Does anybody have an idea where I can get a smallish stainless steel worm
clamp hose clamp with a Torx screw? This would be a totally standard
stainless
hose clamp, but for the Torx. Size should be about 1 1/2" diameter.

The application is a simple pickup tailgate lock. You would need to unscrew
the
clamp to pop the tailgate. I could use a standard clamp, but screwdrivers
are pretty
common. Torx is much less common. It would be possible to disassemble a
clamp, grind the head off the bolt and TIG weld the top off a stainless Torx
bolt
on, but a source of finished goods would be much less work.

Thanks for any leads.

frank wrote:
Does anybody have an idea where I can get a smallish stainless steel worm
clamp hose clamp with a Torx screw? This would be a totally standard
stainless
hose clamp, but for the Torx. Size should be about 1 1/2" diameter.

What's wrong with a padlock with the appropriate hole?

There is no hole, and I am not going to drill holes in my brand new truck
to add a lock.

By chance I was at McFadden Dale Hardware today. They had #14 pin
span stainless screws and the right driver. I think I can convince my
neighbor to do a small bit of TIG welding for this project.


"Ian Stirling" wrote in message
...
frank wrote:
Does anybody have an idea where I can get a smallish stainless steel
worm
clamp hose clamp with a Torx screw? This would be a totally standard
stainless
hose clamp, but for the Torx. Size should be about 1 1/2" diameter.

What's wrong with a padlock with the appropriate hole?

frank wrote:
There is no hole, and I am not going to drill holes in my brand new truck
to add a lock.

A padlock with a hoop as large as the proposed hose clamp.

"frank" wrote in message
...

The application is a simple pickup tailgate lock.

Check the truck accessory shops for a remote tailgate lock. My neighbor has
one on his Chevy. There is a switch concealled in the cab that needs to be
on to open the gate.
Greg

Nice idea, but if you pull on those real hard they just open anyway. Try
it.
Like certain candy machines with steel "flapper" gates, these will keep away
the
10 second thief. But the 60 second thief has no problem.

A hose clamp with an uncommon screw is at least as secure and costs much
less.

"Greg O" wrote in message
...

"frank" wrote in message
...

The application is a simple pickup tailgate lock.

Check the truck accessory shops for a remote tailgate lock. My neighbor
has
one on his Chevy. There is a switch concealled in the cab that needs to be
on to open the gate.
Greg

Nice idea, but there is no room between the tailgate and the truck bed to
put a common padlock. Even a "tee bolt" type hose clamp will not fit. (If
one
did I would just change the bolt to a Torx bolt.)

"Ian Stirling" wrote in message
...
frank wrote:
There is no hole, and I am not going to drill holes in my brand new
truck
to add a lock.

A padlock with a hoop as large as the proposed hose clamp.

frank wrote:
Nice idea, but if you pull on those real hard they just open anyway. Try
it.
Like certain candy machines with steel "flapper" gates, these will keep away
the
10 second thief. But the 60 second thief has no problem.

A hose clamp with an uncommon screw is at least as secure and costs much
less.

A spanner of the correct size may work.
If you simply filled in the slot, then you'd need a socket of the appropriate
size to unscrew it easily.
Torx can be defeated by a jamming a straight screwdriver in the slot, if you
can find one the right sixe.

On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 11:12:14 -0700, "frank" wrote:

Nice idea, but there is no room between the tailgate and the truck bed to
put a common padlock. Even a "tee bolt" type hose clamp will not fit. (If
one
did I would just change the bolt to a Torx bolt.)

I put the hasp on the frame that holds the tailgate and the loop on
the tail gate itself. Its not particularly in the way and it prevents
me from having another $15,000 burglary to my truck.

Gunner


"Ian Stirling" wrote in message
...
frank wrote:
There is no hole, and I am not going to drill holes in my brand new
truck
to add a lock.

A padlock with a hoop as large as the proposed hose clamp.


"The entire population of Great Britain has been declared insane by
their government. It is believed that should any one of them come in
possession of a firearm, he will immediately start to foam at the
mouth and begin kiling children at the nearest school. The proof of
their insanity is that they actually believe this."
-- someone in misc.survivalism

On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 03:55:17 GMT, Gunner wrote:
On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 11:12:14 -0700, "frank" wrote:
Nice idea, but there is no room between the tailgate and the truck bed to
put a common padlock. Even a "tee bolt" type hose clamp will not fit. (If
one
did I would just change the bolt to a Torx bolt.)

I put the hasp on the frame that holds the tailgate and the loop on
the tail gate itself. Its not particularly in the way and it prevents
me from having another $15,000 burglary to my truck.

Reminds me of a tragic story. Six University of Georgia students were
riding in a pickup truck. The truck went off the road and into a lake. The
two riding in the cab got out ok, but the four in the back drowned when
they couldn't let down the tailgate.

I suppose, being UGA students and all, it never occurred to them
to simply step over the tailgate, or the bed sides. Thieves, generally
smarter than UGA students, would probably figure out that they could
simply reach over the locked tailgate to take what they wanted from
the bed of the pickup.

On my work truck, I have a large Greenlee job box welded to the bed.
Its lid is held closed by two shielded padlocks (they're in pockets which
prevent them from being attacked with boltcutters). I put high value
items in the job box instead of just leaving them in the bed where
anyone can get to them. Thieves have broken into my truck, stealing
the CD player out of the dash, but they haven't yet been able to penetrate
the job box and get to my high value tools.

BTW, an aluminum camper cap is about worthless as a way of stopping
thieves. A couple seconds with a prybar will peel back the aluminum, or
they'll simply heave a brick through the glass, then they have access to
everything in the bed that is not welded down.

About the only thing putting a lock on the tailgate might do is prevent
the thieves from easily stealing the tailgate.

Gary