Machined Tool steel my a$@!

[AndrewAZ]

Alright Horizon, you guys are great, but stop selling junk..it's really getting on my nerves. Three months ago, I bought a set of Losi Metric hex drivers, $50 for four drivers. The handles are nice, appear to be anodized(they are not, just painted) and the tips looked like they were pretty decent quality..WRONG!

In the first two months I broke 2x 1.5mm tips and one 2mm tip. Yes there is a point at which these things will break but were talking about maybe a ft lb of torque or two..they should hold up to that..they don't. They are cheap Chinese pot metal that is not hardened or improperly hardened making them very brittle. i would prefer a set of regular allen keys that are at least tempered and oil quenched over these..

A few weeks ago I called Horizon and they offered to either send replacement tips(after I had bought all the others @7 bucks a pop, or offered me a set of "Machined tool steel" Dynamite brand drivers..I thought what the heck why not! A week later, the drivers arrived. They looked nice and they indeed looked like much better quality material in the tips. I was wrong. I have since already broken the 1.5mm and 2mm tips on these You can see in the pic how cheap and brittle the metal is.

I'll be calling Horizon again in the morning and getting a refund, I don't want this JUNK anymore!

Stay away from both sets of these drivers..

/Rant and warning!

[Inverse]

Mip Thorp.
/thread.

[SYMAWD]

MIP Thorp

So good they are in my sig.

They also fit the screws tight enough to hold up 3 servos and a 450 Pro bearing block.


The pink handled Dynamites are also very good.

[Inverse]

So good I bought the entire set.

[Cailid]

Hudy drivers.

Spring steel tips ground to size, not cast metal like most tools.

[AndrewAZ]

http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...metric-DYN3080

These are the ones IN question. are the MIP's cryo treated?

[SYMAWD]

Originally Posted by Cailid

Hudy drivers.

Spring steel tips ground to size, not cast metal like most tools.

MIP is ground too.

Wihas are also OK, but still not that great.

[Torresma427]

China buys our a scrap steel pennies on the dollar and this is what they send back. High priced tools that don't last.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[AndrewAZ]

Originally Posted by SYMAWD

MIP is ground too.

Wihas are also OK, but still not that great.

I find it kind of funny that MIP's warranty is "we will replace each driver for $15 each"..Each driver already costs $15...

[PTcaflyer]

+100 for the pink Dynamite hex drivers...my set of 3 ...1.5/2/2.5 are great...no signs of wear yet...threads twist off on the screws before the hex will round off...
PT

[SYMAWD]

Originally Posted by AndrewAZ

I find it kind of funny that MIP's warranty is "we will replace each driver for $15 each"..Each driver already costs $15...

Yeah, but I've only read of one breaking once. They don't need a warranty they are so good.

[AndrewAZ]

Originally Posted by SYMAWD

Yeah, but I've only read of one breaking once. They don't need a warranty they are so good.

They do look nice, and I will probably pick up the 2.5mm 1/4in shank bit..makes changing TT gears and other stuff on the big heli's quick with a powered hand driver..

[ahahn]

To be honest if you are snapping off all those other bits, then you will probably snap off the MIPs too.

These are very hard--which means they are brittle. They seem to actually cut into the bolt head. If you over-torque them, you will most likely snap them off too.

I think you need to back off a bit on the torque. You only need enough to to tighten the bolts---the locktite will prevent them from coming loose.

I add the instruction sheet from MIP.

[FourT6and2]

Originally Posted by AndrewAZ

Three months ago, I bought a set of Losi Metric hex drivers, $50 for four drivers...In the first two months I broke 2x 1.5mm tips and one 2mm tip.

Been using Losi drivers with no issues at the recommendation of Nankin Hobby. So far so good.

These are what I have:

They are cheap Chinese pot metal that is not hardened or improperly hardened making them very brittle. i would prefer a set of regular allen keys that are at least tempered and oil quenched over these.

The harder the metal, the more brittle.

[AndrewAZ]

Originally Posted by ahahn

To be honest if you are snapping off all those other bits, then you will probably snap off the MIPS too.

These are very hard--which means they are brittle. They seem to actually cut into the bolt head. If you over-torque them, you will most likely snap them off too.

I think you need to back off a bit on the torque. You only need enough to to tighten the bolts---the locktite will prevent them from coming loose.

They are snapping when removing fasteners...I've been using precision tools at work for a very long time. I don't even "snug" my rc fasteners.

[Cailid]

My LHS has been using Hudy tools in the store for years. They've never broken or worn out one. Hudy comes with a lifetime warranty too. They are the best quality but you will pay extra for that.

[poor_red_neck]

Wow, that's bad. So it sheared above the tip on the shaft? Its one thing to have a soft tip, but damn!


You know what's funny...

I've been using the Hobby King $2 drivers for about a year or more now. The hex drivers are all awesome. The only one that I have damaged slightly is the 1.5mm driver. I have yet to find a 1.5 driver that works well, so I took one of those 1/16" interchangable bits that you can get from harbor freight really cheap, and dremeled down the tip. The driver tip is like a taper from the 1.5mm tip all the way to the 1/16" hex that fits into the screw driver part. It now penetrates very deep into the screw head, and is as tight of a fit as physically possible, and still removes easily.

But the Hobby King Drivers, all stand up to as much tightening by hand as I'll do on this hardware. If its a quality aluminum part I'm screwing into I do torque them down pretty well. Couldn't give you an in/lb or ft/lb reference but the point is: as tight as these screws NEED to be and they handle it just fine. Perfect fit on everything up from 1.5mm.

Your mileage may vary I've been lucky so far. Best $20 I've ever spent (I have 10 different drivers, some the same size for spindles, etc)
What I can tell you however, is larg(er) diameter screws with loc-tite (say, M3.5 or larger) I always heat with the soldering iron first.
That and I do not over torque the screws. I do run them tight, and probably tighter than whats needed, but not to the point of straining to remove the screws. (Not saying you are, I'm willing to bet the drivers you used are junk)

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=11087

[Blade~400~er]

hate to tell you all but even nice drivers like the thorps will NOT hold up to BENDING stress....rotational torque is fine but try and using it for prying on something and snap....ask me how i know

[willlig756]

I'll add my vote for MIP. I should probably quit using them to pry on stuff though..

[Makina]

I bought a set like this and never had a problem http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXUC48&P=ML

Duratrax http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...2&U=Y&M=RA&P=7

Wiha http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...2&U=Y&M=RA&P=7