Thread: Bolt Housing

was wondering how you did this myself .... one thing i found was http://www.rockler.com, search on threaded inserts

Helicoils work fine. Even tapping straight into the wood is fine. On a lot of my jigs I tap straight into MDF.
regards
Termite

looking on the site that jackiew suggested it looks like the barbed threaded insert is exactly what i wanted. i hope my local hardware store has them. does anyone know how strong these will be

I just screw in the bolt...actually I file a couple of notches up the axis of the bolt first to make a bit of a facsimile of a tap, then just wind it in.

This solution was born of ignorence, but it works just fine. On other posts you'll find mention of superglue down the thread, but I've never needed it....just lucky I guess.

My router is held in place by 6mm bolts tapped straight into MDF with a straight tension load so I know it works.

Cheers,

P

Backyarder, they will sell barbed threaded inserts in you local hardware store (by which I assume you mean Bunnings or the like). I think the strength will depend on the wood you are putting them and making sure you put them in the right way round - so the weight doesn't pull them out

will i need a special tool to insert them like a helicoil does

I find it is best to just use a metal tap to tap a thread into hardwood, rather than using a threaded insert. I find that inserts tend to split hardwood, although they are fine in softwood. In woods like jarrah, a tapped thread will last for years, so long as you don't try to tap a thread into a hole drilled in end-grain

Rocker

Originally Posted by Backyarder

will i need a special tool to insert them like a helicoil does

Even for Helicoil inserts a pair of long nose pliers works fine.

there are a heap of choices.
the humble "T"nut which is the thing with the barbs mentioned above.
thread inserts which have a coarse thread on the outside and a fine thread on the inside.
and knock down fittings for days.
t nuts are easy to get, if you are rough , bang em in with a hammer, if'n your fussy pull them in with a bolt & a stack of washers. big chopice of thread sizes.

t nuts will do the job 4 you or you can use several different ways i have a lot of different hardware in my shed that will do this job (horses for coarses)
i have picked all of them up at the various cabinetmakers supply store's here in adelaide
you could try Halliday Hardware at regency park, they do have a minimum spend of $5 or $10 i think ( i usally end up spending about $50.00 every time i go there so take some extra ( or leave it till next week so you have some extra spending money for the wood show)
hope that helps

Cheers Ian