time didn't have clutches
like modern ones. Pozidriv screws mitigate that problem, but there's
such confusion in the marketplace that it's almost impossible to ensure
what you're getting (kind of like D-sub connectors, actually).
So if you don't need the cheese head screws, any of the previously-
mentioned suppliers should be able to hook you up with Torx head
machine screws. Pan head should be fine for most everyday applications.
- Dave
5:28 p.m.
On 09/24/2013 12:47 PM, David Griffith wrote:
The reason I asked about this is because I'm
getting increasingly
annoyed with philips screws.
Perfectly understood. Slotted cheesehead screws may actually be better
in that respect. I haven't tried it, but I wonder if a hex socket-head
screw might do as well.
--Chuck
5:58 p.m.
On Tue, 24 Sep 2013, David Griffith wrote:
On Tue, 24 Sep 2013, Chuck Guzis wrote:
Are you having problems with cam-out damaging the screwdriver, and then
the screwdriver in turn then damaging more screws? If that's the case, you
might try the Klein brand philips screwdrivers with hardened blades. They
are made for heavy daily use and abuse and don't seem to wear quickly from
cam-out, making them a lot more resistant to damaging screws due to wear
on the blade causing even more cam-out. With cheaper philips drivers, once
the blade begins to wear even a little, cam-out becomes a bit of a
run-away condition with each additional fastener you use it on.
On 09/24/2013 06:02 AM, David Riley wrote:
The reason I asked about this is because I'm getting increasingly
annoyed with philips screws. On the other hand, if you don't need the
cheese or button heads,
McMaster has T15 6-32x1/4" pan head screws for 6.22 per 100,
which doesn't seem like a terrible price to me. Aside from some
visual finish, what's the advantage of a button/cheese head?
If you're working on a piece of older Compaq gear, the cheese head is
part of the slide-in mounting system for the disk drives. That is, the
cheese head forms the protrusion that slides in the groove of a plastic
guide.
That being said, ordinary slotted cheese-head 6-32 screws will work
fine--the only thing lost is the Torx feature.
HP also used some Torx-washer-head screws on some of its hard drive
mounting kits.
2:52 p.m.
On Tue, 24 Sep 2013, David Riley wrote:
On the other hand, if you don't need the cheese or
button heads,
McMaster has T15 6-32x1/4" pan head screws for 6.22 per 100, which
doesn't seem like a terrible price to me. Aside from some visual
finish, what's the advantage of a button/cheese head?
McMaster-Carr is still a little on the high side for these. A wholesale
screw supplier should probably be charging ~$4.00-4.50 for these at qty
100, and less for qty 500 and above. McMaster-Carr has the convenience
factor working for them though, and I've ordered tons of stuff from them
in the past just because they had it available whereas one of my
wholesalers would have to bring it in.
3:43 p.m.
On Sep 24, 2013, at 2:52 PM, Tothwolf <tothwolf at concentric.net> wrote:
On Tue, 24 Sep 2013, David Riley wrote:
Exactly. It's the same reason I order from Digi-Key for a lot of my
personal projects; I'm paying a tax for convenience (and the fact
that I can't get anywhere near the volume that a real distributor
would need to give me a good price anyway).
That said, I almost never need anything from McMaster-Carr anyway...
generally I go to them when I need raw material like Lexan sheets,
though I could probably get them cheaper elsewhere.
- Dave
On the other hand, if you don't need the
cheese or button heads, McMaster has T15 6-32x1/4" pan head screws for 6.22 per 100,
which doesn't seem like a terrible price to me. Aside from some visual finish,
what's the advantage of a button/cheese head?
McMaster-Carr is still a little on the high side for these. A wholesale screw supplier
should probably be charging ~$4.00-4.50 for these at qty 100, and less for qty 500 and
above. McMaster-Carr has the convenience factor working for them though, and I've
ordered tons of stuff from them in the past just because they had it available whereas one
of my wholesalers would have to bring it in. 
1:14 p.m.
Olander Company Inc <http://www.olander.com/
144 Commercial Street, Sunnyvale, CA 94086
Call Toll Free (800) 538-1500
E-mail: <mailto:customercare at olander.com> customercare at olander.com
has everything, including the tools to use with special bolts (ever try to
remove a safety torx)
They probably take mail orders if u are not in the SF Bay area
Tom
-----Original Message-----
From: David Griffith [mailto:dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu]
Sent: Monday, September 23, 2013 1:20 PM
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Subject: Torx HDD screws
Does anyone here have any clue where I can find 6-32
1/4" screws with torx
heads of the sort one would use to secure hard drives?
The only source I
know is scrouging HP stuff and I'd really like a
better source than that.
Philips screws annoy me to no end..
--
David Griffith
dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu
3954
days inactive
3955
days old
16 comments
8 participants
participants (8)
-
cclist＠sydex.com -
dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu -
doc＠vaxen.net -
fraveydank＠gmail.com -
jdbryan＠acm.org -
tom94022＠comcast.net -
tothwolf＠concentric.net -
wilson＠dbit.com