I want to share something Gary did today that made my jaw drop !
Bought two 9/16 4140 Hardened Steel Bolts with nuts and washers.
I did as described earlier and took it to ask Gary some questions.
He tapped the rod with a "Gun Tap" - two sided spiral point ?
Zip - Zip - All done ! Explained AGAIN about heat treatment.
While we were talking he casually fixed the threads on both bolts w/o ANY tools
whatsoever and did it in less that 2 minutes !
When you buy bolts in a store, the threads are usually boogered up because they've been
banged around in shipment or handling. The nut usually hangs up part way along the bolt.
I always used to put the nut in a vice and tightened the bolt into the nut to let the nut reform the
threads. No....no.....
While we discussed this and that, he tapped on the nuts and within seconds the nut threaded
onto the bolts all the way !
I stopped him and asked, "What the Hell ! How did you DO THAT !" He grins at me and explains
something a fellow showed him years ago. You need no tools and can do it quickly.
He turned the nut onto the bolt and when he got to a part where it turned hard or got stuck, he
rotated the bolt so the boogered up part was facing up.
Then he tapped the nut lightly with the other bolt cap. Done !
He turned the nut again until it bound and repeated the above...
The NUT threads reformed the bent screw threads by being tapped down onto the bent bolt threads !
Pushed the threads back into place ! Light tap or two. Done ! No tools... OMG !
Try it ! Go slap a bolt's threads on something hard and see how quickly you can fix the threads with
the Bolt's own nut !
He said he's fixed boogered up keyways on the front end of crankshafts (where the vibration damper goes)
when the owner was ready to go buy a new crankshaft.
Gently tapping with a punch and a light tap hammer.
Push the malleable metal back to where it belongs...easy as pie !
Same with boogered up screws from old GUNS.
Put the screw in something with a hole in it and start gently tapping the bent
screw head metal back toward the slot. Easy.
Then tap the screwdriver blade into the slot to push the metal back into place if you went a bit too far.
FIXED - Looks nearly new (polish it now).
OMG ! This guy is amazing. Mr. Wizard of Tools (all you old guys know who Mr. Wizard was !
Don Herbert. In the 1950's on live TV. He is on You Tube. He got me interested in Science.).
Now - all you old, experienced machinists....don't go posting a reply telling me you learned this when
you were five years old !
I am 69 and I NEVER, EVER saw this done before.
It was like magic ! No tools required and you could do it in an outhouse or on some deserted
old dirt road, in the rain, whilst drunk...if you could see the bolt that is.
I came home and tried it myself on an old bolt.
Worked great in my outhouse after I had 8 beers....then I dropped it in the hole by accident.
Oh well - it did work ! I won't go retrieve the bolt to prove it though !
DoctorBill