broken bit... saved by magnet!

[throttletony]

Hi all -
The rear sight on my Dan Wesson has a set screw that was quite tight. Long story short, I ended up slightly stripping the hex/allen hole on the set screw. I even had a bit break in the hole, flush with the top. I couldn't figure the best way to get it out, until I walked past our fridge and saw some of our rare-earth magnets.
... and they pulled the piece up just enough for me to grab it with pliers.
I was glad I could avoid some of the nightmare of working with such a small broken bit (1.5mm), this was by far the easiest solution that I came up with.

I got on the phone with DW and they'll send me a couple new set screws.

Happy hunting!

 

[Jim McKalip]

I've been using torx bits in the small allen set screws for quite a while. They seem to get a much bettert grip.

 

[GREEN607]

That's a neat trick. I would have (almost) never thought of a magnet.