Cybertool mod question

[thebullfrog]

Last week or so I posted about needing a SAK to compliment my Spirit S. Decided that a Compact is the way to go. But a few min ago I was using my CT34 and I realized that I'd really like to keep that bit driver, but the CT34 is just too big to carry around in my pocket and too heavy on my keys. I thought about a CT27, but then I lose the scissors which defeats the whole point. That's when I kinda went "duh".

How hard would it be to "cut down" my CT34? What I mean is removing the layer with the can and bottle openers and the awl (Spirit has all that) and get rid of the pliers (Spirit has that too). Losing two layers (almost 3 when you consider how thick the pliers layer is) and quite a bit of weight especially with the pliers gone, would make it a much more viable companion to the Spirit, while still giving me all the features missing from the Spirit. Only issue I can see is I'd wind up losing the key ring, unless it's possible to put it in the place of the small blade. Any modders out there that can enlighten me a bit?

[Santos]

i say get yourself an old compact... the ones i got for modding the keyring is on the spacer with the combo tool. Take the bit layer off the cybertool and add it to the compact. (leaving you with all the bits to turn you ct34 into a Deluxe Climber  )

[Gareth]

Older SAKs (1980's and before I think) have the split ring mounted on the spacer beside the small blade, the Compact still does this as it doesn't have the opener backspring. 

Am I right in thinking that the two layers you want to get rid of are right beside each other?  If so what you can do is drill out the pin heads and gently tap back the pins so as to free one layer at a time.  In this article Dave goes on to take the whole thing apart but you probably don't want or need to do that.  Easier than taking the whole thing apart IMO.

http://www.sosakonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=108&Itemid=35

If you really want to add the split ring spacer next to the small blade then you really would have to strip the whole then down and build it up again from scratch.  This is a little bit more tricky but not that hard either.  The only thing I don't know is if there are any pitfalls with the bit-driver layer as I've never worked with one or even own one.  I don't see why there should be though.

[thebullfrog]

The two layers I wanna lose are seperated by the bit driver so more would have to come apart than that. As for the keyring, I'm honestly not overly concerned with it. Putting it by the blade may be nice, but if not doable then I really don't care. In a perfect world I'd lose the knife layer too and have it be totally bladeless, but as far as I can tell the blade layer has to be there in order to retain the corkscrew.

Oh and apparently I'm not authorized to view that link

[Gareth]

OK someone more computer literate then me will have to work out why, the link is working for me and it's only to the main SOSAK page with should be viewable to anyone AFAIK.

Try here: http://www.sosakonline.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

and do a search for "Canadian" the article you're looking for is called the "Canadian Explorer knife mod".

[thebullfrog]

Yeah I found it by searching Google actually, but it still says I need to register to view it. Maybe it'll work this time. Last time I tried to register with SOSAK i was apparently denied lol.


ooookay nevermind. It said my username was already in use. I guess it did work last time, just took a while for the registration to kick in?

Anywho, read the article. That is very helpful indeed  I may try it next week if I get the courage. I've been wanting to try my hand at modding for some time now, but I'm a bit nervous of screwing something up. It's the peening of the pins that has me the most concerned, but I suppose it's as good a time as any to learn. I'm unemployed and have little else to do with my time when I'm not out job hunting (which is why I'd rather try modding the CT since I can't spend the money for a Compact ATM)

[Mr. Whippy]

If you just want to remove layers from the Cybertool 34, just drilling out the pin on one side CAREFULLY, so you don't damage the collar and then pulling the pins out to rebuild the tool won't be too bad.  Go slowly, take pictures as you disassemble and keep each layer in separate trays or bags--that way you will have the right backspring/tool combos locked down.

Notice too, the midpin is a different size than the end pins.

Build it back up from one side to the other and it you should have enough pin length so you can reuse the old pins.

The picture primer that is pinned is EXCELLENT and shows you virtually everything you need to know. 

[thebullfrog]

Yep. It really doesn't seem overly difficult. Back the pins out far enough to pull off the first 3 layers (openers, driver, pliers), reinstall the driver where the pliers were, slap the end on, cut down the pins and peen. For the most part I'm not too worried. Just gotta be really careful about the drilling. Like I said, the peening is the only part I'm kinda sketched out about.
What's the best way to cut the pins down to length? Just use some snips or what?

[Mr. Whippy]

Brass is fairly soft.  I snip them with good quality wire cutters.  For drilling, I center punch the pins to be drilled, then use a drill press SLOWLY getting the hole started.  Rotokid (Tom) has a very nice tool/drillbit that makes the process much easier.  It has a sleeve that fits over the collar, while drilling definitely takes a lot of the pucker factor out of the process.

[thebullfrog]

Yeah a drill press would be super duper sweet if I actually any kind of access to one. Doing it by hand is a bit...nerve wracking, but so long as I'm real slow and patient it shouldn't be too bad. I've seen rotokid's tool and that is pretty nifty, but I don't see any reason that with enough patience and discipline I can't just do it by hand. Would be nice if I knew somebody with a drill press I could use though lol.

[Gareth]

Yeah, I just use snips.  The important thing is to then file them flat on top so as to make the peening as easy as possible.  You might want to have a look at my rough guide if you haven't already.

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,9808.0.html

[thebullfrog]

Yep, I've read ur write up before. Also helpful.
I do have one more question if anybody knows. It's hard to tell by looking at it: Is it possible to remove the blade layer and have the corkscrew sit behind the scissors instead where the hook is at. The backspring looks a bit different, but can't tell if it's different enough to matter. Only obvious issue is that the hook spring allows the hook to extend beyond 90 deg. and doesn't hold it in place as well, but then the only thing I need the corkscrew for is a place to store the eyeglass driver anyway. Thoughts?