effen tnuts!!!

[phil]

I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but these damn tnuts have cost me so much grief I can't even begin to explain.

Every single time I try to take the cover off the back of my cabs, a tnut breaks loose and then it's hours of work trying to just get into the cab and repair any damages made in the process.

I used PL on every single tnut and used the bolt to pull it securely into the hole and then left it alone for 24 hours.

What did I do wrong, or what should I be doing to make sure they stay secured?

[bgavin]

T-nut or Hurricane nut?

[WB]

but these damn tnuts have cost me so much grief I can't even begin to explain.

That's why I don't use them anymore. Or H-nuts for that matter.

[phil]

T-nut or Hurricane nut?

1st I tried the hurricane nuts from leland. Almost every single one of those failed so I swapped them out with t-nuts from the hardware store, and those are failing to stick, just not as bad as the hurricane.

What do you guys recommend? I just had to drill the top off of 2 more bolts (again).

Glad to find out it's not just me .

[bgavin]

I've used T-nuts for 40 years... no problems.
I'm trying to understand what you are doing different that is repeatedly causing you grief.

[phil]

I have no idea? I'm drilling the hole,
put a little pl on the t-nut,
stick a bolt with a washer through the hole,
attach the t-nut to the bolt and pull the t-nut into the wood by tightening the bolt
gently unscrew the bolt.

Maybe i'm pushing too hard with the screw gun when I'm unscrewing the bolt and breaking the glue holding it?

I wish I knew. Maybe I drilled the holes one size too big? That actually may be the case. Once I get to the hardware store and buy another metal drill bit to drill these off again, I'll check that out. It seems with the edges though that also grip into the wood it would reinforce that.

If that's the case I'll just get a little larger t-nuts and bolts and just replace as necessary.

I'm glad I've gotten a chance to play with these 10.5's before building the rest of the system, as it's exposed mistakes before I make them again on the rest, that wouldn't have gotten exposed had this temporary financial lock down not have happened .

[WB]

Maybe i'm pushing too hard with the screw gun when I'm unscrewing the bolt and breaking the glue holding it?

I would only use hand tools. I think the screw gun is the problem.

[DJPhatman]

I have no idea? I'm drilling the hole,
put a little pl on the t-nut,
stick a bolt with a washer through the hole,
attach the t-nut to the bolt and pull the t-nut into the wood by tightening the bolt
gently unscrew the bolt.

Maybe i'm pushing too hard with the screw gun when I'm unscrewing the bolt and breaking the glue holding it?

I wish I knew. Maybe I drilled the holes one size too big? That actually may be the case. Once I get to the hardware store and buy another metal drill bit to drill these off again, I'll check that out. It seems with the edges though that also grip into the wood it would reinforce that.

If that's the case I'll just get a little larger t-nuts and bolts and just replace as necessary.

I'm glad I've gotten a chance to play with these 10.5's before building the rest of the system, as it's exposed mistakes before I make them again on the rest, that wouldn't have gotten exposed had this temporary financial lock down not have happened .

Drill the hole with a slightly smaller drill bit.
Use a fast-set epoxy instead of PL. PL needs a lot of cure time, and doesn't stick well to smooth bare metal.
Run the bolts in by hand, and leave them in overnight or longer. Out of 180 T-nuts, I've had 4 that needed to be replaced, all at assembly time.

[Adam Schaible]

Gorilla Glue works for me

[LelandCrooks]

Epoxy is the ticket. Never had a spinner since I started using it. Hand tools only is also good advice, you really need to feel it. There's a definite spot where you know to stop.

Tee nuts gave me nothing but trouble. Hurricanes have been great.

[Chris_Allen]

TNuts perform completely differently depending on the Ply you use.

[Harley]

TNuts perform completely differently depending on the Ply you use.

To some degree...

There's various grades of T nuts for the same dia size. Some have 3 prongs, some have 4 and some have a larger flange dia.

So, if you take on board Leland's advice ( using epoxy glue underneath the T nut flanges as you pull them in ) PLUS use the larger dia 4 prong T Nuts, then you greatly enhance your success rate to work on any ply.

I have not yet had one T Nut 'spin' on me

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Maybe i'm pushing too hard with the screw gun when I'm unscrewing the bolt and breaking the glue holding it?

Never use anything but a hand tool on blind nuts.

[David Carter]

Just adding a +1 to what everyone else has said. I had terrible luck with T-nuts on my first build. After that I

• switched to hurricane nuts
• made sure I was using a drill bit that was just big enough so that the shaft of the h-nut could lay over the edge of the hole, but just small enough that I couldn't press it into the hole by hand (3/16" or 1/4" bit--I can't remember)
• started using Gorilla Glue (two or three small drops on outside of shaft)
• drew them in by hand with a ratcheting allen wrench

Since that time, I think I may have spun one h-nut in six builds, and I think that was on my very next build before I started using the Gorilla glue.

[bgavin]

I'm using Hurricane nuts in 10-32.
Interference fit, caliper measures the barrel, use the next bit smaller.
Run a bolt through EVERY nut to insure the threads are starting out good.
PL applied to the barrel and flange.
Draw the nut into the hole with a bolt and fender washer to distribute the load. Never hammer.
Run a bolt through EVERY nut to insure the threads finished up good.

I never use power tools on speaker bolts.
The last thing I need is a spun nut, stripped bolt, or drilling a hole in the cone.