> > I had another go today, but I fail to see how you managed to pry this thing > apart without causing much more damage than appears in your photo. What kind > of tool did you use? >
Stuff sometimes looks better in a photo than it does in real life. There are all sorts of nicks and gouges and the two halves don't mate up anything like as well as they originally did. It's a long time since I originally opened it so I don't remember exactly what I used. Probably jewellers screwdrivers initially, slightly larger flat-bladed screwdrivers, pen knife, an old scissors, blunt old cutlery knives, that sort of thing. Unfortunately, there is a small step at the seam so it is not really possible to cut along it with a sharp blade without cutting through part of the case too. Also, the glue seemed to be nearly as hard as the case material and that didn't help either. I do remember that it was very difficult to open and took a long time over more than one sitting. I think I managed to get started in a few locations but even after freeing both ends completely, it still would not budge until I managed to break it all the way along one of the long sides as well. I recall making very slow but visible progress along one side or end for a while but eventually I would come to a point where I could not seem to get any further and I would have to start again at a different location. Before I got to that point, I tried the slamming it onto concrete trick as well but that made no impression on it except it probably contributed to the broken track that manifested later. Regards, Peter Coghlan.
