Hardware Has anyone managed to sharpen the triwing screwdrivers?

[Kallim]

I was wondering if anyone has successfully managed to sharpen there triwing screwdrivers?

I've gone through my 4th one of these today so just ordered another. They're cheap enough but it seems as awful waste to throw them away.

If it was a normal screwdriver I'd just sharpen on a knife stone or grinder... But with these things being so small it's difficult to judge the angle. I don't think I trust doing it.

If anyone's had success let me know.

 

[Hayato213]

You need better quality one probably

 

[Kallim]

You need better quality one probably

Definitely.... But with these being so small they're always gonna wear quite quick. I've maybe opened 9 sets of joycons and 2 swatches so far.

 

[mrdude]

You could use a dremel tool with a grinder bit on it. You should put the bit in a mini vice to hold it (don't put the dremel near your fingers).

 

[Kallim]

You need better quality one probably

And better tweezers... I had a really good pair in a kit until I tried to pry a battery up with them.... I've just got these cheapo plastic ones now that feel more like scissors.

Post automatically merged: Feb 20, 2023

You could use a dremel tool with a grinder bit on it. You should put the bit in a mini vice to hold it (don't put the dremel near your fingers).

Have you done that??

 

[urherenow]

dude... you need to stop using gorilla fingers to tighten them. There is nowhere near enough torque from the factory to wear them down while removing them, unless you're simply using the wrong size to begin with. Screwdrivers are not a one size fits all thing. I have 2 different size tri-wings.

If you really want good quality, get a toolset from i-fixit. The Mako kit has 3 pentalobe sizes and 4 tri-wing sizes...

 

[Hayato213]

I also have ifixit kit

 

[g00s3y]

Get better quality tools, and don't over-tighten like a gorilla. I've done over 10,000 joycons/consoles/controllers. I've went through about 4 tri-wing screwdrivers and maybe 10 phillips head.

 

[FAST6191]

Yeah even cheapo Chinese screwdrivers with "I am pretty sure I have had tougher cheese" steel should not wear out that fast. You are only going into plastic or brass inserts pressed into plastic so the affixation is achieved by having several in there. Likewise a bit of a squeeze on the case when attempting to get something apart, maybe a small wiggle should help any particularly troublesome screws from staying in there.

I doubt a dremel/rotary tool will do much here unless you get it super fast and have a suitable tip (the whole round nature of such things working against you). Far easier to get a set of needle files/jewellery files/sculptor's files (small files usually smaller than a pencil and designed for detail work, not a rare thing by any means but also not necessarily going to be in every hardware shop. Price should be less than a set of cheap bits for said rotary tool as well). Do also learn draw filing and what a safe edge is.

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/categories/?search=needle files for an idea, and maybe you are lucky enough to have one nearby you.

 

[Hayato213]

And better tweezers... I had a really good pair in a kit until I tried to pry a battery up with them.... I've just got these cheapo plastic ones now that feel more like scissors.

I recommend I fixit, they work fine for the joycon. I did bought one of these set before, they work fine for the joycon and the tablet backcover.

 

[BaamAlex]

But with these being so small they're always gonna wear quite quick

That was the reason for me to replace these shitty triwings with phillips head screws. I never liked triwing.

 

[TheStonedModder]

Sounds like you just need to invest in a set from ifixit. They have a warrenty on all their tools so if your bit fails they will replace it no questions asked..that being said I've used my ifixit set for years now and havn't stripped any of my bits (which I tend to do any time it is even remotly possible)

 

[hippy dave]

Another vote for ifixit fwiw.

 

[thesjaakspoiler]

Just buy some decent US/Japanese made drivers and they will last forever. They might be twice as expensive as the Chinese drivers but they will outlast anything.

 

[ghjfdtg]

+1 for high quality tools. They will outlast the cheap shit easily. I got the iFixit bits and they work well. You still need to be careful because the screws on the Switch are so soft they strip very easily.

 

[Kallim]

+1 for high quality tools. They will outlast the cheap shit easily. I got the iFixit bits and they work well. You still need to be careful because the screws on the Switch are so soft they strip very easily.

Yeah that's why I am used "Gorilla" hands.

There's a lot of options on the ifixit website... If anyone can post a link to what they believe is the best I'll buy that one. I definitely need a quality Y0 anything else is a bonus.

 

[whisky9]

Wiha tools, this is much better than Ifixit. Their products will make you satisfy.

 

[ghjfdtg]

Yeah that's why I am used "Gorilla" hands.

There's a lot of options on the ifixit website... If anyone can post a link to what they believe is the best I'll buy that one. I definitely need a quality Y0 anything else is a bonus.

I have the Pro Tech Toolkit. It's quite an investment but it served me well so far. There are separate kits with the bit holders and many bits if you don't need all the stuff the Pro Tech Toolkit comes with.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Yeah that's why I am used "Gorilla" hands.

There's a lot of options on the ifixit website... If anyone can post a link to what they believe is the best I'll buy that one. I definitely need a quality Y0 anything else is a bonus.

Switch uses Y00, if you use Y0 on it you will strip screws easily.
I have an iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit, and it's been one of the best purchases of my life. Having the right tools for the job really makes a difference, and it has the right tools for just about any job.
I'm not worried that any of the tools will wear out, save for some of the plastic tools. They're all really well made. So while it is a little pricy, it's worth it to have tools that last.

You can buy individual bits from iFixit for like $1.50 each. I still recommend the Pro Tech Toolkit cause it comes in handy so often and covers all the bases.

Related

 

[Kallim]

Switch uses Y00, if you use Y0 on it you will strip screws easily.
I have an iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit, and it's been one of the best purchases of my life. Having the right tools for the job really makes a difference, and it has the right tools for just about any job.
I'm not worried that any of the tools will wear out, save for some of the plastic tools. They're all really well made. So while it is a little pricy, it's worth it to have tools that last.

You can buy individual bits from iFixit for like $1.50 each. I still recommend the Pro Tech Toolkit cause it comes in handy so often and covers all the bases.

Related

I was looking at that. I'm on the UK site. It doesn't have the triwing Y00.

It has Triwing in Y0 and Y1 and tripping in Y0 and Y00.
https://store.ifixit.co.uk/products/ifixit-precision-4-mm-screwdriver-bit

I didnt really want to buy the whole kit as I do a few mates joycons etc.. but I'm probably only going to use it a few times a year. I still think it's worth at least investing in the right tool for at least the 1 switch screw.

See the pic and link there's also a Y1 in the trippoint. I just want to make sure I get the correct one. The kits I've used up to now include the drivers (so didn't need to worry)... although they're cheap they fit (in theory).