From: Jan Bentz 
To: Scott Berfield 
CC:  atm{at}shore.net
Reply-To: Jan Bentz 


This is what something called a "rivnut" is for.  They are used
in aircraft and racing cars for fastening panels of aluminum that must be
removable.  They do require a special hand tool to install them but they
are cheap and quick.  Any racing shop nearby would be happy to install one
in your Al sheet.

Jan Bentz

Scott Berfield wrote:

>How strong to you need this to be? There are a couple of approaches I
>would look at. Brazing is possible, but if the plate is thin, you need
>to be very careful with your torch - and brazing two dissimilar metals
>(since your nut is probably zinc coated steel or some-such) is not
>likely to produce a strong joint. It is obviously strongest if you could
>put the nut on the opposite side of the plate so that tightening the
>bolt pulls the plate rather than stressing the joint. You could also
>carefully drill the hole in the plate, adhere the nut using epoxy, then
>use a tap to thread down through the nut (being careful to engage the
>existing threads and not crosscut) and the plate so you have a
>continuous thread through the nut and plate. Then use a bolt that
>reaches through both. You could also mount a tee-nut (use epoxy again))
>such that the wide base of it is on the opposite side of the plate (only
>adds 1/16" of height) and the threaded portion sticks through. Then
>thread into that.
>
>-sb
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Orion105 [mailto:orion105{at}gmx.co.uk]
>Sent: Monday, March 17, 2003 8:00 AM
>To: atm{at}shore.net
>
>
>Hi
>
>I need to fix a nut to some thin Al plate so that I can thread on a
>bolt.  The plate is too thin to take a good thread.  How should I do
>this?  I have a basic brazing torch, and can get Al braze rod and flux.
>
>
>Or is it just as secure to epoxy the nut on.
>
>If the recommendation is to braze, having heated Al before, I have
>noticed that it gets quite soft when cool.  How do you maintain the
>slight "spingyness" of the original material?
>
>Thanks in advance..
>
>Ado
>
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