Name this tool

[Jeepwolf]

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

[Nate Nagel]

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

[Jesse]

Called a rivnut.

[lp13-30]

Wait until you have to unsrew the bolt/screw out of one of them and the nut starts turning in the hole, and of course you cannot get to the back side of it to hold it-- you will be calling it a bunch of different things. I used to work on ice machines and one mfg used a lot of them. More often than not that is what happened. Larry

[curmudgeon]

They (it) are called Nut Zert(s)

[Caesar Romano]

On Wed, 12 Dec 2007 22:53:07 -0500, "curmudgeon" wrote Re Re: Name this tool:

See one work here:

[Stormin Mormon]

"nut riveter"

Buy yourself one for about twenty bucks at

[N8N]

ALWAYS use anti-sleaze when installing a steel cap screw into an aluminum hole. ALWAYS.

nate

[Joe]

Started using these in our auto repair business some 30 years ago. They were called NutSerts then. To reinforce the grip to aluminum sheet metal particularly in our race car we also used a dab of red LocTite ( not on the threads). Really handy critters for awkward situations and fixing dumb designs by the automotive engineers.

Joe

[Joe]

Started using these in our auto repair business some 30 years ago. They were called NutSerts then. To reinforce the grip to aluminum sheet metal particularly in our race car we also used a dab of red LocTite ( not on the threads). Really handy critters for awkward situations and fixing dumb designs by the automotive engineers.

Joe