annoyingly, you can purchase both T40 and T45 M8 flathead fasteners. The softer 18-8 material are typically T45 while the higher strength are typically T40. It can be hard to know which is which from the various fastener sources, some don’t say which size Torx
1 Like
I am designing a titanium T30/T40 tool that will fit in the wetsuit pocket! I will let you know once they are ready 
4 Likes
I still hate torx…just hex for me thx…
been cannibalizing some old bike multitools for a custom tool to take on the water
2 Likes
You got any pictures of what it generally will look like? In case I wanna hold off on the Foilite one and go with yours
T30 only
I haven’t seen theirs in person but I wouldn’t hold back if you need it now. Honestly might be similar but no hex hole and slightly smaller!
So for me, for connections that I might want to adjust or change every session(mast to board and stab), I like to have Torx T30 for the m6 and standard 5mm hex for m8 so I can use a standard t30 for both. The t30 bit on my impact is fine for the board connection. I’m not torquing it enough to damage the bolts on the m8 with the “improper” tool.
For fuse to front wing connections I like the bigger t40 since it means I can torque it down a lot more without damaging the bolt and it almost forces me to use the correct tool(socket wrench with a t40 bit)
What joint / bolt did you break the wrench on?
I have broken several T40’s simply because they get rusty and eventually fail. Most of all these incidents were trying to unfuse stainless M8’s from the Axis Aluminum system. I add plenty of tefgel so no permanent connections. I just rack it up to aging wrenches and keep buying new ones. But my failures have mostly stopped since moving to Carbon masts and the stainless to brass barrel nut interface.
Please do this - just make a simple titanium torx L-key. Not hard, just do a torx version of this:
It fits easily in any wetsuit key pocket.
your kidding right…right?
Kidding that it fits in a wetsuit pocket? No.
That titanium hex L-key from McMaster carr is perfect for M6 hex gear - I use it for DW with Lift and M6 bolts on a NL mast.
I’d love a t-30 version.
The new foil lite key is actually fine for my use, but a small L-key would be better.
1 Like
What would you change about the foilite key? I’m looking at making a similar design but slightly smaller to fit in wetsuit pocket easily.
1 Like
The thing I don’t like about the foilite is that there’s no way to quickly spin bolts - it’s great for final tightening/loosening , but you’re stuck doing one turn at a time for full assembly/disassembly. L-keys let you quickly spin a bolt up or down using just the long arm of the key.
Does that make sense?
Getting it to fit in a wetsuit pocket is rad…but why not L-key configuration, rather than wing-screw style?
2 Likes
This is why I really like this, you can do fast mode by having it straight, and spinning the opposite bit between your fingers and get the entire screw out very quickly, but then you can bend it and get really high torque (probably too much). I’d love something like this, but titanium, designed for salt water, and with a hole in the middle for a leash string
3 Likes
Yeah, that would do it!
Probably could just fix one end at a 90 and the other end straight. Like a no-arm L key. Hinges make me nervous for salt water
1 Like
I have the FoilLite Torx Hammer and I can basically spin it like a top for fairly quick rotation on loose hardware. Then use the add’l leverage for the final tighten.
1 Like
Yeah, but the arm is too long - hits the mast when doing base plate screws.
1 Like
ahhhh…it doesn’t on my mast base. I can see how that would suck, but you could always cut off a little bit of the handle length, I suppose.
1 Like
That’s a legit call actually. Snip snip!
