nylon/plastic nut needed

[RB]

I'm looking for a 1" x 14 fine thread nylon/plastic nut. I've found a number that come close, but no exact matches. If anyone knows where I can buy a couple of those, please let me know.

[Richard J Kinch]

(1) mscdirect.com (2) mcmaster.com or (3) friend with lathe

[mm]

When it is nylon, one rarely needs the exact size, although I'm sure sometimes one does.

Also, what about speed nuts.

[Goedjn]

Heat up a bottle-cap to around 350 degrees F. in your toaster oven, and squash it around the bolt in question with a thick scrap of leather.

[Chris Lewis]

According to RB :

If all else fails, and you really do want to stick with the nylon, go to a plastics supplier and buy a chunk of suitable diameter nylon or delrin rod. Bore and thread it. Taps are relatively inexpensive even at this size. Tighten with vice grips. Or (gently) sand/saw two flats and use an ordinary wrench.

IIRC, 1 1/2" Delrin rod runs about $1/inch. Machines quite nicely.

Delrin is, I believe, just a somewhat harder form of nylon. Often used in pump impellers, plumbing washers and such like.

[mm]

Good advice. The one time I worked with nylon (don't know what kind) it wasn't so easy to file. I was making 3 little barrels to work in the planetary arrangement of the power window motor of a '76 Chrysler. (much thinner rod, about a half inch, and cheaper than the one you used) Of course I was heading for a particular dimension, not just a flat spot, but sandpaper didn't do anything, and I ended up putting the rod in a chuck** and using a surform to take material off. That went fast.

BTW, there had originally been barrels in the motor covered in nylon with something else in the middle, but they burst and collapsed over time. I made new ones out of a dowel rod, but they split within the first 5 timss of using the window. The solid nylon worked fine and was a lot cheaper than the 69 dollar repair kit.

**attached to a grinder shaft, in place of the grinding wheel

[Bennett Price]

[Rudy]

Ace is the place

[Chris Lewis]

According to mm :

My "machining" experience is with delrin, not nylon per-se. On a metal lathe.

With appropriately angled sharp tooling, delrin is one of the things that's a joy to turn. Like aluminum (in constrast to cast iron or stainless, say, which are somewhat less forgiving). Nylon is the same chemistry as Delrin, but being softer (I think), would be more apt to tear. But I have seen people turn what they claimed was nylon without too much difficulty either once they hit the sweet spot for bit angle and sharpen it ;-)

The enemy here is heat. Sand paper or files would tend to gum up and eventually overheat. Dull or improperly angled tooling will cause overheating too. _Sharp_ edged tooling is the best way to go. A surform is "edged". A hand plane might also work well and is much more controllable than a chisel.

Another option is UHMW - some craft stores sell a one (or is it three? I misremember) pound box of thick (mostly 3/4") scraps for $7-$15. Lee Valley has it for example. Useful for all sorts of things. It probably wouldn't be as strong as Delrin in this application, but it might be more than adequate. Saw off a chunk that'll fit a wrench, drill and tap it.

Machines almost as well as Delrin (including on table saws). I've made all sorts of replacement parts out of it - small pulleys et.