Driving sheet-metal screws into 4130

"O-ring Seals" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 23 Jan 2004 12:05:08 -0500, "Jim Carriere"
wrote:

"Grandpa B." never.mind wrote in message
...
Greetings, all.

I'm restoring a Champ, and have a question about driving screws into a
drilled 4130 tube.

If I drill the proper sized hole, the screws refuse to 'take'; they
simply
give up their threads to the harder metal of the tube. If I over-size
the
hole, then the screw won't hold diddley (that's a technical term).

Are you tapping the holes? As in, with a tap and die set (preferably
that
is made for working on 4130).



He did say "sheet metal screws". You would use machine screws in a
tapped hole of course. The problem is that the tubes he refers to are
pretty thin walled and would not accept much of a real thread. Might
it easier to run PK screws in though.


Bob...........

The tube frame for the Emeraude canopy uses rivnuts (metric thread of course
)) which work well. Harbor Freight has a nut rivet kit for $13.00 which
might work for occasional use.

Rich S.
O-ring