Stuck screw on Ikelite DS-125 strobe

Hi everyone,

Could you please help me. I have been using a ULCS adapter on my Ikelite DS-125 strobe as I use ULCS arms. The adapter screws into place with a small philips head screw. I have been meticulous about taking out the screw and making sure it is free of salt until my most recent trip where I left it for several days without unscrewing it. When I tried to unscrew it, I managed to go about halfway before it became hopelessly stuck. Now the adapter is jiggly as the screw is halfway screwed out, the philips head is somewhat busted due to too many attempts to remove the screw. Can anyone offer any suggestions on how to remove the damn thing? Thank you.

Hi everyone,

 

Could you please help me. I have been using a ULCS adapter on my Ikelite DS-125 strobe as I use ULCS arms. The adapter screws into place with a small philips head screw. I have been meticulous about taking out the screw and making sure it is free of salt until my most recent trip where I left it for several days without unscrewing it. When I tried to unscrew it, I managed to go about halfway before it became hopelessly stuck. Now the adapter is jiggly as the screw is halfway screwed out, the philips head is somewhat busted due to too many attempts to remove the screw. Can anyone offer any suggestions on how to remove the damn thing? Thank you.

Soak the whole thing in vinegar (clear white) for an hour or so. This should dissolve the salt and any electrolytic corrosion compounds. Then carefully try to turn the screw. If the head is totally gone you can use a screw extractor to remove it.

Bill

http://www.amazon.com/Alden-8440P-Grabit-D...9667&sr=8-2

how bout chiselling new grooves for the screw?

A pair of pliers might just do it too? Guess it's gotta be brute force (if you wanna risk it), or back to Ikelite..

soak it with WD-40 or similar and let it set for one night, if it is still stuck, try to warm the screw up (without applying any heat on the housing!!!)

As far as i remeber, if you break the screw, you should be able to slide the adapter out and have to buy a new adapter or

find a machine shop drilling a new tread in the adapter (cost you probably more than a new adapter)

To avoid troubles like this:

a) use water resistant grease on the tread before screwing the ss screw in the aluminium adapter

b) use teflon tape on the crew before you screw it in

Aluminium and stainless steel are enemies due to galvanic corrision and the only way to reduce this effect isto isolate them from each other.

Chris

soak it with WD-40 or similar and let it set for one night, if it is still stuck, try to warm the screw up (without applying any heat on the housing!!!)

As far as i remeber, if you break the screw, you should be able to slide the adapter out and have to buy a new adapter or

find a machine shop drilling a new tread in the adapter (cost you probably more than a new adapter)

 

To avoid troubles like this:

a) use water resistant grease on the tread before screwing the ss screw in the aluminium adapter

b) use teflon tape on the crew before you screw it in

Aluminium and stainless steel are enemies due to galvanic corrision and the only way to reduce this effect isto isolate them from each other.

 

Chris

It is true that aluminum and stainless would be susceptible to galvanic corrosion if the two metals were in contact, most likely the corrosion you see around the screw is from crevice corrosion (a whole different topic) since Al in air is very quickly converted to Aluminum oxide and not conductive at all unless there is some battery connected to the system (like some early ttl converters). In any case, grease works. If you get it apart replace the screw with a hex head and you shouldn't have to worry about stripped screws again.

Bill