Screws Q

[Enolmano]

So: I'm trying to piff up my old MHS that for the movement is lokking quite boring. I going to put on som t-grips and other stuff and some screws for decoration.

Now, that was just the "backstory" and here's my Q:
Will the black thumbscrew that the store carrys be long enough to go through both the claw holder and my emitter and still hold my blade tight?

[Hasid Lafre]

its pritty long. I think it would be close

[TimeRender]

Actually no, it's not long enough. I use them as the blade retention screws on one of my sabers. I have a rubber washer that I use for decoration under the screw, but with it on I can't tighten the blade. The washer is only 1/8 thick, and the claw mount is at least that thick, probably thicker.

[Novastar]

Yeah, you'd have to drill out/recess the claw to get the desired result.

Or... just go to a hardware supply store and pick up a screw with a longer body. Easy.

[Enolmano]

Aah... The problem is, Novastar that I live in Sweden. For the first: We use the metric system, so I can't "combine" stuff. For the second: Our thumbscrew are made after a european standard, and the don't look as nice as yours. And, I want the screw black.

Any ideas?

[TimeRender]

Well unless you've already drilled and tapped your hole, you could always just go buy a metric tap. Then you can use whatever you find locally. Another option would be to use two screws, one to hold the claw mount in place and one to hold the blade. That is probably the easiest solution. Your only other option would be to use a search engine and find another online store that carries longer thumbscrews. Honestly though, I don't think you want the blade retention screw to also hold your claw mount in place. Just drill a second hole.

[Enolmano]

Ok, I'll try to clear out what I wanna do:



I've got two short 6-32" thumbscrews that I'm going to use for holding the claw mount. My question is now, (since EDIT:TimeRenderer and Novastar cleared it out that the black screw in the store is to short (red on the pic) how am I going to get it long enough? Drill a bigger hole halfway through the pre-drilled hole?

[TimeRender]

Hey come on, give credit where it is due. I believe I told you that the screws were too short a good five hours before Nova did. Now to answer your question, no, recessing the hole probably won't give you enough additional length to allow you to use that screw as the blade retention screw. What you could do, although I don't recommend it, is drill a larger hole all the way through the claw mount, a hole with a diameter large enough to accept the entire thumbscrew. It would need to be at least 1cm in diameter. This might make it rather difficult to attach and remove the blade, however, so I will suggest what I already suggested once before. Drill another hole somewhere on the blade holder and put your retention screw there. Don't bother putting it through the claw holder at all.

Edit: I just checked on my saber, and with the blade in and the retention screw tightened, there is only 3/16 inch extra length on the screw. If you could recess the claw holder down to a point where the metal is thinner than this, it might work. That's not going to be easy though. I still strongly recommend that you just drill another hole.

[Darth Lars]

The black thumbscrew is 13/32 long, right?
How about using the silver thumbscrew in the store that is 1/2" long? That is 2 1/3 additional millimeters. Would that be enough?

Then there are various methods for making a steel thumbscrew turn black. Maybe I could help you with that.

[TimeRender]

The 1/2 long silver screw is about 3/32 longer than the black screw, meaning you will have 9/32 inch to work with. You may have to ask Tim for the depth of the hole on the claw mount, because that is pretty close, but my gut is telling me that it is still too short. The easiest thing to do, again, is just drill a hole specifically for your blade retention screw.