Posted by Bob Brines [ 75.24.187.202 ] on January 26, 2007 at 08:40:24:
In Reply to: T-nuts, their care and feeding posted by loninappleton on January 25, 2007 at 13:40:43:
The PE hurricane nuts are horrible, particularly in MDF. They simply won't hold. Get 3 or 4 pronged t-nut, Any hardware store with a good supply of BOXED fasteners will have them. You can also order them for places like McMasters. If you are really worried about t-nuts tearing out, you can get them with holes instead of prongs and use brads or small nails to secure them.
Are you putting the t-nut on the correct side of the panels? I assume that you have furring strips along the sides of the fixed panels. The t-nuts go on the back (inside) of the furring strips. The best way to set a t-nut is to drill the hole (5/16" for a 1/4-20 t-nut). Place the t-nut in the hole from the back and run a hex-head bolt with a washer through the furring strip and the t-nut. Tighten down the bolt with a socket wrench until the t-nut is fully set. Remove the bolt and move on. In a pile furring strip, even MDF, you should not have any problem with the t-nut tearing out unless you severely over torque the mounting screws. Usually you will tear out the head of a Phillips screw way before the t-nut gives.
On note about mounting the t-nuts. Make sure that the prongs are straight. Sometimes the prongs will fold up under the t-nut rather than bite into the wood.
Bob
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