Chicken or the egg dilemma, 5/8" tee nuts

T

TorontoBuilder

H-M Supporter - Gold Member
H-M Supporter Gold Member
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Dec 3, 2014
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So, how do you machine tee nuts for your new to you mill when you have no tee nuts to clamp your vise to the table?

If you're smart you machine nuts for the new mill on your old mill before you let someone carry the old mill out your door.

We were not smart.

So now I have to buy a whole clamping set for lack of a 5/8th tee nut... well and a few 1/2-13 studs and hex head nuts to be precise.

Anyone in the Greater Toronto Area who has surplus Bridgeport Mill clamping components looking to sell?
 
+1 on the carriage bolt idea.
 
Or even a piece of threaded rod with a nut on the bottom and top, or any suitable size bolt turned head down into the slot.
 
I've used carriage bolts with a portion of each side of the head filed/ground off.
Nuts and threaded rod work.
Both were mentioned above.
Be careful not to overtighten. And consider taking light cuts until you get proper T nuts which optimize contact in the T slot.

Daryl
MN
 
So many responses... and some good ideas.

None offering to sell me what I need though so I went out and bought a set on sale that came to 99 bucks with tax. Now I can make a lot more nuts and really bolt on the vise and get to making brackets and such for the DROs for the lathe and mill.
 
Very good. It's better to have a couple of nuts too many than to come up a couple nuts short.

It really helps to have a mill and a lathe around when setting up a mill or a lathe. Machines are funny like that.
 
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