Newbie to the forum. If I've posted this in the wrong place, let me know.
I managed to horse up an adjustable, studed handle on my 20 year old Delta jointer and am attempting to replace/repair it. The stud on the handle threads into a cast iron (I presume, perhaps it's ductile, I'm certainly no machinist)plate. Of course Delta no longer has a replacement part available.
I can work around the problem with a pair of pliers on the stud, but that "just ain't right."
The OEM stud is, by my reconning an M6 X 1 thread (it threads cleanly into an M6 nut, with no noticable slop at all). I first tried a M6 X 1 cap screw thinking that would work, but it snugs up pretty tightly (by hand) about three turns in. Didn't want to force it beyond that point.
So, I figured the threads in the plate may be buggered up a bit (tho' there's reason to think that they are - the OEM stud threads through just fine) and trundled off the the hardware to get an M6 X 1 tap to chase the threads in the cast. Same thing, except this seemed to tighten up just about the time the threads started wanting to cut. With the plate being cast (it's maybe 5/8 in thick and the screw hole is about 3/16th from a corner on the plate,) I didn't want to put any torque other than my hand on it for fear of really making a mess. The hole is through and through.
Soooo. off to McMaster Carr for a replacement adjustable handle in M6 X 1. Same story. Darned nice handle tho - much nicer than the OEM one.
FWIW, yes I've tried Imperial screws in the hole as well - everything's either too small to bite at all, or too large to even start in the hole.
Thoughts? What will I run into / need to look out for if I seriously try to run that tap (it's nothing special - just a run of the mill Irwin tap from Ace Hdwe) into that cast? Obviously I don't want to break the tap in the hole, nor do I want to stress the plate to the point with the tap that it cracks. I haven't pulled the plate off the machine to see if anything will thread through from the other side... it looks like that might introduce a need to do some setup work on the jointer I'd rather avoid.
Any and all comments welcome.
I managed to horse up an adjustable, studed handle on my 20 year old Delta jointer and am attempting to replace/repair it. The stud on the handle threads into a cast iron (I presume, perhaps it's ductile, I'm certainly no machinist)plate. Of course Delta no longer has a replacement part available.
I can work around the problem with a pair of pliers on the stud, but that "just ain't right."
The OEM stud is, by my reconning an M6 X 1 thread (it threads cleanly into an M6 nut, with no noticable slop at all). I first tried a M6 X 1 cap screw thinking that would work, but it snugs up pretty tightly (by hand) about three turns in. Didn't want to force it beyond that point.
So, I figured the threads in the plate may be buggered up a bit (tho' there's reason to think that they are - the OEM stud threads through just fine) and trundled off the the hardware to get an M6 X 1 tap to chase the threads in the cast. Same thing, except this seemed to tighten up just about the time the threads started wanting to cut. With the plate being cast (it's maybe 5/8 in thick and the screw hole is about 3/16th from a corner on the plate,) I didn't want to put any torque other than my hand on it for fear of really making a mess. The hole is through and through.
Soooo. off to McMaster Carr for a replacement adjustable handle in M6 X 1. Same story. Darned nice handle tho - much nicer than the OEM one.
FWIW, yes I've tried Imperial screws in the hole as well - everything's either too small to bite at all, or too large to even start in the hole.
Thoughts? What will I run into / need to look out for if I seriously try to run that tap (it's nothing special - just a run of the mill Irwin tap from Ace Hdwe) into that cast? Obviously I don't want to break the tap in the hole, nor do I want to stress the plate to the point with the tap that it cracks. I haven't pulled the plate off the machine to see if anything will thread through from the other side... it looks like that might introduce a need to do some setup work on the jointer I'd rather avoid.
Any and all comments welcome.