How to unscrew a small nut or bolt without a key

I repaired an electric kettle at a party here the other day ...

Yes, from the tool, there was only a screwdriver and a multimeter at hand. In principle, for the repair of such a simple device, it is quite enough. Well, at least for diagnostics ...

But! I had a need to get to the contact, which is located under the current collector. And for this it was necessary to unscrew 3 M3 nuts.

I repeat: I didn’t have a key or pliers with me. I already wanted to postpone the repair for the next time, when I take the right tool with me.

But then I remembered a method that I had never used, but heard about it more than once.

To do this, I needed a pen (which is not a pity and then you can throw it away) and matches (or a lighter).

The cap is not needed - it can be immediately discarded.

So, I lit the handle on the side where the rods are inserted.

After waiting about 2 seconds for the plastic to melt well, I put out the fire and ...

... put the tube on the nut, as if it were a socket wrench. I waited 20-30 seconds and started turning the tube counterclockwise.

And ... About a miracle !!! The nut is loose!

Now, in order to remove the nut from the hardened plastic, I again screwed the nut onto the stud (literally a couple of turns) and, shaking the handle from side to side, separated the nut from the handle.

Now I have an impromptu socket wrench in my hands. I unscrewed the remaining two nuts with them.

By the way, in the same way you can unscrew the self-tapping screw if you don’t have a screwdriver at hand, and you really need to unscrew it here and now :)