ZX81 Case screws

[Lardo Boffin]

I have been looking for reasonably priced screws for the zeddy in the UK and found these for the 4 silver screws:

They are not an exact match but not far off! I have tried them in several cases and they fit fine - snug without being tight or difficult to insert.

I got them off eBay:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/No-2-No-4-No ... 635-2958-0

And are A2 Pozi Pan Head Self Taping Screws No 2 x 1/4” (2.2 by 6.5mm) and are £4.71 for 100 at time of posting.

I couldn’t find any plastite types that were shipped from the UK (cue someone adding a link…)

I have some of the black screws on order so will see if they fit and then post the supplier.

[Moggy]

Handy to know Lardo. I wish I had a quid for every zeddy I have owned held together with black tape!

[Lardo Boffin]

The black screws have just arrived:

Original on the left, new one on the right. Again a fairly close match.

They go in fine with a little more resistance than the originals but not difficult by any means.

Bought from eBay:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/M2-M2-3-M2-5 ... 635-2958-0

They are M2.3 by 10 Black Steel Phillips Cross Pan Head Self Tapping Screws.

They were £3.88 per 100 at time of posting.

[Lardo Boffin]

If anyone in the UK wants any but doesn’t want hundreds of them lying around I’m happy to sell some on as sets.

I was thinking 2 sets (8 silver and 6 black) for £2 (paypal friends and family) including 2nd class postage to the UK.

[Spinnetti]

Give these a look - bit closer?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/154371640979?h ... SwxCVgSKQJ

[Lardo Boffin]

Thanks - they do look a bit closer but doesn’t look like they ship to the UK.

[Spinnetti]

odd, being shipped from China anyway... try aliexpress?

[1024MAK]

The items from China are no good to me, as I am trying to avoid buying items from or made in China. Never mind what is happening to some of the people in China, you only have to look at what has happened in Hong Kong. I don’t want my money to help to fund the Chinese state.

It’s not always possible, especially as it’s hard to know where items are actually manufactured.

But at the very least, I try to avoid buying directly from China.

I have nothing against individual Chinese citizens.

Similarly, I will not be intending to knowingly buy Russian items. I can’t do much about us using some Russian “natural” gas, other than try to reduce my energy use. And again, I have nothing against individual Russian citizens.

Hence I will be looking for alternatives from European sources.

Mark

[Lardo Boffin]

I agree on both sentiments but after several hours of searching I couldn’t find any European suppliers that would sell in sufficiently small volumes to a private buyer.

If you find one please ket me know!

[1024MAK]

Now, I have not checked, but this company Model Fixings appears to be U.K. based and has a wide range of screws, I don’t know if any are suitable, and I don’t know where they get their stock from, but they do have contact details on their site.

Also most self tapping screws are sized via a ‘gauge’ for the thread size rather than via a metric M size. So search for “gauge self tapping screw black” instead. Not that it helps on eBay very much... No 2 Gauge looks the closest.

Mark