1/4-20 square flat nuts help.

Dougster

Dougster

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Doug
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I I'm needing a couple of 1/4-20 square nuts and a longish bolt if anyone has some imperial bits and bobs in their parts bin. (this is the standard tripod thread).

I only need 2 and can only see multi packs online.

This is to make a tripod thread on the base of an egg timer.
 
Its possible to make your own nuts if you have a ¼ BSW tap and some small piece of steel. The bolt would be a little more difficult needing a piece of ¼ dia bar.

If I was not going away on holiday Monday I would have been able to make you a couple of nuts easily and posted them.

Trevor
 
Dougster said:
I I'm needing a couple of 1/4-20 square nuts and a longish bolt if anyone has some imperial bits and bobs in their parts bin. (this is the standard tripod thread).
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Just to be pedantic, A thread marked 1/4-20 is usually the American 1/4" UNC thread. The standard tripod thread is 1/4" Whitworth. The pitch is the same but there is a five degree difference in cutting angle.

I know you asked about nuts rather than screws but if you are sourcing a male thread to go into a camera, try to get the Whitworth thread rather than UNC.

EDIT: I see you mentioned a bolt as well.

I might be able to find some bits from old flash brackets if they are of any use.


Steve.
 
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Steve, while you're right about the difference between the threads, tripod threads are actually UNC rather than Whitworth. For the tripod application, Whit is close enough to UNC to be used.
 
Steve Smith said:
Just to be pedantic, A thread marked 1/4-20 is usually the American 1/4" UNC thread. The standard tripod thread is 1/4" Whitworth. The pitch is the same but there is a five degree difference in cutting angle.

I know you asked about nuts rather than screws but if you are sourcing a male thread to go into a camera, try to get the Whitworth thread rather than UNC.

EDIT: I see you mentioned a bolt as well.

I might be able to find some bits from old flash brackets if they are of any use.


Steve.
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How do Jap cameras end up with an imperial Whitworth thread!
 
Nod said:
Steve, while you're right about the difference between the threads, tripod threads are actually UNC rather than Whitworth. For the tripod application, Whit is close enough to UNC to be used.
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It is close enough for a lightweight camera but for a heavy camera you want a surface to surface contact rather than an edge to surface contact which you would get using a UNC/Whitworth combination.

kestral said:
How do Jap cameras end up with an imperial Whitworth thread!
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Camera tripod threads, particularly in German and English cameras, were Whitworth before UNC threads were unified (1918). Japanese manufacturers would have followed the standard used in Germany and England rather than look to the US for a new standard.


Steve.
 
kestral said:
How do Jap cameras end up with an imperial Whitworth thread!
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Probably a similar way to that by which some British cars ended up with metric threads with Imperial heads!
 
Nod said:
Probably a similar way to that by which some British cars ended up with metric threads with Imperial heads!
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I think at one time MG had Whitworth heads with metric threads (or the other way round).


Steve.
 

It's to do the above. The nut this guy uses is clearly marked.

I just need the one. It's driving me crazy trying to get a hold of it.
 
Aren't old car battery terminals often square and always 1/4 Whit?
 
kestral said:
Which is?
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Morrises and MGs from '23-'55 apparently. The reason being that the tooling was set up for metric threads but car owners tended to have only Imperial spanners.
 
I've found a bag of hex-head 3/8" bolts and nuts at the bottom of the bits box. Would you like a couple of each?
 
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Email alert also says "now do you want some"

Yes please.

Take this to PM?

Thanks for all the input guys.
 
Ingenious! Not sure if Snapsh0t has what you want, and I can't see that a square nut has any advantages over a hex nut. Presumably that is araldite that he is using to glue it in? I have a hex 1/4 nut and a short threaded "T" bar - 1 3/4 inches long. The bar fits the tripod hole on my camera, and the nut fits on the bar, so all should fit a GoPro, assuming they have standard fittings. Hold the bar with pliers and you shouldn't feel any heat.

Any use? PM if you want them.

Edit, sorry, it took me 20 mins to dig them out and write my reply, so didn't see yours!
 
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I also think I have some 1/4 nuts but not with the 20 thread as they don't fit any of my tripod mounts.

If what you have fits, Mickledore I'd love em.

The GoPro is on top of the timer with a sticky bracket that was supplied with the camera.
 
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