Aluminum t slot nuts?

Here's my thinking. If you plan on making these, all the effort is in the time it takes to do so. So if you are going to spend the time, at least use the best material. 12L14 steel is cheap and is not much more difficult to machine than aluminum. I guess if all you have on hand is aluminum then go for it! I agree it would be cheaper to just order some but....
Robert
 
I have the aluminum so I might try it. Won't hurt anything. I may buy some steel ones too "just in case."
 
JimDawson said:
A Heli-Coil would make the threads almost permanent
Click to expand...

That's a good protection against the threads accumulating damage. Also durable, and cheap and easy to produce in the
shop, would be a shouldered threaded insert.
I can't imagine that the shoulder-seat strength would be a problem, even weak aluminum makes a good socket support.

An aluminum TEE would be nicely grabby at the internal slot surfaces.
 
I bought a box of 50 T Nuts for pennies on the dollar compared to making them. We're here because it is just a hobby. You choose how you make chips & for what purpose!
 
It's all about application. If you plan on machining tank gun turrets aluminum may not be the best choice. If making watch parts you probably can get away with it.
 
Dan, I would use 7075 instead of 6061 but it will work fine. 7075 is pretty close in comparison to many mild steels in terms of strength and machines similarly, too. Cost is higher but it is light, strong and makes good T-nuts. While I agree that just buying them is cheaper and easier in most cases, sometimes you need a specific size that is hard to find, and sometimes you just want to make your own so I would go for it.

I have some 7075 T-nuts that I made over 20 years ago and they're as good as the day I made them. Caught some flack on "another forum" for using aluminum but they were a lot better than the cheap Chinese "unknownium steel" stuff you can buy today.
 
I'm sure aluminium will work well for occasional light duty. For hobbyists it often comes back to cost. So for me I would use steel because i can get plentiful offcuts in various sizes for free, whereas I have to pay full tote odds for aluminium
 
I made some from aluminum. Right after buying my mill, buying any thing else was out of the question for a while.
Had aluminum on hand.
They were made so a bolt slipped through them, with the head down and threads up.
The bottom of the T-nut is counter sunk with enough interference to keep the hex head snug.
 
I appreciate all of the comments. I ordered some of the steel nuts since they are so cheap but I think I will make some out of aluminum anyway, partly to have around but also to practice using my P&W milling machine. One thing about the steel nuts is that the widest part of the T in my table is 7/8" but the nuts that fit my 7/16" slot are usually 5/8" or 11/16", which will let the nut turn slightly in the slot and "may" do some damage over time. Custom nuts would provide a tighter fit. On the up-side, I did finish the new draw-bar assembly to adapt the R8 collets to my machine in place of the unobtainium 4pn collets. The R8s have dimensions very close to the 4pn but use a draw-bar instead of the 4pn draw tube. So I lose the ability to work on longer pieces through the collet but I really didn't have much choice.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top