Relay Cover Shucker

LBPete

Rolling Along

Subscriber

• May 30, 2004

• #1

I've been working with a lot of little Omron relays lately. After de-soldering and removing 4 of them to clean the contacts in the power amp of my Sansui G-22000, I found a 5th one on the power supply board in the preamp/tuner section. Finally the light bulb came on. Maybe this trick is old news to some of the pros out there but I though it is worth mentioning.

The pictures below show a pair of genuine LBPete Relay Cover Shuckers. They are simply two strips of light gauge sheet metal with a small hook bent on the end.

To remove the cover from the typical Omron type relay, work the hook under the edge of the cover next to the retaining tangs. Once in place, carefully bend the lower edges of the cover away from the relay base and pull the cover off. Clean, quick and done without damaging the cover or unsoldering the relay.

Hope this is helpful.

- Pete

edit 2/17/06 Pictured reinserted into this post.

 

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Last edited: Feb 17, 2006

LBPete

Rolling Along

Subscriber

• May 30, 2004

• #2

Relay Cover Shucker fron view

Here is a front view.

 

OvenMaster

Baby, you're my winterblue

• Jun 26, 2006

• #3

Just what I need. Thanks for this tip.
Tom

 

fotno

Lunatic Member

• Jun 26, 2006

• #4

Slick tool Pete, thanks for the tip buddy!

 

skippy_ps

AK Subscriber

Subscriber

• Jun 26, 2006

• #5

Neato!

It's a pita to unsolder and pull those relays so that's a nice tool(s).

Murray

 

LBPete

Rolling Along

Subscriber

• Jun 26, 2006

• #6

Wow, someone has been digging deep to find this old post. It does take a bit of finagling to get these things to work. It also depends on how much room you have to work with. But they are simple to make and worth a try.

- Pete

 

OvenMaster

Baby, you're my winterblue

• Jun 26, 2006

• #7

EchoWars pointed it out to me, Pete, after I asked if anyone knew how to pull relay covers to clean contacts instead of desoldering and removing the whole relay! Nice work, and I thank you for doing the research.
Tom

 

sKiZo

Hates received: 92644 43.20°N 85.50°W

• Mar 29, 2012

• #8

It's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaackkkkkkk ...

A man is alone one night, surfing AK, when behind him he hears:

BUMP... BUMP... BUMP...

He looks back and sees an upright casket banging its way across the room towards him. The lid is opening up ...

BUMP... BUMP... BUMP...

Terrified, he jumps up and throws the first thing he can find at it.

It's a box of cough drops ...

They shoot thru the open lid ...

...the coffin stops!

***

The sleeper is not dead!

***

Makes you wonder what the longest lasting thread here is ...

 

Blue Shadow

Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century

• Mar 29, 2012

• #9

I never searched for relay cover shuckers and now I have a quick weekend project to put in front of some relay work I need to do.

 

Cosmic Charlie

Well-Known Member

• Mar 29, 2012

• #10

Pretty clever. CC

 

sKiZo

Hates received: 92644 43.20°N 85.50°W

• Mar 29, 2012

• #11

I used a couple old PC card slot covers - just bent the narrow ends into an L shape with a pair of needle nose pliers. Bit fat to fit, so I thinned the end with the grinding wheel. Just wiggle it into the gap under the cover, then rock it side to side and they both popped right off. Trick is to use the first tool to keep that side from snapping back while you loosen the other side.

Thanks, LBP ...

 

LBPete

Rolling Along

Subscriber

• Mar 30, 2012

• #12

It's Aliiiiive! From 2004, an oldie but goodie.

Yeah, you usually need two simultaneously. Never though of the PC slot covers. They should work.

I've made a dozen or more variations since the original post. The pictures show the first pair. The hook is way too wide. Now I use a razor knife blade as a form. Clamp it in a vice with the sheet metal sticking past a dull edge of the blade and then tap it with a hammer to form the hook over the edge. Works like a charm. Takes a little trial and error to get the depth of the hook right. It's nice to have some variations for different situations. The only place they won't work is when you have two relays side by side with no gap in between.

- Pete

 

KingJT

Well-Known Member

• Nov 10, 2018

• #13

It lives!

Need to try this idea on an Onkyo TX-4500.

Thanks!

Mike

 

K

Kent Chung

New Member

• Dec 9, 2020

• #14

Life goes on~ so does this thread. Thank you LBPete.

 

LBPete

Rolling Along

Subscriber

• Dec 10, 2020

• #15

Some threads never die. This one has been bouncing around since 2004. I'm glad it's still useful.

- Pete

 

VYNULADIKT

Active Member

• Dec 10, 2020

• #16

Well those relays from back then probably need cleaned again now anyway

 

H

hntjr

Active Member

• Mar 5, 2023

• #17

I was looking for a way to open a relay to clean it without unsoldering. Audio Karma to the rescue!! I found this posting. I had some sheet metal, cut it to size and sharpened the end before bending it into a loop. After a minute or two, the relay cap was off. Thanks LBPete.

 

LBPete

Rolling Along

Subscriber

• Mar 5, 2023

• #18

16 years old and still being dug up. Glad it's still useful!

- Pete

 

Peter S

Member

• Mar 6, 2024

• #19

Thanks Pete! Another Peter piping in; I made one and then made a smaller one to fit in tight spaces with resistors etc near by. Works like a charm. This will save hours!

 

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LBPete

Rolling Along

Subscriber

• Mar 7, 2024

• #20

This thread is going to turn 20 years old in a couple of months. I'm glad it's still helping the AK community.

- Pete