By David Bliss
After reading the email tip by Ron Geppert regarding the use of a bolt as a washer arbor, I have a couple of thoughts I’d like to share.
If a binder/joiner nut is used in place of the standard hex nut shown in the original tip, the longer nut can be faced and turned in the clamping area with a countersink that allows the flat head screw to adjust fully (no spacer washer). If both ends of the nut are machined differently, the two ends can be tuned for a wider range of washer sizes. Also, the longer nut can be chucked instead of the screw thread, resulting in more rigidity, better drive, and the ability to change/reload washers with the now shorter screw without un-chucking the nut.
Lastly, a drop of super glue on the washer/nut surface gives much greater drive torque capacity. Be sure to put a drop or so of oil on the screw thread so the only glued thing is the washer to the nut face.
While we’re on the super glue topic, let’s discuss the location of drill fixtures on a drill press or mill table. Insert the cutting tool in the fixture hole and put a few drops of super glue around the edge of the fixture. It will wick under the fixture and lock it in place. Unlike a clamped fixture that can migrate out of position without notice – bad parts!! bad parts!! – the super glued fixture is either glued firmly in place or it is loose, and it will be obvious which is true. A tap with a hammer will knock it loose, and a scraper or solvent can then be used to clean the surfaces.
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