Does This Impress You?

[MICHAEL WILLIAMSParticipant @michaelwilliams41215]

A lot of British engineering firms used to finish their machines beautifully for delivery to customers and this often included having all nut and bolt heads aligned .

Rolls Royce piston engines had aligned nuts and bolts for many years as did the large electrical machines from companies like BTH .

MW

[john jennings 1Participant @johnjennings1]

Some years ago when replacing old steel hinges with posher solid brass ones it always annoyed me that most brass hinges seemed to be countersunk to fit ODD number screws. The normally available No.8, No 10 etc being either two big or two small for a properly "fitted" look . Was there any reason for this?

John

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

I think I'm off to saw some pallets up for firewood.

Do I try to keep to plus or minus 0.010" thou lads ?

John S.

[Jeff DaymanParticipant @jeffdayman43397]

Jason B re Torx-

I know you were joking but there is a serious note about using Torx – Don't ever use them on equipment used or stored outdoors. The head cavities will fill with rust and you will not be able to drive them. The cavity splines are very difficult to clean rust out of, and this gets worse the smaller the fasteners are. In the 1980's GM started using Torx head screws to retain underbody brake and suspension components on most of their cars in North America. In the Northen US and Canada many towns and cities salt the roads in winter to help clear ice, causing major corrosion issues on the steel components of cars, especially exposed fasteners. Within a year the Torx fasteners were not removeable. Thousands of mechanic man-hours were lost wrestling with those buggers, either trying to clear out rust or welding on a bar to the heads to break them loose. I hate Torx fasteners with a passion and replace them with anything else whenever possible on outdoor equipment.

JD

[Mark P.Participant @markp]

I like to see screw slots lined up.attention to detail.

Pailo.

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, buy a load of these http://www.screwfix.com/c/screws-nails-fixings/a2-security-shear-nuts/cat840486

all your nut lining up problems will be solved

Regards Nick.

[_Paul_Participant @_paul_]

Posted by John Stevenson on 04/03/2012 13:56:04:

I think I'm off to saw some pallets up for firewood.

Do I try to keep to plus or minus 0.010" thou lads ?

John S.

How can you! old pallets can make lovely window boxes or planters….. some of mine even have straight screw slots……most have rusty old recycled pallet nails though

P

[NJHParticipant @njh]

Posted by John Stevenson on 04/03/2012 13:56:04:

I think I'm off to saw some pallets up for firewood.

 

Do I try to keep to plus or minus 0.010" thou lads ?

 

John S.

Wot !! – No CNC in your woodwork department then John?

N

Edited By NJH on 04/03/2012 16:56:57

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

I have an aversion to that brown stuff hence the chuckles of glee when it's all goes on the stove to keep me warm

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Thinking about this OCD that seems to attract a large number of this hobby I have come to the conclusion that i may be falling under it's spell, let me explain.

On my truck wheel trims it says FIAT, now when I'm driving down the road it's OK as they are turning but when I stop at the lights how do I know that they are not all level.

Do I need to get out and look, then jump back in and ease forward or back a bit and what happens if they are all at different angles ?

John S.

[_Paul_Participant @_paul_]

Posted by John Stevenson on 04/03/2012 17:44:49:

Thinking about this OCD that seems to attract a large number of this hobby I have come to the conclusion that i may be falling under it's spell, let me explain.

On my truck wheel trims it says FIAT, now when I'm driving down the road it's OK as they are turning but when I stop at the lights how do I know that they are not all level.

Do I need to get out and look, then jump back in and ease forward or back a bit and what happens if they are all at different angles ?

John S.

Mmmm….. they could well be different angles and worst of all different angles from each other!, you are now faced with the prospect of quickly whipping out your jack and rotating the offending wheel/s until they align……or remove the wheel trims and replace in an aligned position.

Surely a better long term solution (and less missed Traffic lights) might be to remove the trims spin/press a recess in the area behind the logo and fit angular contact ball bearings which could be used in conjunction with a suitable mandrel to support the badge?

P

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Yes as paul says with your ability I'm surprised that you don't have spinner type wheels with a weight bias to keep the logo level.

 

J

Edited By JasonB on 04/03/2012 18:36:23

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

As I recall when overloaded phillips screwdrivers and screws damage the screwdriver, posidrive stays engaged, damaging the screw. Use phillips for things that need to be repeatedly assembeled and broken down, pozi for things that won't be.

Neil

[Alan Worland 1Participant @alanworland1]

Well, this stirred up a response!

I am not sure if aligning heads up would ever impress me as even if the heads had been machined/selected to ensure alignment I dont know this and would/could still assume that the fixing had been over or under tightened!

Happy screwing!

Alan

[Terry LaneParticipant @terrylane]

Posted by John Stevenson on 04/03/2012 13:56:04:

I think I'm off to saw some pallets up for firewood.

Do I try to keep to plus or minus 0.010" thou lads ?

John S.

Keep 'em on the minus side John, too long and they won't fit in the fire box.

[Terry LaneParticipant @terrylane]

Posted by Alan Worland on 04/03/2012 20:25:43:

Well, this stirred up a response!

I am not sure if aligning heads up would ever impress me as even if the heads had been machined/selected to ensure alignment I dont know this and would/could still assume that the fixing had been over or under tightened!

Happy screwing!

Alan

Depends on whether the glass is half full or half empty, dunnit.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

When fitting a cylinder cover on a model engne should the screw slots be aligned radially or circumferentially?

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

Heathen! Cylinder cover fixings should always be hex nuts on studs!

But when using slotted screws, treat each alternate screw as the left and right flags in a semaphore and spell out a rude message to the rivet counters.

Neil

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Correct! it was a trick question hence the devil smiley as I'm sure you realised. I like the semaphore sentiment.

[jason udallParticipant @jasonudall57142]

I rember when showing all fasteners at [say] 12 oclock was conidered lazy in DO

Just saying

[Terry LaneParticipant @terrylane]

As long as I can remember it has been a sign of quality work – and this bloke seems to agree.

I tend to do it on work that will be visible.

[Axel BentellParticipant @axelbentell]

I'm trained in gunsmithing, when making fitted screws, or pins as they are called in the British gun trade, the slot is made last. the head is left too tall until its ready to be filed down. First the screw is tightend then a mark is made and the screw removed, a slot is made, and the screw refitted and filed. Most screws on shotguns are made thus, since no standard screws would fit the shape of the body of the gun.

[Ian AbbottParticipant @ianabbott31222]

"…- and this bloke seems to agree."

Nah, the slots should be vertical. And he's even used those 'orrible crappy Canadian Robertson screws in the bottom picture. Now there's a screw to avoid, either the bit spins when the screw's half way in, or you can't get the bloody bit out when the screw's flush.

Ian

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Axel on 05/03/2012 14:51:31:

I'm trained in gunsmithing, when making fitted screws, or pins as they are called in the British gun trade, the slot is made last. the head is left too tall until its ready to be filed down. First the screw is tightend then a mark is made and the screw removed, a slot is made, and the screw refitted and filed. Most screws on shotguns are made thus, since no standard screws would fit the shape of the body of the gun.

Axel,

Thanks for the insight … I knew about the Horologist's method [cutting back the underside of a cheese-head], but not this.

MichaelG..

[JonParticipant @jon]

I wll confirm as Axel stated thats how its done, it used to p me off something i couldnt do well was get the slot in the middle, no problem with the angle.

Of course after hardening of the screws they wont line up after either.

We used to supply to the trade in the white, by the time others did their part,the screws never lined up, certainly on the bridles with each screw marked for position and LH or RH.

[Author]

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