Bolting two cabinets together

[pinnerite]

I am going to have to bolt two IKEA cabinets together:

I have been trying to find two bolts that screw into each other. I hae seen such things but I seem unable to describe them well enough for google to locate them.

Anyone know what they are called?

[Robert]

or something similar. I think I bought some from Howdens when I did my kitchen

[SH]

inter screws like these?

[Andy Burns]

furniture bolts, or sex bolts

[SH]

you dirty old man! :-)

[Andy Burns]

Don't believe me? See the google image search, it's even SFW

[Rod Speed]

That's another with no common name. My magnificent bent wooden armchairs were done like that and it was a real bugger to find replacements on ebay, amazon and aliexpress. There are lots of them available, but a weird variety of names.

[SH]

Well I refer to them as Inter screws:

[Animal]

sex bolts, chicago bolts, interscrews

[Chris Green]

Is 'interscrew' another word for misogyny? (Well all this talk about sex bolts made me think that way!)

[Paul]

Both halves shown on these.

You could also get those in antique bronze. At a much higher price. The threading style differs, from one company to the next.

It depends on cabinet wall thickness, as to how practical that is. To do a half decent job, they could be recessed, but if the cabinet wall is not very thick, it's better for the fastener to rest on the surface.

This is the female of the species.

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In this one, the furniture joint connector bolt is threaded right up to the head. Allowing a 12mm female to close two surfaces together having total thickness of 14mm. In any application of this hardware, *think carefully* about what size hole to drill on each end.

While just one bolt could hold two cabinets together, obviously you should use four of them, for rock solid joining. Don't put them too close to a corner, or you won't be able to turn the hex key.

You would have to fit a 20TPI nut to the bolt, saw the bolt off, file the end, to do a 14mm join. As I don't think they make really short bolts in those. The shortest bolts might be 30mm and the 30mm bolts are not threaded to the top.

The desk I'm sitting at, uses joint connector bolts, but only because I was bored and fitted them.

You can certainly simulate such a fitment, using regular bolt and nut and two fender washers. The fender washers are there, to help spread out the loading onto the surrounding wooden surface. But it does not look nearly as nice.

I keep a good assortment of fender washers here, because I'm a kook when it comes to fixing stuff. I use fender washers for shower curtain rings :-) There is no project that does not deserve a fender washer :-)

Paul

[pinnerite]

From the replies, I found what I wanted.

Thank you all.

Alan

[Brian Gaff]

What are the sides made of? There used to be fittings with a tapped piece which had a serrated bottom and sides at one end which after drilling the hole you tapped into the hole, and then you used the threaded countersunk screw into it and as it tightened it bit hard until it was level. Of course you had to countersink the hole for the screw,and of course get both holes lined up. Brian

[pinnerite]

I don't know for sure because I have not yet purchased them but my guess is 16mm high density chipboard.

Alan

[Rod Speed]

Nope, just use a sex bolt and shorten one or both.

Some of them are.

Yep.

[Rod Speed]

Sex bolts work a lot better.

[Animal]

you can use them on other woods as well as misogyny

[Rob Morley]

I say, well played that fellow.

[Rob Morley]

we Used to sell those for fixing stuff to skateboards - it was a cause of embarrassment for some of the young lads.

[Phil]

Hear Hear!