Odd bolt size

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Howard –

Forging draught angle. I appreciate that, but it is rather larger on these building-trade fixings than on most nuts and bolts. There is also a rather generous fillet with the flange.

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My Myford's rear tool post is of modern manufacture, and the nut on the main Tee-bolt always has me searching for the right spanner. The two small ones on the base flange do seem to be of BSF size.

It is the nut size that is awkward. The thread does not really matter.

Obvious solution: make all the accessory fastenings compatible with the original machine, with as few different sizes as possible!

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

It can be frustrating when a machine contains mixed thread forms, or hybrid hardware. Whilst it may have suited the original manufacturer, knowing what is needed for servicing can be a nightmare.

If the nut on the rear toolp;ost is not of Whit size, it could be mounted in a 4 jaw and faced down to a suitable size.

An ex navy chap that I was mentoring showed me a nut that he had made, as a test piece, since only a lathe was allowed to be used.,

Howard

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

I'm not clear what facing the nut will achieve other than making thinner, unless you mean facing each facet to give a smaller across-flats size.

It would be easier to make a new nut from BSW-size hexagon bar, or full-diameter round and mill it hexagonal to size.

If of course I don't have a suitable nut anyway, lurking in the come-in-handy "stock" !

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

You do not face the ends of the nut, you face the raw material to produce a hexagon.

IF no hexagon bar of a suitable size is available.

Remember, 100 miles out to sea you may have to be innovative, and ships do not always carry a milling machine.

The drilling and screwcutting, or tapping can come later.

Once thre faces have been faced, at 60 degrees to each other, they can be be used as a datum to face the opposite side.

So if you have a nut of a size for which no spanner is available, each face can be machined to produce a size across flats for the tools available.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Ah, I see! I was wondering how you'd hold the workpiece on a lathe to do that, then twigged that if you drill and tap it first you can hold it on a nut and bolt to use that as a makeshift spin-indexer on an angle-plate.

I have done something like that to drill pairs of holes at 60º from each other in the ends of three rods, to make a triangular framework a bit like a Toblerone slice.

[Alistair Robertson 1Participant @alistairrobertson1]

Many years ago we bought a race car from the USA.

We found it was fitted with aircraft hardware and 5 sided bolts and nuts.   No Problem! we will buy spanners and sockets to fit!  Well a set of suitable Bonney spanners and sockets was more than a years salary and you had to be a licensed aircraft engineer before they would sell them to us!

After borrowing suitable kit from a local helicopter engineer who had never used his employer supplied kit we replaced everything with hex headed bolts and nuts which was less than 1% of a Bonney set!

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