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Vintage Tape (Audio), Cassette, Wire and Magnetic Disc Recorders and Players Open-reel tape recorders, cassette recorders, 8-track players etc.

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Old 25th May 2022, 9:33 am   #1
knobtwiddler
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Default E-Clip Removal / Insertion Tool 2022

Hello,

Further to a search that revealed this thread, I am wondering if anyone here has further suggestions, particularly regarding e-clips that retain cassette rollers?

For small internal circlips, these come recommended for Nak decks: https://www.knipex.com/en-uk/product...-shafts/4611G0

Does anyone think they might help with e-clips as well? Even if I take them off in a bag, I'm concerned about warping them. I imagine that a dedicated tool will remove / insert them with less chance of warping?? I've removed many e-clips and reinstalled them over the years, but not on tape machines. If the clip isn't dead flat, I don't imagine it will help with W+F.

Thanks!
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Old 25th May 2022, 12:19 pm   #2
DMcMahon
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Default Re: E-Clip Removal / Insertion Tool 2022

Subsequent to my Thread link in the Post above, I have not fully followed up on some of the suggestions.

I did file down some needle point long nosed pliers but they were not much help.

The clips I encounter although small are really strong and are really difficult to remove and replace, I use a combination of levering/prising, the ones I encounter I would say would not warp easily.

David
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Old 26th May 2022, 10:04 am   #3
knobtwiddler
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Default Re: E-Clip Removal / Insertion Tool 2022

Thanks, David.

Come to think of it, e-clips usually have decent memory and return to flatness. I am just paranoid.

I bought the Knipex tool as I will probably need it for internal Nak c-clips anyway. If it helps with the e-clips, all the better.
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Old 27th May 2022, 4:48 am   #4
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Default Re: E-Clip Removal / Insertion Tool 2022

I have bought C & E clip removal tools from typewriter repair suppliers.
Also automotive tool companies also make them, IIRC.
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Old 27th May 2022, 4:21 pm   #5
Whaam68
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Default Re: E-Clip Removal / Insertion Tool 2022

I bought the small Knipex specifically for a tape deck and was disappointed…after a few uses one of the pins on the tool sheared off. Not the Germanic quality I was expecting.
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Old 2nd Jun 2022, 9:35 pm   #6
Alistair D
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Default Re: E-Clip Removal / Insertion Tool 2022

Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcMahon View Post
Subsequent to my Thread link in the Post above, I have not fully followed up on some of the suggestions.

I did file down some needle point long nosed pliers but they were not much help.

The clips I encounter although small are really strong and are really difficult to remove and replace, I use a combination of levering/prising, the ones I encounter I would say would not warp easily.

David
I have a pair of pliers similar to the ones in the link. Normally I use them to form loops in TCW when I'm repairing damaged PCB tracks.

At the moment I have nothing kicking around the workshop that uses E clips so cannot vouch for how effective they would be. They do look as if they would be better than needle nosed.

https://www.jewelrysupply.com/RoundC...5_p_10422.html

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Last edited by Alistair D; 2nd Jun 2022 at 9:36 pm. Reason: spelling
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Old 2nd Jun 2022, 10:42 pm   #7
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Default Re: E-Clip Removal / Insertion Tool 2022

Before I got some proper circlip pliers, I used to use engineers' or carpenters' dividers and snipe-nosed pliers with the tips filed to size, with a groove to help stop the clip pinging away.
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Old 2nd Jun 2022, 11:38 pm   #8
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Default Re: E-Clip Removal / Insertion Tool 2022

I've had good service from a pair of snap ring pliers which I bought from a discount shop in Stockport at least 20 years ago.They came with extra heads for external and internal and set at different angles.The card with them identifies them as "Edwards" and they were marketed by ITP IMPORTS WF17 9LU.An internet search will bring them up but I can't say if they are still available.The item number was F-20168 and the bar code was 5 050577 201688.Good luck with your search.Peter.
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Old 2nd Jun 2022, 11:56 pm   #9
DMcMahon
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Default Re: E-Clip Removal / Insertion Tool 2022

I have ordered the referenced Knipex, hopefully they will work OK and last longer than Wham68's experience, especially as they are pretty expensive.

Will report back later on findings.

David
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Old 3rd Jun 2022, 12:44 am   #10
knobtwiddler
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Default Re: E-Clip Removal / Insertion Tool 2022

I got my Knipex this week. Haven't had a chance to use them, but I was surprised to see that one of the tip pins isn't straight, as if they've been dropped. The paint is still present around the tip, so I assume they haven't. I am fairly confident that they will work, but they do not appear to be a paragon of German tool quality.
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Old 5th Oct 2022, 5:14 pm   #11
DMcMahon
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Default Re: E-Clip Removal / Insertion Tool 2022

Have been using the referenced Knipex circlip pliers quite a lot over last few months and have had good success with removing & replacing various sized E-clips, down to fairly small clips but probably no good for the really tiny E-clips.

David
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Old 13th Nov 2022, 10:55 pm   #12
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Default Re: E-Clip Removal / Insertion Tool 2022

Quote:
I got my Knipex this week. Haven't had a chance to use them, but I was surprised to see that one of the tip pins isn't straight, as if they've been dropped. The paint is still present around the tip, so I assume they haven't. I am fairly confident that they will work, but they do not appear to be a paragon of German tool quality.
I ordered a pair myself and I noticed one pin was bent myself – I'd been wondering if I'd bent the tip trying to remove too large an C–Clip with them!

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Old 14th Nov 2022, 11:17 am   #13
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Default Re: E-Clip Removal / Insertion Tool 2022

Quote:
Originally Posted by knobtwiddler View Post
I got my Knipex this week. Haven't had a chance to use them, but I was surprised to see that one of the tip pins isn't straight, as if they've been dropped. The paint is still present around the tip, so I assume they haven't. I am fairly confident that they will work, but they do not appear to be a paragon of German tool quality.
Knipex is a wholly owned independent family company now run by the fourth generation of the founder. They exclusively make pliers, (1000 different ones). One thing you can be sure of, is that Knipex tools are made exclusively in Germany, under one roof in a factory on the site where the company was founded in 1882, and that none of the stages of production are outsourced. (They make a lot of thier own machinery and even write most of their own software).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knipex

https://www.knipex.com/company/about...ible%20quality.

As to 'German quality' their pliers are forged chrome vanadium, and if they're not spot on, I'd send them back for replacement, given that the pins are the most crucial part of the pliers. After all, the Knipex motto is 'good is not good enough', and that comes with a price tag which is rather higher than if they came from 'Lidl in the middle'.

Lots of famous brands have evolved into little more than marketing companies, outsourcing manufacturing to China. The Chinese are perfectly capable of making high quality products - it's down to the spec they're given. The brands cease to be involved in quality control and never sees the products - they leave the factory boxed up, en route to wholesalers.

I have a set of circlip priers which have interchangeable tips for internal and external clips. They do the job on the few occasions I need them, but they're cheap hobbyist ones, like most of my tools and equipment.
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Old 17th Nov 2022, 10:31 am   #14
DMcMahon
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Default Re: E-Clip Removal / Insertion Tool 2022

As per Post 11 I have been using my Knipex pliers quite a bit in recent months and touch wood so far the pins look OK.

I have used them on various sized E-clips but main use has been on the smaller sized clips so not a lot of usage on the larger clips.

David
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