2 Apr
2002
2 Apr
'02
11:08 a.m.
On Tue, 2 Apr 2002, Tony Duell wrote:
An approach that I find to be of value in preserving the tapped holes in
sheet metal is to insert the screw and rotate the screwdriver in the
`unscrew' direction until I feel the screw thread drop into the thread
in the sheet metal. Only then do I rotate the screwdriver in the
`tighten' direction. This pretty well eliminates cross-threading and
ultimately stripping out the hole. Also, remember that it is only sheet
metal, so don't tighten too much.
- don
If find a
peecee screw that is still chewing or "seizing up" touch
bit of oil to the thread. Fixed for good.
Running a tap down the threaded hole and a die (correctly adjusted) over
the screw works wonders as well. Of course it's better to buy good
quality screws in the first place, but it's not always possible to
replace the hole (particularly not if it's in a PC case or a disk drive,
or something.
-tony