Van's Air Force
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Tips for Platenuts
- Thread starter Alan A
- Start date
Caveman
Well Known Member
Boelube
Use Boelube on the threads. If you don't need the self locking feature you can dress them with a tap but I don't recommend it.
Joe
Use Boelube on the threads. If you don't need the self locking feature you can dress them with a tap but I don't recommend it.
Joe
sprucemoose
Well Known Member
If it's a non-structural application (fairings, access covers etc) then consider using a torx screw in lieu of a phillips. Torx are available from several sources, including Micro-fasteners and Mcmaster-Carr.
Do an archive search on torx and you'll have plenty to read on the subject.
Do an archive search on torx and you'll have plenty to read on the subject.
vlittle
Well Known Member
I use candle wax because Boelube is a bit flakey (really!). I have a candle on my tool tray just for this.
Vern
Steve Sampson
Well Known Member
I put the screws in a plastic bag and squirt wax oil in. It makes a big difference.
Plate Nut Magic in a Bottle
I don't think there is anything as easy as liquid boelube. One drop and you can easily screw any phillips head screw into any platenut with no problem at all. None, nada, nothing. Also serves as a corrosion inhibitor. Don't try tapping them out, that defeats the purpose. Bar none, this is the real deal.
http://www.averytools.com/p-485-boelube--90-liquid-lubricant.aspx
Be sure and get the liquid and not the solid flaky stuff. I very seldom just say, this is the way to do it,.... but this is a real answer for a real PITA problem.
BTW, Avery also has a liquid screw "gripper" for getting tight screws out. It's a liquid that you put on the screw and makes the driver head bite. Not sure how it woks but it does.
http://www.averytools.com/p-103-screw-grab.aspx
BTW, I am an Avery fan. Great service, products, and people.
Bill S
7a finishing.
I don't think there is anything as easy as liquid boelube. One drop and you can easily screw any phillips head screw into any platenut with no problem at all. None, nada, nothing. Also serves as a corrosion inhibitor. Don't try tapping them out, that defeats the purpose. Bar none, this is the real deal.
http://www.averytools.com/p-485-boelube--90-liquid-lubricant.aspx
Be sure and get the liquid and not the solid flaky stuff. I very seldom just say, this is the way to do it,.... but this is a real answer for a real PITA problem.
BTW, Avery also has a liquid screw "gripper" for getting tight screws out. It's a liquid that you put on the screw and makes the driver head bite. Not sure how it woks but it does.
http://www.averytools.com/p-103-screw-grab.aspx
BTW, I am an Avery fan. Great service, products, and people.
Bill S
7a finishing.
N42AH
Well Known Member
Lubriplate
Back when I was flying helicopters daily for a living in the Caribbean we used LUBRIPLATE #630AA on all of our nut plates/screws that were exposed to the elements. We changed all the screw hardware to stainless and at the same time used a small metal rod to put the Lubriplate on the nut plates threads. At the next 100 hr insp, instead of stripped heads, the screw came right out. Very selldom did we have to put more Lubriplate back on because a little bit goes a very long way. We operated in a very wet and corrosive enviroment and this product worked extremely well. All the operators in the area used it on everything from DC-3's to Twin Otters to helicopters.
Back when I was flying helicopters daily for a living in the Caribbean we used LUBRIPLATE #630AA on all of our nut plates/screws that were exposed to the elements. We changed all the screw hardware to stainless and at the same time used a small metal rod to put the Lubriplate on the nut plates threads. At the next 100 hr insp, instead of stripped heads, the screw came right out. Very selldom did we have to put more Lubriplate back on because a little bit goes a very long way. We operated in a very wet and corrosive enviroment and this product worked extremely well. All the operators in the area used it on everything from DC-3's to Twin Otters to helicopters.
flion
Well Known Member
I, too, tap my platenuts. I'm not worried about the inspection plates on the interior. For other locations like the fuel tanks, locktite works. I know that some people think that the platenut is supposed to work like a locking nut but, if so, then it's working like a metal one. And, since we replace metal locknuts after each use (and some folk replace the elastic ones, too), how are we supposed to replace the platenuts? So I just bypassed the question and don't depend on them for locking action.
Why do you replace metal lock nuts after each use? Not required. If you can screw in a bolt with your fingers, then it needs to be replaced.
Every nutplate for my cowling is metal and I haven't replaced them in 15 years. They are all still tight.
This seems to be a persistent thread that never ends, just like the primer wars. Yep, platenuts can be a bit tight, but then again, they are supposed to be tight. I know, maybe a little too tight, and stripping the head on every screw is a bit much. Recognizing this, I usually run a used screw through every nutplate, either before or after I install them. This helps with the stripped head problem, but does not totally defeat the locking feature of the nutplate. Also, like a lot of others have suggested, I use boelube or candle wax to make this a little easier.
On the other hand, you don't want to totally defeat the locking capability of the nutplate. I suspect that running a tap through each nutplate, will actually remove material, and defeat the locking feature. I hope you are using safety wire on each screw, because you no longer have any extra force to keep the screw or bolts in place.
If you are squeezing each nutplate with pliers, then you are probably just ruining perfectly good nutplates. How do you calibrate this for consistentency? What about the potential for cracking the nutplates? It's your airplane, but trust me, nothing could be much easier and less damaging than just running an old screw through the new nutplates.
If you are twisting the heads off of screws, then I doubt that it has anything to do with the pressure on the nutplate. I have yet to see a nutplate so tight that I could twist the head off of a screw. Strip a screw head, yes, but twist a screw head off, nope, doesn't sound quite right. Maybe you just have a batch of bad screws.
But, then again, that's just my opinion. And I know, opinions are ...
Tracy.
On the other hand, you don't want to totally defeat the locking capability of the nutplate. I suspect that running a tap through each nutplate, will actually remove material, and defeat the locking feature. I hope you are using safety wire on each screw, because you no longer have any extra force to keep the screw or bolts in place.
If you are squeezing each nutplate with pliers, then you are probably just ruining perfectly good nutplates. How do you calibrate this for consistentency? What about the potential for cracking the nutplates? It's your airplane, but trust me, nothing could be much easier and less damaging than just running an old screw through the new nutplates.
If you are twisting the heads off of screws, then I doubt that it has anything to do with the pressure on the nutplate. I have yet to see a nutplate so tight that I could twist the head off of a screw. Strip a screw head, yes, but twist a screw head off, nope, doesn't sound quite right. Maybe you just have a batch of bad screws.
But, then again, that's just my opinion. And I know, opinions are ...
Tracy.
alpinelakespilot2000
Well Known Member
I concur completely with Tracy. A decent screw driver bit will solve most all of your problems. Any method for defeating the locking qualities of the platenut is (IMHO) questionable at best. The only place I know of Van's recommending this is on the outboard seat ribs on the side x sides where a screw driver will have a difficult time engaging the screw head.
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flion
Well Known Member
Well, the first metal nuts I ran into were the ones for the Airflow Performance throttle body and the instructions said to reinstall with the control brackets and new nuts. I've also seen it here a couple of times though I can't quote it without doing a long search of the forums. Then, when I installed my Hartzell CS, it said to install the spinner backplate with new nuts. I just assumed that the metal nuts tended to be in an area with more vibration and greater temperature extremes was the reason. Not that I mistrust your info, but you hadn't weighed in on this before. Now I get to save a bit of money on hardware...
Experimental Chaos
Well Known Member
BTW, Avery also has a liquid screw "gripper" for getting tight screws out. It's a liquid that you put on the screw and makes the driver head bite. Not sure how it woks but it does.
All this stuff is, is, lapping compound the courser the better. Just dip your screwdriver tip into some and you will be amazed at how much better it grips the screw head. I'm thinking it will also accelerate the wear on your screw driver tip, but when you've got a stuck screw what are you gona do?
All this stuff is, is, lapping compound the courser the better. Just dip your screwdriver tip into some and you will be amazed at how much better it grips the screw head. I'm thinking it will also accelerate the wear on your screw driver tip, but when you've got a stuck screw what are you gona do?
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I think a better screw driver is in order. Make sure that the whole screwdriver is going into the screw. If it ain't you can actually touch the end of the driver on a grinder and make it go further in. I tap the nutplates on non critical areas, and boelube on the rest.
Using a tap is against everything I have ever been taught, because of the deformation of the barrel you would be removing material from two sides of the barrel and weaking the side walls on the nut barrel, but what the heck..if it works for you. Remember that they are meant to be "locking or resistive to rotation" so they don't come loose while your completing the Lomceveck. 
The nutplates already come with a dry lubrucant applied to the surface, that said, you can save wear and tear on your screw and the nutplate by applying boelube or candle wax, anything that doesn't attack the drylube of the nutplate...by removing a bit of the distortion as pointed out can make them less damaging to the materials on both, just don't go so far as to make the fastener free spinning...you'll defeat the self locking feature needed to keep the fastener from backing out due to vibration. I always recommend running a screw into each before installing, I have come across at least a dozen nutplates that had boogered of even missing threads prior to installation, alot easier than drilling them out later, like when the DAR has just signed you off and the mad scramble to put the panels in place to beat darkness for a first flight.
The nutplates already come with a dry lubrucant applied to the surface, that said, you can save wear and tear on your screw and the nutplate by applying boelube or candle wax, anything that doesn't attack the drylube of the nutplate...by removing a bit of the distortion as pointed out can make them less damaging to the materials on both, just don't go so far as to make the fastener free spinning...you'll defeat the self locking feature needed to keep the fastener from backing out due to vibration. I always recommend running a screw into each before installing, I have come across at least a dozen nutplates that had boogered of even missing threads prior to installation, alot easier than drilling them out later, like when the DAR has just signed you off and the mad scramble to put the panels in place to beat darkness for a first flight.alpinelakespilot2000
Well Known Member
If I recall correctly, this is only for the nutplates on the 2outboard seat ribs--and only there because getting a screwdriving straight on those screws is impossible given their proximity to the side skin.
Nutplate tricks
As others have stated, use a lubricant on the threads of the fastener the first time you install it in a new nutplate. My personal favorite is NeverSeize. NeverSeize works as well as BoeLube or Wax Oil. It has the additional benifit of preventing the fastener from rusting to the nutplate for many years. This makes removal MUCH easier.
Another trick is to substitute a hex headed screw for a temporary first install. This allows you to apply sufficient torque without damaging the head of the fastener. After the first installation of a fastener to a new nutplate, subsequent installations of the more common Phillips head (or Torx) hardware will go easier.
If I have to use a Phillips head screw to put into a new nutplate, I do the following. Use a high quality Phillips screwdriver, in good condition. Snap On is my favorite here. They acid etch the tips of their screw drivers to increase the "bite" (friction) between the screw and the screwdriver. The second trick is to dip the screwdriver into a blob of valve lapping compound (available at any auto parts store) before inserting the screwdriver into the screw. This will VASTLY improve the "bite" of the tool into the screw. It will greatly reduce (if not entirely eliminate) stripped out screws.
These tricks also aid in removing stubborn screws from nutplates.
Charlie Kuss
FYI NeverSeize is a trade name. AntiSeize is the more common generic name for this product. It's a sliver colored paste.
As others have stated, use a lubricant on the threads of the fastener the first time you install it in a new nutplate. My personal favorite is NeverSeize. NeverSeize works as well as BoeLube or Wax Oil. It has the additional benifit of preventing the fastener from rusting to the nutplate for many years. This makes removal MUCH easier.
Another trick is to substitute a hex headed screw for a temporary first install. This allows you to apply sufficient torque without damaging the head of the fastener. After the first installation of a fastener to a new nutplate, subsequent installations of the more common Phillips head (or Torx) hardware will go easier.
If I have to use a Phillips head screw to put into a new nutplate, I do the following. Use a high quality Phillips screwdriver, in good condition. Snap On is my favorite here. They acid etch the tips of their screw drivers to increase the "bite" (friction) between the screw and the screwdriver. The second trick is to dip the screwdriver into a blob of valve lapping compound (available at any auto parts store) before inserting the screwdriver into the screw. This will VASTLY improve the "bite" of the tool into the screw. It will greatly reduce (if not entirely eliminate) stripped out screws.
These tricks also aid in removing stubborn screws from nutplates.
Charlie Kuss
FYI NeverSeize is a trade name. AntiSeize is the more common generic name for this product. It's a sliver colored paste.
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