Daft Question Alert!!

[RoscoTrombone]

Can anyone tell me what the correct name for this key is? Is it simply a star key?

I've been looking for a set but can't find it as it's mostly showing up a hex on one end with something like this but not quite on the other and I just specifically want this.

Thanks

Ross

[tbonesullivan]

Looks like a torx key to me.

[Posaunus]

Looks like a torx key to me.

Yup, pretty clearly a Torx bit. Should be readily available at auto parts or hardware stores.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torx

[Doug Elliott]

Torx. There should be a number for the size, I'm guessing it would be a 7 or 8. Sometimes you can get away with a regular hex Allen key, they're not really interchangeable but some sizes may do the job if it doesn't require much torque.

[RoscoTrombone]

Very much appreciated thank you. I have two with my bass but the screw that needs adjusted sits between the two given which is typical!

Ross

[brassmedic]

That's funny. Looks like the same tool that comes with the carbide cutting tools I buy for my lathe, except with the B&S logo added.

carbide.jpg

[brassmedic]

I have one of these at the shop. Very handy. I think I found it in an end cap at a hardware store.

star.jpg

[JohnL]

Torx®. Looks pretty small; make sure if you order a set that it goes down to the size you need,

[RoscoTrombone]

I've now ordered a multiple tool like the one above which should take care of it.

Thanks folks....my dad's ability for DIY etc definitely didn't rub off on me!!

[Doug Elliott]

That's why I mentioned the likely sizes 7 and 8. You'll never need big ones.

[timothy42b]

I have those multiple tools as well as sets of Torx. The multiple tools are not that precisely made but for low torque requirements they work.

Torx comes in regular and tamper proof. Tamper proof has a hole in the the shaft where the pin on the screw fits. Some things are put together that way. I've run into that with microwaves, the occasional computer, and of course automotive.

[BGuttman]

You can use a regular Torx wrench on a tamper proof if you break off the little pin inside the bolt. Of course, this makes your tampering evident. May be a problem for warranty issues.

[PaulT]

Torx bits and Star bits are the same thing. At least they are the same thing to Home Depot, Menards, Amazon, Hardware Hank, Ace and anyone who sets screw to wood. The "T" used to indicate sizing does indeed stand for "Torx" (i.e. T-25). I don't know where "star" came from (a marketing wonk?), but it is here now and you can safely walk into any hardware store and ask for "star bits" and you will be sent to the right place.

There is precedence for a shape name displacing/competing with a bit's original name. The "Robertson bit", for instance, is now referred to as "square drive" (except in remote regions of Canada, where the term "Robertson bit" proudly holds sway as the "Robertson bit" was invented in the early 1900s by a Canadian tool salesman named Peter Lymburner Robertson).

(The Torx drive was invented by Camcar/Textron in 1967.)


Once someone becomes accustomed to Torx bits, very few will ever chose to use to anything else, especially if wood and a cordless drill/impact driver is involved. (If I ever run across a Phillips in my drawer, I toss the darn thing. I will never by choice ever use it.)

[brassmedic]

I don't know where "star" came from

Because it's star shaped, perhaps? And star is a real word, unlike torx?

[timothy42b]

There is precedence for a shape name displacing/competing with a bit's original name.

Yes. A classic example is the telephone number pad with its symbols.

We commonly say "press the star key," but of course it's an asterisk and not a star at all. The original proposed layout did have a star key and a diamond, but the star was replaced with an asterisk and the diamond with a pound sign (or octathorpe) because there were already ASCII codes for them.

[JohnL]

I think the use of "star" in place of Torx® has something to do with avoiding trademark infringement.