4-40 screws are really quite easy to twist in half with a power screwdriver. That's easy to fix if you have a spare. It's also easy to rip the threads out of the PEM nuts. That's not so easy to fix.
That's why Wayne was clear that we should specify *no* power screwdriver in the assembly manual. It sounds like the factory is pushing the envelope on the torque, at least on some of the screws. This doesn't appear to relate to your situation, but for those "reading the mail" out there, sometimes a panel screw will act stuck even though you know you didn't over-torque it at assembly. That's because the panels shift slightly as the screws are tightened, and one screw might bind against the hole. If one feels stuck, always loosen all the other screws holding the panel first and very often you'll find that the "stuck" screw comes out very easily. Ron AC7AC -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mike K2MK Sent: Sunday, January 01, 2012 5:11 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Elecraft] How Long will it take to assemble a K3/100?? Hi Dick, As an owner of a 3 year old factory built K3 I kind of knew that they used "power screwdrivers" in the assembly. One day I plan to perform surgery on the one remaining front panel screw that I was unable to remove. Doing the DSP board swap was an adventure. 73, Mike K2MK ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
