Ok, I have a stupid new problem.  I was tightening a small 1/16 set screw and the Geezless thing snapped off inside.  Obviously I should not have reefed on it that hard with my 2 fingers and ill intent, but I couldn't reach it with the short non-ball end.  Now I have to figure out how to get this thing out in a place with no clearance for a drill, adjacent plastic (so no heat) and its not tight enough to just leave it...  Any suggestions?   I tried to get a picture, but the faK won't focus...

Careful application of superglue on the end of something metal (e.g., coat hanger, weld rod, allen wrench, etc.)????  Must be careful as you might only have one shot at it.......

Today I learned OP needs better tools and a better phone.

Can you get in there with a dremel wheel, etc?

Pics?

Usually, you can "shock" the piece a little and it will fall out.  On the other hand, if it was slightly undersized, it may have wedged itself enough to be a real bear to remove.

Magnet ?

Magnet ?

First off, yes, I do probably need better tools and a better phone, but with nothing immediately forthcoming, I have what I have.  The problem is the phone doesent like to focus inside of a crevice, and I don't know of another phone that does.

This was what I was installing:


If you read the comments there are complaints about this, but I figured it was cheap enough.

Anyway I have it attached to a quad rail, and the set screws are accessed from UNDER the offset rail.  Unfortunately, I placed this directly over one of the bolts holding the rail to the tube, so I cant just pull the rail for more clearance.  I can pull the 90degree rail under it but that only gets me about another 1/4" of access.  I have tried several different small magnets, but none that were small enough to get in there were effective. I have beat the snot out of it with a mallet, hit it with compressed air, magnetized screwdrivers...  

Right now I am thinking to try hollow grinding the tip of a security torx bit to maybe get the whole set screw out...  Actually a T7 fits but I don't have security, so I guess I drill the tip?

Computer cleaner spray might cool it enough to drop out.  Superglue idea is decent, too.

Small update, nothing I have tried so far has worked. Heat with a soldering iron, cool with canned air, 125 psi from my compressor, superglue, magnets, even a teeny tiny reverse cut drill bit...

Still in there...

Slot the whole thing with a chisel or drimil and back it out with a flathead.

Take a small HSS bit and drill a hole.

Clean and degrease

Take the same bit out and turn it around and apply CA glue and insert into hole.

Walk away and let it sit.

Come back and remove by applying lateral motion before pulling.

$11 part? Dremel with cutoff wheel and cut the whole thing.

LINK

EDIT: They make a smaller one I believe as well

This

HSS drill bit won't do anything to hardened steel, will have to be a cobalt or carbide drill bit.

You need a small chisel to slightly move the ball back off the bolt and back into alignment with the bolt. Until you do that, it's not going to come out. I do not like ball allens for that reason. Barring that, as others have suggested, dremel and replace the part.

This problem is one of the tougher things you run into doing mechanical work and unfortunately there's not an easy answer if you can't get to it with vice grips or one of the special sockets for removing rounded off fasteners.  I've had luck in the past with using a chisel near the outer edge of the fastener to turn it.  Not much moment arm and it side loads the fastener.  If you can get to opposite sides then alternating from side to side helps.

  As small as that SHCS is this probably won't work but you *might* drill a small hole in the side and get a pick or something below the broken tool and pop it out.  Heat won't help as that's needed to expand the fastener and break rusted threads loose, or if it's had red locktite set up on it.

 Man about I can say is good luck.  This problem is a stone cold bitch.

Yeah I looked at the picture again.  I would probably try to drill at 45 degrees as close to the edge as possible with a 1/8 if possible, smaller if necessary, and use a pick or something to try and turn the fastener directly.  If that didn't work I'd try the chisel on the outer edge.  Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

I’ve left them broken off in pulleys.  Pita.

I’ve used a tee handled with square end to remove the set screw and replace with another.

Good luck.

Get a pointed punch and knock it loose first. It is probably jammed in rotation. Then it may just fall out.

Okay so I have another small update, a T6 Torx bit was just the perfect size 2 just barely grab the edges of the set screw so I was able to back the set screw out.  Yay me!

Unfortunately now I have a set screw that has a ball in stuck in it.  It moves but apparently there is some sort of a microscopic little lip that keeps it from just dropping out. I matched it up against a bunch of old RC car screws that I have and I don't have anything that's a match to the thread pitch, so I'm kind of on the fence right now about whether or not I just retap both of them and put proper screws in both of the mounting holes and get rid of these stupid set screws or if I just make do with what I have. Like ya'll said it is a $11 part....

I have the same part. It didn't lock up.tight on the rail so I ditched it. Sad because if it was in spec it would be a nice low profile part. I guess I shouldn't have expected much for 11. At least I'm not alone.

Yeah, I have it on a Sub-2000, so accuracy and repeatability is barely minute of barn anyway, but its at least as good as any of those flippy mounts.