Finger Screws?

D

Doc

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May 2, 2005
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You know how a generator sound box has a service panel on one side that is held on by screws that you can remove with your fingers rather than a screwdriver?

Northern Lights wants about $15 per screw. I need 8 or 10.

Does anyone know where I could find some cheaper?
 
Take one to a real hardware store they will be able to solve the problem. You might have to re-tap it.
 
I have already done that at a big Ace and a larger True Value and they have never seen one before. They have lots of screws that fit the hole but they are used with a screw driver. I want to take them off with my fingers.
 
Buy the screws that fit, and get wing nuts for them, JB weld the wing nuts on. If you don't do that simple thing there is no help. Sorry to be so sharp, but you and the hard ware store don't out think the problem.
 
He can't think simple, now on the internet he has to know the threads the dia. and length.
 
With all due respect they are not wing nuts or wing screws. They are round heads about 3/8" in diameter. JB Weld wouldn't hold my dog's tags on longer than a day or two...especially if he scratched himself.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Doc

With all due respect they are not wing nuts or wing screws. They are round heads about 3/8" in diameter. JB Weld wouldn't hold my dog's tags on longer than a day or two...especially if he scratched himself.

Click to expand...


If you put the screw through the wing nut the JB weld only needs to keep it from rotating and then only when you are putting it in. If that's too hard there is always duck tape.
 
Doc, understand, you get the screws that fit, put the wing nuts on them and get them held in place with JB.
I think you might be beyond help. When bond anything the two have to be clean.
 
Where in Florida are you?

Also, take a look at MCMaster Carr on line. If they don't have it, it may not exist. For instance:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#thumb-screws/=sr53su
http://www.mcmaster.com/#thumb-screws/=sr54oe

By the way, it doesn't sound like the JB Weld was applied properly. I'd certainly try to find the right replacement before going all redneck on a top of the line generator.
 
Punta Gorda.

Thanks Caltexfla it looks most like the one at McMaster called this:

Knurled Head Thumb Screws with Shoulder.

I'll take one of mine somewhere to find out the size and order some.
 
I got to thinking that JimPend might know what he is talking about on the JB Weld, wing nut combo so I went out to the boat and looked at the removable service panel. Wing nuts would stick out too much and snag your clothes when you go down into the space to work on other things. It is a tight space in the rear of the cockpit where the steering, macerator, washdown pump, gen set Racor, etc are located.

I thought that I might make up a few anyway so I drove over to True Value. The problem is that the head of the screw will not fit down flush in the cradle of the wing nut that has the closest diameter to the screw. So that option will not work for two reasons.

What I am using now in lieu of the knurled thumb screws are regular stainless sheet metal screws #14 x 3/4". I took one of my remaining knurled screws to the hardware store to match it.

I need Knurled Head Thumb Sheet Metal Screws with Shoulder. #14 x 3/4"

I can't find them on the McMaster site or by a Google search.

Northern Lights may have me by the cahones.
 
14x3/4 is a sheet metal screw and normally used in self tapping. That's a lot of space in between threads to hold anything. Talk about getting screwed!!! At that price from Northern, I retap it the whole thing to a normal, readily available size and call it a day. You can get 20 stainless thumb screws for the price of 1.5 screws from Northern.

I had to do something similar to the skid plate on my SUV. Same price as you are facing, $15 a whack. I only needed 6 though. Went to Ace, bought a tap and die and 6 carbon black bolts for <$12 and in 20 minutes was good as new.
 
https://www.marshallshardware.com/products/productList.aspx?uid=2-52-102
 
quote:
Originally posted by caltexfla

Somehow I sincerely doubt that NL uses sheet metal screws for that application. Are you saying there is no female thread the screw goes into, just a metal panel..?

Here is a link to drawings of their generators and enclosures. What model do you have?

http://www.northern-lights.com/drawings/marine.html

Click to expand...


I would agree with you, but I'm not the one who said the application called for a #14 screw. The hardware store matched it.

I'm wondering if the person at the hardware store mis-read the size and it should be
quarter inch twenty as opposed to fourteen because he did not see the slash and read 14 as opposed to 1/4?
 
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