Opening HP 33E

[dmh]

Has anyone tried to fabricate the tool mentioned above in the service manual?

It's hard to see exactly what it looks like but maybe someone has seen one and this is probably the best option (if it can be easily made).

I'm too scared to try the brute force method.

I tried and failed at the floss method.

The thumb pressure and wiggle a bit worked for me but I haven't been able to get them all apart this way - poor grip or worried about too much force.

(08-18-2022 05:08 AM)vaklaff Wrote:  

(08-17-2022 04:53 PM)TorstenHamburg Wrote:  I used the "dental floss" method. But the floss yarn I used was not strong enough. It broke. So I took a yarn that is meant for tying cables. It is about 2 mm wide and 0.8 mm thick and very, very durable.

Thanks for sharing, Torsten, I'm sure your answer will help someone one day! IIRC my first attempt was the same as yours, then not having a more suitable yarn at hand I tried the "brute force" method. It worked fine so I'm sticking with it :-)

These hard-to-open cases drive me crazy. I am the exact opposite of handy and even trivial mechanical fixes are on the brink of impossible for me. Detailed procedures created by experts and follow-up success stories like yours give me - and maybe others like me - the necessary courage. I managed to open and fix a Spice and a Pioneer (thanks to Logan West). What's ahead of me is a 28s, I have one with bad keyboard contacts but Geoff Quickfall's description scares the hell out of me...