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Gong foil with stuck screws...

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GTC
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Gong foil with stuck screws...

Postby GTC » Sun Aug 14, 2022 6:34 pm

Hi all,
I have an aluminium Gong foil and I can't seem to loosen the screws that attach the mast and the top plate.
It's also happening in the screws that attach the stab and fuselaje, and I already broke one...

Any ideas? I tried to put some oil, soak it in freshwater but nothing works...
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tegirinenashi
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Re: Gong foil with stuck screws...

Postby tegirinenashi » Sun Aug 14, 2022 8:09 pm

Apply heat gun to mast & collar. It should be timed so that the screws are colder than the threads. You might want to use IR gun thermometer to check the temperatures.

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Re: Gong foil with stuck screws...

Postby Peter_Frank » Sun Aug 14, 2022 8:55 pm

Use a really good tool, so you dont wreck the head/notch.

And like tegirinenashi wrote, try to heat the surrounding thread (mast) without getting the screw heated too much.

Gong actually has screws which dont get stuck that easy, compared to other brands earlier foils at least - where longer screws were used for the mast in particular.

How often do you take your foil apart?

Assume you are using TefGel or similar, as otherwise they wont last long....

If you dont manage to get it unstuck, leave it as it can still be used, you never need to take the baseplate apart anyways, right?
More difficult with the fuselage if you want to travel, otherwise it can also be left as is.

If you get a new one, remember the TefGel and still once a month take it apart, maybe relubricate just in case, to avoid it getting stuck.

8) Peter

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Re: Gong foil with stuck screws...

Postby GTC » Mon Aug 15, 2022 10:28 am

Thanks for your responses,
Last time I toke it apart was half a year ago, and never used TefGel...
I'll try to heat it but I'm afraid I will have to leave it as it is.

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Re: Gong foil with stuck screws...

Postby nothing2seehere » Mon Aug 15, 2022 12:41 pm

For the price of the mast - leave it as is. Worst thing to do is to snap the heads off. At that point you will need to extract the remainder of the bolt. Right now - you can still use it fine.

There are some tricks you can use in case you do snap the heads off. Melted candle wax being my most reliable option. However, once you price up the cost of the tools needed to free it, you are up to the cost of a new mast at some point in the future so its not really worth it. I dare say that you won't lose much money selling a mast with the adapter stuck to it. If it was the fuselage though, you'd need to remove it to sell it.
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Re: Gong foil with stuck screws...

Postby sakara » Mon Aug 15, 2022 7:16 pm

Or go to a metalworker, ask them to saw of the mast (bring a spare screw to see the length) and let him cut a new thread. I did this after having spent about 50euros on tools - in vain. Cost me 2.50€ euro in portugal...
No need to think, no need to work, no need to buy tools. And you won t notice a 2.5 cm shorter mast.

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Re: Gong foil with stuck screws...

Postby rnelias » Wed Aug 17, 2022 1:02 am

I've already had a torx screw head snap and managed to remove using a new T30 torx's bit in a vibration screwdriver.

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Re: Gong foil with stuck screws...

Postby rtz » Wed Aug 17, 2022 7:38 am

Use one of these screw knockers and it WILL loosen those fasteners:

https://www.browntool.com/Listview/tabi ... fault.aspx

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Re: Gong foil with stuck screws...

Postby Pemba » Wed Aug 17, 2022 8:11 am

rtz wrote:
Wed Aug 17, 2022 7:38 am
Use one of these screw knockers and it WILL loosen those fasteners:

https://www.browntool.com/Listview/tabi ... fault.aspx
They are good but sounds like in this case they might break the head off. Drilling stainless steel out aluminium... I certainly wouldn't think about it for 2.50..

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Re: Gong foil with stuck screws...

Postby nothing2seehere » Wed Aug 17, 2022 12:01 pm

rtz wrote:
Wed Aug 17, 2022 7:38 am
Use one of these screw knockers and it WILL loosen those fasteners:

https://www.browntool.com/Listview/tabi ... fault.aspx
Darn it. Now you've got me looking at air hammers. That looks a really useful tool. I've got the old fashioned mallet version and it won't often remove the screws if the surrounding area is too soft. That version looks a lot better!


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