In article ,
Nate Nagel wrote:

Jeepwolf wrote:
I went to a metal shop today to see what sort of gizmo they might have
to hold a handle on my car door. This handle closes the door from the
inside and all it was held on by was a sheet metal screw into a piece
of very thin tin. What was originally a #8 screw grew to be a 5/16
lag bolt in the last few years, and that recently pulled out. I
needed something that would hold the thing. I told the guy the handle
must come off if I need to remove the door panel, so a pop rivet would
not work. The guy got out a special tool that looks like a pop rivet
tool, except it was not a rivet. Instead there are small cylinders
that go into the hole, and with a press of the handle of the tool, the
thing expands just like a pop rivet, except it's threaded to the tool,
and when the tool is unthreaded from it, a standard bolt can go into
the hole. It worked like a charm. He first drilled the hole to 3/8".
Inserted the tool, squeezed the handle, and unscrewed the tip of the
tool. Then it was just a matter of screwing on the handle with a 1/4"
bolt.

When he finished, I asked him what that thing is called. He did not
know. He said the boss would know the name but he was gone.

I'd like to add this tool to my tool kit. I could see all kinds of
uses for it. But what the heck is it called?
Anyone know?

JW

I don't know what it's called, probably something like a "well nut
insertion tool" or something like that. But anyway, you don't need the
tool if you just need to insert a few of them. just buy the well nuts,
and then when you need to insert one, drill the hole (NOTE: check the
drill size against the actual well nut before drilling. sometimes the
hole size recommended is too big and makes for frustration.) then get a
long bolt of the same size/thread of the insert and a nut and washer to
match. run the nut up to the head of the bolt and then slide the washer
on, then thread the whole mess into the well nut. take one wrench and
hold the head of the bolt steady and turn the nut so that it runs down
toward the end of the bolt. This will expand the well nut as it's
supposed to. Once it is fully expanded (nut gets a lot harder to turn)
simply unscrew the bolt et voila.

I used these to repair a few similar issues on my Studebaker - the one I
really remember was the coil bracket which was held to the (sheetmetal)
cowl by some 5/16" cap screws. of course the cowl distorted and the
bolts didn't hold after 50 years used the procedure I mentioned
above and not only is it still securely (more so than it was from the
factory!) mounted but with the coil bracket in place it looks 100%
correct, you'd never know.

You can probably find both the well nuts and the insertion tool (if you
see that you're going to use them often) at a GOOD hardware store, I've
bought them at a place in Annapolis that specializes in hardware for the
boating crowd.

nate

McMaster Carr (www.mcmaster.com) carries the tool. Search for "rivet nut
tool" from their home page.