Spudgers?

[joel_spencer]

Hi guys,

Does anybody know where I can get spudgers in the UK, I've seen them on ebay for like £2.50 for 2 from china but I'd prefer not to have the hassle of it not being delivered, and a long wait. For those not in the know, spudgers are (usually) plastic tools that can be used to open laptops, macs, etc and were popularised by their use by apple technicians, hence why I post here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spudger - the black one is what I'm after.

I'm halfway through repairs on a powerbook g4 and would be helpful to have one.

Cheers,

Joel

[Gordy]

I've never seen them in the UK. You could try asking at an apple reseller as they must have them.

If you do find some let me know as I'd love to pick up a pair.

[mycarsavw]

eBay - 3 x Apple Spudgers, black

Sold from Yorkshire with a UK address

[mightymouse]

i've seen them in maplin before but they are only sold with an ipod battery

[joel_spencer]

Cheers for the input guys, I was aware about there being some UK ebay sellers but it seems a bit expensive for what it is, I'll ring my local apple store and ask to speak to the "genius" bar. Must resist mocking them though. If not an ebay order I shall place.

[joel_spencer]

Well no luck from Apple's tech people, they gave me the number for an authorised repair centre though.

[joel_spencer]

Tech centres never seemed to have heard of them, got mine through from ebay yesterday. They seem to be the job, made in Switzerland apparently. Bit sharp on the edges (the pointed side would be a nasty shiv) but the previous one I used was very old so not sure if that's a design intention or just cheapness. I'll see if it causes damage to any cases I open, if so I can always smooth of the offending edge.

[deathbyscience]

I find a precision flat-blade screwdriver does the trick most of the time; if you're opening up a PowerBook you should have a precision toolkit to hand anyway. For more delicate areas where a little prizing is required, a plastic card is useful as there's plenty of flat edge to work with and the softer plastic won't scratch anything. You can pick up mobile phone top-up cards in your local supermarket that'll do the trick nicely (they come in a little leaflet and are usually just free to take)

[joel_spencer]

I grabbed a couple of those cards for cpu paste spreading though for smaller cpus I used cut up plastic from ear bud packets, for the delicacy of the chassis I find plastic is better but having a sharp end is useful for cleaning gunk out. Yeah I have a precision toolkit, the make is pro tools who seem to make some good stuff as I also have some needle nose pliers from them. BTW what are those small grabber things called that you get in tool kits called as they're useful for grabbing dropped screws in PCs.

[deathbyscience]

Um... tweezers? Would be that or a pair of needle-nose pliers I guess. I find a magnet on the end of a screwdriver is also helpful for grabbing screws out of awkward places, although you have to be careful not to wave them around by hard drives

[Funkstar]

I guess he means something like this: http://www.coleparmer.co.uk/catalog/...u=0991454&pfx=

But smaller.

[joel_spencer]

Yeah that's the sort of thing Funkstar, you push the end and three prongs come open, when the button is released the prongs go back inside/grab the object.

[deathbyscience]

I guess he means something like this: http://www.coleparmer.co.uk/catalog/...u=0991454&pfx=

But smaller.

If anyone finds a mini version of this I'd be interested too. I still find a magnet on the end of a flat blade screwdriver picks up most things you might drop inside a machine, but obviously not any little plastic fittings that sometimes go walkabout!

[Funkstar]

Mini one: http://www.coleparmer.co.uk/catalog/...sp?sku=0991450

[joel_spencer]

You can get them for £3 quid from maplin for the same thing btw, or ebay for £2.50.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=219894

The ebay link is on my other machine but if you want I can get it for you

[Funkstar]

For once, Maplin scores a bargain!

This one looks good too: http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=10318