Author Topic: Switch puller damages switches  (Read 9130 times)

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Offline WheresTheSNES

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Switch puller damages switches
« on: Thu, 30 August 2018, 13:28:08 »
So I've been testing out switches on my hot swap board. 

I'm starting to think these switches weren't design for our hot-swapping ways.  Every switch I pull I bend the hell out of the tab that clips onto the plate, and one even broke off.

Am I doing it wrong?  I don't see how you can gently grab the switch and pull it out, you have to press in the tab, get a grip, and then pull up.

Offline Tactile

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Re: Switch puller damages switches
« Reply #1 on: Thu, 30 August 2018, 14:23:04 »
You just need the right tool.
REΛLFORCE

Offline daneb

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Re: Switch puller damages switches
« Reply #2 on: Thu, 30 August 2018, 14:29:05 »
Are you using puller horizontally or vertically? On my hot-swap keyboard I need to hold the switch vertically (=top side and bottom side of the switch), not left and right side. Then I just gently dislock the switch from the bushing (there even seem to be "cutout" for it in the switch) and pull it straight up (so as not to bend the contacts)

Offline LightningXI

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Re: Switch puller damages switches
« Reply #3 on: Thu, 30 August 2018, 14:50:37 »
Yes, vertically. I wiggle slightly and remove carefully. I haven't damaged my switches when using the puller.
Are you using puller horizontally or vertically? On my hot-swap keyboard I need to hold the switch vertically (=top side and bottom side of the switch), not left and right side. Then I just gently dislock the switch from the bushing (there even seem to be "cutout" for it in the switch) and pull it straight up (so as not to bend the contacts)

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Offline WheresTheSNES

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Re: Switch puller damages switches
« Reply #4 on: Thu, 30 August 2018, 15:16:39 »
You just need the right tool.

Yeah, that's the one I'm using.  They are BOX switches btw. 

Are you using puller horizontally or vertically? On my hot-swap keyboard I need to hold the switch vertically (=top side and bottom side of the switch), not left and right side. Then I just gently dislock the switch from the bushing (there even seem to be "cutout" for it in the switch) and pull it straight up (so as not to bend the contacts)

Yes, the tabs are on the vertical axis (top and bottom of the switch facing down).

Yes, vertically. I wiggle slightly and remove carefully. I haven't damaged my switches when using the puller.
Are you using puller horizontally or vertically? On my hot-swap keyboard I need to hold the switch vertically (=top side and bottom side of the switch), not left and right side. Then I just gently dislock the switch from the bushing (there even seem to be "cutout" for it in the switch) and pull it straight up (so as not to bend the contacts)


Ok.  So maybe I need to try a gentler approach.  I'm basically pushing the switch puller all the way into the tabs in order to get a grip on the switch, which of course bends the tab way back.  I'll try more wiggling I guess, instead of depressing the tabs and then pulling straight up.
« Last Edit: Thu, 30 August 2018, 15:18:40 by WheresTheSNES »

Offline fohat.digs

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Re: Switch puller damages switches
« Reply #5 on: Thu, 30 August 2018, 16:46:46 »
make one
"However, even though I was born in the Mesozoic, I do know what anyone who wants to reach out to young people should say: Billionaires took your money. They took your chance to buy a home. They took your chance at a good education. They stole your opportunities. Billionaires took the things you want in life. If you really want those things, you have to take them back.
That's the message. That's the whole message. Say that every day, not just to reach America's frustrated young white men, but people of every age, race, and gender.
Late-stage capitalism is a wealth-concentration engine, focused on vacuuming up every dollar and putting it in as few hands as possible. Republicans are helping that vacuum suck.
How does a tiny fraction of the population get away with this? They do it by dividing the other 99% of Americans against themselves."
- Marc Sumner 2025-05-30

Offline WheresTheSNES

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Re: Switch puller damages switches
« Reply #6 on: Fri, 31 August 2018, 09:31:10 »
make one


Lol, awesome.  Which one of those is for switches?

Offline fohat.digs

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Re: Switch puller damages switches
« Reply #7 on: Fri, 31 August 2018, 11:07:55 »

Which one of those is for switches?

None, those are for key caps. I have never used a device to pull switches, except for Mr Bishop's Alps top puller.

"However, even though I was born in the Mesozoic, I do know what anyone who wants to reach out to young people should say: Billionaires took your money. They took your chance to buy a home. They took your chance at a good education. They stole your opportunities. Billionaires took the things you want in life. If you really want those things, you have to take them back.
That's the message. That's the whole message. Say that every day, not just to reach America's frustrated young white men, but people of every age, race, and gender.
Late-stage capitalism is a wealth-concentration engine, focused on vacuuming up every dollar and putting it in as few hands as possible. Republicans are helping that vacuum suck.
How does a tiny fraction of the population get away with this? They do it by dividing the other 99% of Americans against themselves."
- Marc Sumner 2025-05-30

Offline ThoughtArtist

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Re: Switch puller damages switches
« Reply #8 on: Sat, 01 September 2018, 00:26:53 »
Whatever you do, DON'T put petroleum jelly on your switches!

Trust me...