How to "Preen" a Wing-Nut to Make a Hold-Down Clamp?

[Jay Chan]

I would like to know what is the meaning of a "preened wing-nut" in the context of making a hold down to clamp a piece of wood in a jig. How to "preen" a wing nut anyway?

I am reading a woodworking book on making jigs. One thing that I am really interested is making a hold-down with wing-buts, bolts, and door-stops. If I can make a few of these instead of buying ready-made hold-downs from stores, I can save quite some money. But one thing that I don't quite understand in the book is how to secure a wing-nut at the end of a threaded bolt using "preening".

The hold down as shown in the book is like this:

- A wooden jig has a threaded-through-nut in it.

- An upside-down bolt goes through the threaded-through-nut.

- The head of the upside-down bolt holds a rubber door stop.

- The end of the upside-down bolt has a wing nut on it.

- We are supposed to turn the wing-nut when we want to secure a piece of wood under the wooden jig. This in turn will turn the bolt, and the bolt will go down and the rubber door stop will come in contact with the wood and hold the wood in place.

Obviously, the wing-nut and the bolt will turn independently if they are not secured together, and we want them to turn together, not independently. The book seems to say that it can make them to turn together by "preening" the wing-nut onto the bolt. What does "preening" mean?

What's the other alternative besides "preening"?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Jay Chan

[Russ]

Someone may well correct me on this, but I think it means to pin the two together. drill through the side of the nut, into or through the bolt, and insert a pin to secure the two together.

Alternative? loctite or something similar if there's not too much stress while turning.

Russ

...

[J. Clarke]

The word is "peen", not "preen", there's no "r" in it. To do it run the bolt into the wingnut as far as you want it to do and then take a punch and knock a ding or three into the nut and bolt where they meet so that the nut won't turn anymore. As an alternative some Loctite 262 (note--the number is important) will probably do the job.

[bridger]

seem to support that usage.

I'll add that peening is a metalworking term for distorting slightly with a hammer. by tightening up the threads above and below the wing nut it and the bolt could be locked together.

[Eugene]

Even easier it to put on a regular nut then the wing nut. Turn the two together to lock.

[Eugene]

Peening or bonding is just doing something to the threads to keep one nut from coming off, this is two nuts locking together, it doesn't mess up the threads or leave crap on them like loctite so its easily reverseable.

[igor]

I would use any Crazy-Glue-type glue. Run the nut almost to where it is wanted on the bolt, squeeze glue around the bolt where the nut is wanted permanently, then turn nut to permanent location. I would use an appropriate Loctite variety if I wanted to move the nut later.

[J. Clarke]

262 is the one where they tell you basically "don't even _think_ about moving it after this stuff sets".

[Eugene]

They haven't come apart yet. I built a simple mortising jig to clamp 2x2's for my kitchen cabinets. 4 2x2's per cabinet, 4 M mortise's per 2x2, and 6 cabinets and none of these locked nuts came loose. I tried peening the wingnut and even buggered up the threads on the threaded rod and they came loose after a few uses. I have even used pliers on the wing nuts and they never came loose? How is this making more work that is saves, simple lock two nuts together and your done.

[J. Clarke]

Doesn't give the same kind of lock as peening or bonding though.

[J. Clarke]

So? If you put the wing-nut on one side of the regular nut then it will come loose when you tighten the assembly, if you put it on the other it will come loose when you loosen it. Tightening two nuts together is OK for a fast and dirty lock on something that won't have much strain on it and won't undergo any vibration and will only be used once or twice, but for a fixture that is to be used repeatedly it's going to make more work than it saves, leaving aside the knuckle-busting potential.

[CW]

I think the work here is peen.

[Wilson]

reverseable.

[igor]

I have no doubt about that -- Loctite has a chemical for every problem. My thought simply is that a "superglue" is cheaper.

[Steve Hopper]

[Jay Chan]

Thanks everyone who has replied. Seem like I have learned these:

- I mis-spelt the word. It should be "peening", not "preening".

- Peening by hammering the wing-nut to deform it to prevent it from backing out seem to be one good way to do this. I will definitely try this.

- If peening doesn't work well, I will try superglue to bond the nuts together. I have packs of superglue at home to play with. If superglue doesn't work well enough, I will look for "Loctite 262".

- I forgot to mention in my original message that there should be another nut right under the wing-nut. When they jam together, the wing nut will not go any way when I turn it clockwise to tighten the hold-down. The "peening" issue has to do with preventing the wing-nut from backing out, not turning in. I am sorry for forgetting to mention this. Unfortunately, a wing-nut is shaped in such a way that I cannot jam a regular nut on top of the wing-nut; they will always turn together and back the wing nut out; otherwise, this would have been the first thing I tried.

Thanks again for the useful info.

Jay Chan

[Troy Hall]

I'd be very interested in this jig :D

[Troy Hall]

In that case, run the wing nut past the end of the rod, and then take a ball peen hammer and flatten the ends over slightly like a mushroom. This will form a metal CAP that the wing nut can't pass. It will also make the top nice and smooth so no scrapes :D

signature Troy & Michelle Hall Cogy Farm Clay Center, Kansas 67432

[Warren Weber]

and solder them together. Warren

[mac davis]

I make wheel chocks for rv's.. use a lot of threaded rod and home made wing nuts (wood handle with threaded insert).... In a sort of production mode, I run the wing nut up a few threads and cut the rod to length with bolt cutters... I do this at both ends, with a nut against the top wing nut, and have never had a wing nut move on me after running it out to the mangled end that the bolt cutter leaves... (covers the end nicely, too, as Troy mentioned..

Mac