Hacker News Reader

Comment by mplewis | Hacker News Reader

Prying with a flathead screwdriver is totally standard. Examples from manufacturer instructions:

* "Use a small flathead screwdriver to pry wire connectors off." http://www.crystalcoolers.com/CMIL/ServiceManual/EverestElit...

* "Use a flathead screwdriver to GENTLY push the wire harness from the board." https://www.carlisleft.com/library/SI06031si.pdf

* "Carefully remove the airbag plastic logo. This plastic piece is set deep into the door so be sure to pry it with some force by inserting a small flathead screw driver just under the plastic piece and pushing it out." https://bimmian.com/content/pdfs/CMC46.pdf

* "Use your flathead screwdriver to release the two clips on each side." https://lib.americanmuscle.com/files/contentgenerator/deatsc...

A prybar is for when you need a lot more force.

This is just SnapOn's attempt to get you to buy a 50$ 12" prybar. Also to stop you from sending your screwdrivers back on the truck every week.

But who cares, they're replaced for free and delivered :)

Or buy four or five Pittsburgh ones from Harbor Freight.

Those have a lifetime warranty now too.

I would love to have SnapOn stuff, if I were made of money or found it second-hand, but it's just stupid expensive new, especially for stuff that tends to get abused.

Some of the Harbor Freight stuff is great. For wrenches and ratchets that get pushed to the limit though I'll exclusively use one of the more pricey brands just out of fear of slamming my knuckles after a tool snaps. Its one of my biggest fears working on anything even after having it happen with minimal damage enough times. For everything else I'll use whatever is closest.

You're thinking bigger rather than smaller. I learned my lesson about prying with screwdrivers after gouging a couple of PCBs I was trying to repair when my sharp metal "pry tool" slipped, so now I exclusively use nylon pry tools around my electronics. They are cheap and disposable in a good way. Get a 50 pack for $10 on Amazon :)

Fortunately I don't work with any electronics. I never had the patience for dealing with PCBs or even breadboards.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com