Air Gun Home :: View topic - Heli-Coil Inserts

Alstone · Moderator & Site Supporter

I've had a request to do a tutorial on what they are and how to use them,
Heli-coils are used to repair or put stronger threads in metal, usually you find them being used in engineering workshops and car repair shops, they can also be used in plastics, wood or anything that needs a strong thread.

I use these on airguns in aluminium and wood, especialy where screws are taken in and out regularly, also to repair striped threads.

I hope this post has been of some intrest, the cost of Heli-Coil kits is quite expensive but most Auto repair shops and engineering workshope will have them, naturaly the bigger the thread the more cost, a 3mm insert kit is about $20.00 which is probably cheap if the part with the damaged thread as to be replaced.

Al

kanyon · Silver Status Member

Hi.. great things when needed....But don't yer just hate it when you undo the bolt and the heli coil comes out with it. usaly when some dick has loc tighted the bolt in.

Alstone · Moderator & Site Supporter

Yea, especialy when it's on the end of a spark plug Laughing

Al

23ib0d0n · Moderator

Alstone · Moderator & Site Supporter

Nice one J, I've got green loc-tite I'll have to get some red as well, one thing I do use is an "activator" spray which cures threadlock and super glue in minutes

Al

dummyracer36 · Senior Member

we use these quite often at the shop... theres a reason manufacturers give torque specks for bolts on motorcycles.... your arm is NOT a highly calibrated torque wrench... i get thread repair jobs almost daily. one thing i dont know if you mentioned about the Heli-Coil kit is that the tap required to install say a 6mm thread insert is labeled 6mm, but is NOT 6mm.. use the one that comes with the kit... (see this alot too, guys wanting to buy JUST the insert from me cause they already have the tap at home).

Dummy

BBGun Bob · Veteran Member

And for 31 years at Ford Mo Co I thought they were pencil pushers with bad night mares LOL Just kidding Al. Nice post.

BBGun Bob
SE Mich.

cw · Banned

Anyone know when they first came out with Loctite?

Alstone · Moderator & Site Supporter

I've been using it since the late 1950s, so it's been around for a while now.

Al

Alstone · Moderator & Site Supporter

Hi Bob is it raining in Mich? Laughing

Al

BBGun Bob · Veteran Member

billandbeaufort · Senior Member

BBGun Bob, It beats the alternative but is not for sissys, LOL

Slavia · Moderator

I have a thing about wood screws on guns. For wood or plastic I've had good luck with those screw anchors that they sell at almost any hardware store. This is especially true if you are hand-fitting something, and it requires frequent disassembly/assembly. Wood and plastic gets chewed up after a few times, and a machine screw can be more durable.

In my area there are two kinds available - stainless (turned in with an allen wrench) and brass (inserted with a slotted head screwdriver). Get the stainless kind if possible - the little brass ears break off easily. Both kinds have a tendency to get cocked sideways in the hole, so use a screwdriver handle with a hex bit to drive them in straight.

I put the brass ones in backwards to prevent breaking off those ears. I'll take a short screw, nut, and washer and tighten them together with the anchor. Then I use a nut driver on the nut to drive the anchor in. The washer stops insertion when the anchor is flush with the surface. This also means they will be permanent - drilling them out is about the only option for removal.

To make them even more permanent you can epoxy the threads.