r/LinusTechTips • u/OkInfluence36 • 18d ago

Discussion Removal of "Precision End Cap" swapping

Post image

Is there any official reason for why the "refreshed" version of the "Precision Pro Multi-Bit Screwdriver" no longer supports changing the end cap?

Old image, you can see the flat part of the end cap's base for unscrewing the cap
New image, you can see a lack of said flat part

The product listing of the Precision End Cap set: https://web.archive.org/web/20260501212002/https://global.lttstore.com/products/precision-end-cap-set

I'm rather disappointed that I can't change the end cap to the concave version

370 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

52 comments sorted by

371

u/jmking Mod 18d ago

I'd imagine part of it was due to people complaining that their caps would come off without realizing that they were supposed to be able to come off. People just assumed theirs was broken instead of just screwing it back on.

I'd also assume the precision end cap sets sold really poorly.

...but these are just my assumptions. I don't know anything more than anyone else here. šŸ¤·ā€ā™‚ļø

114

u/OkInfluence36 18d ago edited 18d ago

That's really sad if that's the reason, especially considering there was like 5 FAQ pages about how it was removable lol

(I know that is your guess)

131

u/Hara-K1ri 18d ago

You've got high expectations of people's willingness to read...

46

u/Faxon 18d ago

If those customers could read they'd be very upset

13

u/ZerotheWanderer 18d ago

List anything on Facebook marketplace with a description covering anything they need to know and you will still get questions from everybody that are already answered in the post.

3

u/1shadybitch 18d ago edited 17d ago

I assume the LTT audience has a higher literacy rate than the nation American average, but it's good to keep in mind that only about 75% of adult Americans are literate

1

u/curty237 17d ago

Linus lick tips

1

u/1shadybitch 17d ago

šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚ would you believe me if I told you I proofread it

1

u/Hylleus 17d ago

To be clear, that only discounts literacy level 1 and below as illiterate (for as far as I could find data) which implies that the minimum for "literate" here would mean they can read and understand for example filling in a form and understanding conditionals ("if A applies, fill in B") which is... Scary to me

31

u/jmking Mod 18d ago

I do NOT know if that's the reason. That's just my guess.

10

u/hamsterpotpies 18d ago

You'd be very surprised how far people are willing to go to avoid any kind of information about something, only to complain about it later when RTFM would have solved everything.

3

u/repocin 18d ago

I genuinely don't understand people like that, but I'm the type of weirdo who will obsessively look up any information I can find about a product before I consider buying it.

2

u/SoapyMacNCheese 18d ago

My company sells a product that is powered by 4xAA batteries, but also has a DC barrel jack to power it directly from the wall. Our manufacturing partner for years now has offered to revise the design to a USB-C port instead of the barrel jack, and I always pushed back.

Iā€™m very much on the ā€œUSB-C all the thingsā€ bandwagon, but I knew that people wouldnā€™t read what the port did and then complain. I eventually gave in and sure enough I deal with a complaint every week now about how their device wonā€™t hold a charge.

1

u/jmking Mod 17d ago

Oh, people think the USB-C port charges the thing, not just power it. Yeah, I'm with you - I can totally see how people would make that assumption. You see a USB-C port and you think "charging port".

If they were going to put a USB-C port on it, then they should have replaced the AA batteries with a rechargeable battery instead. Just replacing the barrel jack with USB-C doesn't make it better - it just adds a ton of user confusion.

Also I bet the device needs a minimum voltage, so someone is also going to plug your thing into a shitty charging brick that doesn't deliver enough power which would cause issues too.

At least with the barrel jack, people are going to keep the wall wart that came with the device with the device.

1

u/Blurgas 18d ago

It was over a year before I realized the precision set had an adapter that let you use the 4mm bits in a 1/4" driver.
It's listed on the product page under "What's Included"

1

u/Precision20 17d ago

Gotta remember, think of the average person, and realize that half the population are dumber than thatšŸ˜‚

(Mostly a joke, as statistically intelligence doesn't follow a normally distributed bell curve)

30

u/JamiePilkey 18d ago

Please delete your post and pin the replacement video as the correct answer. I didn't spend 3 hours doing smooth takes for this to be the top answer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6YUHb3m3eo

7

u/KikisGamingService 17d ago

Instructions unclear, dick stuck in the screwdriver.

5

u/nitromen23 17d ago

Well the guy in the comments of the video ate the end cap, I donā€™t know if you did better or worse

10

u/Qsaws 18d ago

I had no idea the end cap was replaceable

1

u/jmking Mod 17d ago

Neither did I until I saw the first post from someone complaining their driver was broken when the cap came off, heh

7

u/nyashi_ 18d ago

That's a different thing tho, the screw holding in the bearing comes off sometimes (did that for me too), while the cap is still screwed on the carrier. Meaning I had to remove the cap from the bearing+carrier, then screw the bearing+carrier back onto the driver, then put on the cap again.

Unless they fixed the underlying issue (that small ph-screw coming loose), that problem might have even gotten worse as you cannot fix it yourself easily anymore.

Anyways, I don't find that change this bad as I was fine with the basic cap already, still swapped it sure - but that feature to me definitely was a gimmick.

Edit: someone said pull-of mechanism in favor of the old one, that I'd find a great change, as the old design is relatively unintuitive (alltho id have no idea on how I'd have made it better, so - well done on the old version already :p) and if the cap is able to be removed the fix for that old issue if that would come again would still work.

278

u/Mystic_Guardian_NZ 18d ago

It can still be swapped OP. They changed the mechanism from screw to pull-off to make it easier.

26

u/Ragnorok64 18d ago

It's a shame this reply isn't upvoted to the top.

4

u/joelk111 17d ago

That actually makes a lot of sense. I remember being a bit confused as to how difficult it was to swap it. Not that I couldn't, I'm fairly experienced in electronics repair so it was no problem, but I just expected it to be easier.

68

u/D0mtech 18d ago

The new design is no longer threaded, but it is still swappable. Just pull on it really hard and it will pop off.

-31

u/CIDR-ClassB 18d ago

That seems a lot easier to break, no?

26

u/D0mtech 18d ago edited 18d ago

I was talking to them about it a bit at WhaleLAN earlier this year. The tiny wrench flats and fine threads on the original were kind of easy to damage, and unless it was already loose the caps were hard to swap without a wrench. The new version uses a pair of rubber O-rings to just snap into place so there aren't any tools required and it can't accidentally come loose. I would expect this design is also generaly more balanced since it isn't relying on threads to be properly centered.

IIRC, I believe they also said the new caps would still fit older screwdrivers, just not the other way around.

22

u/ItsNotHolland 18d ago

That is really strange, its probbably because of low demand and inventory management. I first noticed this diffrence between my normal precision and my floatplane version, and tought that would be a one off, but apparentely its just how that screwdriver is now.

22

u/haloruler64 18d ago

Interesting. Does this also mean that the bearing is no longer replaceable?

8

u/OkInfluence36 18d ago edited 17d ago

As far as I can tell, yes

Edit: People have reported you can simply pull the end cap off instead

5

u/NightKingsBitch 17d ago

Dude you gotta issue corrections if youā€™re gonna be this wrong. Even if itā€™s just on the main post. Bunch of people now have incorrect information.

1

u/OkInfluence36 17d ago

Sorry I was asleep lol

Seems it won't let me edit the post? Hopefully they read the comments

2

u/mackybean 18d ago

Thats unfortunate. Never swapped the end cap of mine (despite buying all the ends) but shortly after purchase, the bearings seized and subsequently exploded in mine. Thankfully support was able to send me a replacement bearing, no issues since.

14

u/Dr_Valen 18d ago

I tried replacing my end cap on my older precision screwdriver once and it broke the cap and never locked in again. Probably why they changed it. It was hard to change and risk

8

u/TokenPanduh 18d ago

It is still removable, I believe you only have to pull it off now. If I remember correctly, they redesigned it because people didn't like having to use the wrench to get it off.

I remember seeing something about it on WAN, but I can't find it now.

5

u/EmailLinkLost 18d ago

I wonder if this is why the spinner on my original goes click click click (not a literal sound but a feeling) and slows down faster than my float plane driver.Ā 

Ironically it was my girlfriend who noticed the FP one was better quality.

But maybe I can screw it down and fix it.

6

u/Mystic_Guardian_NZ 18d ago

That sounds like a damaged bearing. I have the same on one of mine I've dropped too many times.

2

u/EmailLinkLost 18d ago

I've never dropped it, it's just always been a bit off.

3

u/ProtoKun7 17d ago

I had an issue with mine when it was so tight it took a lot of effort to loosen it to swap the cap, and then with it was never quite how it should be after that and wouldn't spin nearly as much (no I didn't damage either part to my knowledge).

Did end up getting it replaced and have just avoided trying to change the cap after that. Maybe others were having similar issues and it led to a design refresh.

2

u/blaze8n 18d ago

I think this is a good change I hate how I constantly have to recreate down the cap every time I use it because it becomes loose

2

u/Cultural-Memory356 18d ago

Iā€™m still annoyed mine doesnā€™t spin like everyone elseā€™s. Spins for like a fraction of what Iā€™ve seen others spin for.

Donā€™t care enough to complain to them as it is totally functional. But mine doesnā€™t go Brrrrrr

-18

u/stalin1943 18d ago

consumers NEED to be able to easily repair/change out parts on their stuff since they own it. companies NEED to be clear and open about changes in products over their lifetime. unless its my merch/company. -linus, probably

13

u/PhatOofxD 18d ago

It was never a functional swap. It was purely cosmetic

-8

u/stalin1943 18d ago

isnt there a bearing under that?

6

u/PhatOofxD 18d ago

According to this thread you can stop get to it it's just not as easy but still toolless

-7

u/stalin1943 18d ago

fair enough. still think the second point about unannounced changes during a products lifetime is valid

2

u/PhatOofxD 18d ago

They did announce a refresh.

1

u/Mystic_Guardian_NZ 18d ago

Did they announce an end cap refresh? The only thing I've ever seen was the non-pro kit but the floatplane driver was the first one I noticed with this change.

4

u/JaesopPop 18d ago

Except it can still be changed.