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What is the name of this baseboard essential?


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6 hours ago, Dave John said:

 

Hello Dave

 

Many thanks. The reason I posted the question was that I went into my local Screwfix yesterday and spent a good 5 minutes describing them to two different members of staff with absolutely no luck - now I have the details I'll have another go!

 

Ironically was in Glasgow last weekend with an N gauge WW2 layout at the Glasgow show - did you go?

 

My own layout will be going next year.

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1 minute ago, Talltim said:

I’d query whether thy attach any more securely than T-nuts, but I’ve had a few situations where it has been hard to get the clearance to push the prongs in and a threaded insert would be far easier 

 

Considerably more securely as they are screwed into a hole, to make them more captive then maybe a smear of epoxy or whatever, but as they are tightly wound in with an Allen key then they ain't goin' nowhere, not had one go MIA yet and not just on layouts.

 

Mike.

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11 minutes ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Considerably more securely as they are screwed into a hole, to make them more captive then maybe a smear of epoxy or whatever, but as they are tightly wound in with an Allen key then they ain't goin' nowhere, not had one go MIA yet and not just on layouts.

 

Mike.

 

You could use the glue on the Tee nuts as well, also I would tend to use the tee nuts the

opposite way round to usual, ie so they can be pulled into the wood as you tighten them.

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1 minute ago, jcm@gwr said:

 

You could use the glue on the Tee nuts as well, also I would tend to use the tee nuts the

opposite way round to usual, ie so they can be pulled into the wood as you tighten them.

That how I thought you were supposed to use them!

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2 minutes ago, jcm@gwr said:

 

You could use the glue on the Tee nuts as well, also I would tend to use the tee nuts the

opposite way round to usual, ie so they can be pulled into the wood as you tighten them.

 

That's the way you are supposed to use tee nuts, the issue is that over time, the constant tightening and loosening and inserting of the bolt displaces the prongs. If gluing, epoxy is best, but be careful where the glue goes.

 

Mike.

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Just now, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

That's the way you are supposed to use tee nuts, the issue is that over time, the constant tightening and loosening and inserting of the bolt displaces the prongs. If gluing, epoxy is best, but be careful where the glue goes.

 

Mike.

 

That would suggest they weren't fitted securely/correctly in the first place, glueing would solve that.

Also, I would have thought that, unless you are using hardwood, threaded inserts would be more

likely to work loose over time, softwood just isn't that strong in that situation.

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I have had mixed results with tee nuts obtained from the usual DIY sources. One solution is to sandwich them with a piece of thin ply or hardboard.

For joining baseboards I use an M8 nut welded to a50mm repair washer. Three small holes in the washer allow it to be secured with small screws. Matching washers without nuts and a slightly enlarged centre hole are used on the other board. Location is achieved by pattern makers dowels.

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1 minute ago, Talltim said:

What I really want is some sort of sprung over-centre cam twist lock plunger thing, but either they don’t exist, or my google-fu is lacking

A bit like the dzus fasteners used in old school aircraft and motor sports?

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9 minutes ago, Talltim said:

What I really want is some sort of sprung over-centre cam twist lock plunger thing, but either they don’t exist, or my google-fu is lacking

 

Is this what you are thinking of?

 

Image via Amazon. (Usual disclaimer, I neither make these products nor own Amazon)

 

Toggle Catch latch.JPG

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1 hour ago, jcm@gwr said:

 

That would suggest they weren't fitted securely/correctly in the first place, glueing would solve that.

Also, I would have thought that, unless you are using hardwood, threaded inserts would be more

likely to work loose over time, softwood just isn't that strong in that situation.

 

The issue is that they weren't originally made to be dismantled regularly so the problem of them coming loose wouldn't occur in their original manifestation, generally furniture manufacture, where they were used to provide a means of bolting assemblies together in blind boxes.

Softwood is plenty firm enough to hold a threaded insert if the correct sized hole is drilled, you're not trying to hold an aircraft down with the fixing, just align baseboards.

Yet again, like Swann Morton knives, it's a case of modellers not using the materials in a way that they are intended.

 

Mike.

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1 hour ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

The issue is that they weren't originally made to be dismantled regularly so the problem of them coming loose wouldn't occur in their original manifestation, generally furniture manufacture, where they were used to provide a means of bolting assemblies together in blind boxes.

Softwood is plenty firm enough to hold a threaded insert if the correct sized hole is drilled, you're not trying to hold an aircraft down with the fixing, just align baseboards.

Yet again, like Swann Morton knives, it's a case of modellers not using the materials in a way that they are intended.

 

Mike.

 

Oh, I don't know, plenty of modellers will tell you how they nearly cut their finger ends off...

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12 hours ago, Talltim said:

What I really want is some sort of sprung over-centre cam twist lock plunger thing, but either they don’t exist, or my google-fu is lacking

 

Quick-release bicycle wheel axle skewers.

 

About £3 each for cheap ones.

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12 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

 

Quick-release bicycle wheel axle skewers.

 

About £3 each for cheap ones.

That’s half of the sort of mech I was thinking of, but they wouldn’t be suitable on their own as you’d either need a slot  in the baseboard ends or to take the nut off to put it through the hole, it which case you might as well use a normal nut and bolt

Might do a quick sketch tonight as it’s hard to do in words

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On 26/02/2020 at 08:36, Talltim said:

I’d query whether thy attach any more securely than T-nuts, but I’ve had a few situations where it has been hard to get the clearance to push the prongs in and a threaded insert would be far easier 

 

Err, is that the same as these?

 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/insert-nuts-type-d-m6-x-13mm-50-pack/59937

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