DirtyMJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Prince George, BC
If a guy were wanting to bolt such an item as a skid plate to his uniframe, what would be the best option for adding a threaded attachment point?
Options I know of or have tried in the past:
1. Fishing a nut-strip or plate with a nut welded to it into the uniframe. That seems way more annoying than it should be, as a nut-strip is out of the question in the belly area (no way to get it in there without cutting). A small plate (or nut with a tab on it so it can't spin) can be fished in through one of the clean out holes. But this seems like it would lead to more issues down the road, as a skid-plate tends to need to be removed for servicing of other components, and you'd probably have to re-align your nut every time you did this.
2. Rivnuts. I have no idea if you call them rivnuts - that's what they're called in aviation. You simply drill a hole the size of the rivnut, insert rivnut with pulling tool attached, pull rivnut (it expands like a rivet) and now you have a threaded insert. The problem with them is most of them are aluminum (easy to pull/manufacter and work well on aluminum structures) and really offer limited strength. Also, they have a tendancy to spin as they get old, which leads you to having to grind the head off the bolt that is in them (or drill it out if it's countersunk), then drill/punch the remainder out. This sucks, I do it enough at work. I can source steel rivnuts, but they are a PITA to pull (the tool is much harder to find and use) and they're even worse if they spin.
3. Anchor nuts. Again, aviation thing. They're simply a nut attached to a plate, the plate has two #40 or #30 holes in it so it can be rivetted in place so it won't move/spin. I think it'd be a horrible thing to try to install these things without cutting a large access hole somewhere. I do like them otherwise, they rarely cause trouble once installed correctly.
4. Drilling some fair sized holes in the frame where you want your attachment points. Then welding nuts to a peice of flat-bar or other steel to be installed on the outside of frame, with the nuts in the holes that you drilled previously. Best used in conjunction with the installation of frame plating or other reinforcements. This works alright, but it was a bunch of work and did require me to plate the frame. Having to plate the frame isn't all bad, but it's not what I'd like to do at this point.
5. Drilling holes through the uniframe, installing sleeves, and bolting through. Obviously this works better if your bolts are to be installed through the side of the frame. A guy reasonably has to weld the sleeves in if he wants the holes not to get wallowed out. I've never really done this.
So, what options am I missing? Is there any other easy or crafty ways? I'd appreciate any thoughts, as I want to do a full belly skid, and I'd like it to go as easily as possible.
Options I know of or have tried in the past:
1. Fishing a nut-strip or plate with a nut welded to it into the uniframe. That seems way more annoying than it should be, as a nut-strip is out of the question in the belly area (no way to get it in there without cutting). A small plate (or nut with a tab on it so it can't spin) can be fished in through one of the clean out holes. But this seems like it would lead to more issues down the road, as a skid-plate tends to need to be removed for servicing of other components, and you'd probably have to re-align your nut every time you did this.
2. Rivnuts. I have no idea if you call them rivnuts - that's what they're called in aviation. You simply drill a hole the size of the rivnut, insert rivnut with pulling tool attached, pull rivnut (it expands like a rivet) and now you have a threaded insert. The problem with them is most of them are aluminum (easy to pull/manufacter and work well on aluminum structures) and really offer limited strength. Also, they have a tendancy to spin as they get old, which leads you to having to grind the head off the bolt that is in them (or drill it out if it's countersunk), then drill/punch the remainder out. This sucks, I do it enough at work. I can source steel rivnuts, but they are a PITA to pull (the tool is much harder to find and use) and they're even worse if they spin.
3. Anchor nuts. Again, aviation thing. They're simply a nut attached to a plate, the plate has two #40 or #30 holes in it so it can be rivetted in place so it won't move/spin. I think it'd be a horrible thing to try to install these things without cutting a large access hole somewhere. I do like them otherwise, they rarely cause trouble once installed correctly.
4. Drilling some fair sized holes in the frame where you want your attachment points. Then welding nuts to a peice of flat-bar or other steel to be installed on the outside of frame, with the nuts in the holes that you drilled previously. Best used in conjunction with the installation of frame plating or other reinforcements. This works alright, but it was a bunch of work and did require me to plate the frame. Having to plate the frame isn't all bad, but it's not what I'd like to do at this point.
5. Drilling holes through the uniframe, installing sleeves, and bolting through. Obviously this works better if your bolts are to be installed through the side of the frame. A guy reasonably has to weld the sleeves in if he wants the holes not to get wallowed out. I've never really done this.
So, what options am I missing? Is there any other easy or crafty ways? I'd appreciate any thoughts, as I want to do a full belly skid, and I'd like it to go as easily as possible.