In the previous thread Zoomcat said that he was unable to turn the spindle from the outside - and I can confirm this.
Your reference to my statement is totally incorrect. No where in the below discussion did I say the shaft could not be turned from the outside. In fact I can grip the B&D screwdriver shaft with a rubber jar lid opener and rotate the shaft in both directions fairly easily. What I did say was with a specific weight suspended from the spindle of the screwdriver, the shaft did not rotate. Correct technical reading and comprehension is essential for getting things correct.
http://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=207394.msg1528816#msg1528816