Need some help with a busted mold

[asmith80]

Don't see why not, that doesn't seem too difficult and I wouldn't have as hard a time finding a replacement

[FLINTNFIRE]

Contact mihec and see if he has any , He does list some spare parts , take a look and see what he has and contact if it is just the screw , he sent me some mold handle screws when I broke one , he may take a little while to reply .

[Big "D"]

The fastener in question is a shoulder screw/bolt. Check with McMaster Carr, Grainger or other industrial fastener suppliers. I say this as I assume it is a metric thread.

[asmith80]

I'm thinking its metric, too. Found a handy guide at the boltdepot.com that let me measure a couple places on the bolt I have to figure out what I need. It's got an Allen head instead of a hex head, but the sleeve and thread pitch should be right

Metric shoulder bolts (imported), Allen, Class 12.9 alloy steel black oxide finish, 8mm shoulder (6mm x 1.0 thread) x 16mm

I ordered a few so we'll see if they fit when they get here

[asmith80]

Well, That's not going to work



At least I know it's a 6mm thread, so worse comes to worse I'll just get a 6mm bolt from the big box store and some nuts and jury rig my own

[kenton]

Could you pick one from here?
https://www.mcmaster.com/screws/thre...oulder-screws/

I would look at removing the collar from the broke off screw and using a 10.9 or 12.9 grade M6 screw from the local hardware store.

Also another trick if the broke screw is just proud of the surface but you can't grab it with pliers is to use a cut off wheel to make a screw driver slot in the broken screw.

[asmith80]

haha, I just went through McMaster. I think I found it. Everything else about the first one was good except the shoulder length, so I just remeasured it and realized I needed a 6mm shoulder length, not a 16mm like I bought. Just put in for the right size a second ago

So if I'm right, MP uses a bolt with 8mm shoulder diameter, 6mm x 1.0 thread, 6mm shoulder length

It's stuff like this that make me realize why I never became an engineer

[kenton]

If you are measuring with inch calipers the sprue plate should measure .236" for a 6mm thickness. 8mm would be .315"

[asmith80]

Much better



McMaster Carr has some crazy fast shipping. I ordered these bolts at 2pm yesterday, standard ground, and they got here today. Granted, it's only going from NJ to MD, but that's fast for standard shipping.

I think if you wanted a little more adjustment room to get the tension of the sprue plate just where you want it, a 4mm long shoulder length may be even better. As it is, it's exactly as MP molds had it set up when I got it in the mail, and if I want to adjust any tighter I can always put a washer between the bolt and the sprue plate and give me some room.

[DHDeal]

You probably don't need it tighter, though I like mine to not flop around. It's a Goldilocks thing for me, but I don't stress over it too much.

Drop a tiny piece of copper wire in the locking screw as it'll keep the new sprue plate screw from getting buggered up. Over some short period of time the copper will mold itself to the threads but the 2 hardened screws won't touch. At worst it won't hurt anything and at best you'll not flatten any threads.

I have an account at McMaster-Carr and agree that the only way you can get it quicker is if the local hardware actually has what you need and you have the time available to go uptown to get it. McMaster-Carr may not have everything, but I've always been able to find even the weird stuff there.