Ever did the "magic screwdriver" trick?

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

This was a bit of a lifesaver back in the dawn of the retro gaming (and retro-game-collecting) days, especially as tools to open consoles and cartridges were expensive and hard to get without going online, resulting on you having to either endure international shipping for a set or making-do with whatever else you had available at the time, dramatically increasing the risk of damaging your stuff.

Basically what you did was to get a simple plastic pen in contact with your ovenhob until it started to melt, then you'd take the still-hot plastic and press it hard on the target screw until the pen shaped itself like it. After that, you'd wait until it got cold and hardened and... Voila! You had your very own, homemade, one-of-a-kind console/cartridge opening tool.

I did this for a few stubborn NES and SNES games and was amazed by just how well it did the job.

We really did have to get creative at the time, and we were better off for it.

 

[Sakitoshi]

i did it to open my gamecube so i could use full size dvds. then did it a couple other times for other consoles.
it was 50/50, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. it works on a pinch but no more than that.

now i have screwdrivers with multiple tips to open whatever i please and a pair of good soldering irons. there is nothing better than having the proper tools.

 

[nobitakun]

That is actually kind of ingenious idea, I like it. I don't know how old are you, but the time I had to open my first SNES I already had the tools available, as my grandpa was an electrician and he had dozens of different screwdrivers at home. I still remember going his home and opening one console after another, he got happy because I was opening them just out of curiosity to see what was inside. He even offered once to install me the modchip of PS2 when I explained him the first time I opened my PSTWO :D. End of story, we broke the PSTWO lol, but it was a lot of fun to see him working and explaining me what he was doing. It was ok, as I was already working at that time and PSTWO was not very expensive, but my second unit was second hand.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

I don't know how old are you, but the time I had to open my first SNES I already had the tools available

I'm 35, but I started collecting when I was around 14... Back when my main source of income was begging and my games were all bought secondhand and heavily damaged lol.

 

[Bakuma1997]

Tried it as a kid

Dumb ass burnt my own hand

Never again

 

[Adrastia]

No. But when I needed to open my 3DS to get the bloated dead battery out I used one of those metal snap hairpins. I also use them to tighten the screws on my glasses.