On Sun, 7 Dec 2008 12:33:30 -0600, "Karl Townsend"
wrote:



You work way too cheap. I would get new clamps. Ebay Item number:
300275218359 I have had these for 6-7 years without a problem.
Steve

you're right, and if they were mine, that's what i would do. "The Kid" and I
trade favors. But he don't buy for me and I don't buy for him. So, when he
asks for me to fix something, I fix it. I'm going to helicoil for him. he
buys the coils.

karl

I have two sons so I understand your logic. But I wouldn't screw
around with helicoils. I'd silverbraze sheetmetal tabs to steel nuts,
assemble the clamp, hammer the tabs around the bottom of the clamp so
the nut can't turn, disassemble and give the modified nuts an hour in
the zinc bucket. (Hardware store bolts are more like 10 minutes' worth
of zinc.) Stainless bolts, nuts and tabs could skip the zinc.

I've used clamps very much like these with zinc-plated bolts, no
problems. Use of antisieze or silicone is certainly a good idea,
though I didn't and got away with it. These clamps shouldn't get wet
from rain or road spray when used to secure a topper or tonneau cover.
Non-copper-based anti-sieze is handy stuff anyway. I use it routinely
on light bulb bases since bulb bases and sockets started being made of
aluminum rather than brass. I've not had one stuck bulb since I
started doing that years ago.