Dave's perpetual question thread

[Dilitante1]

or here

http://www.fastenal.com/web/products.ex?dispatch=browse&c=100236

these guys are in most states and can prolly find exactly what you are looking for

like this?:
http://www.fastenal.com/web/products...ex?sku=0123220

[Wombat]

Duh. McMaster-Carr has everything. Including kitchen sinks, in several flavors.

[Marshmallowman]

Why not use screw head covers?, ya know the little plastice things that pop onto screw heads.

[Helevitia]

Nope, they don't have nicely polished screws that I want They are industrial grade, which means they look ugly probably. I ordered one just to see if it will work. I've also asked in other forums, went to the hobby shop, and back to the local hardware store. Man, this is painfully slow.

Dave

[Greebe]

Dave get an amount needed of both the screw you like above and the fastener Dil suggested and have them chromed. The ones shown in this pic...


blow chunks big time. Also notice that they are molded into the acrylic block... neccessary due to their inferior holding factor.... the ones Dil suggested are pressure fitted... also can be heated slightly to meld their gripping rings to really grab into the plastic.

Have you decided on which Plexi to use, know howto cut it properly? I have a fair amount of experience working with

[Helevitia]

Originally posted by Greebe
Dave get an amount needed of both the screw you like above and the fastener Dil suggested and have them chromed. The ones shown in this pic...


blow chunks big time. Also notice that they are molded into the acrylic block... neccessary due to their inferior holding factor.... the ones Dil suggested are pressure fitted... also can be heated slightly to meld their gripping rings to really grab into the plastic.

Have you decided on which Plexi to use, know howto cut it properly? I have a fair amount of experience working with

How do I get them chromed?

The fasteners are actually easy to find and they will be going into wood so they don't need to look pretty. Actually, I bought some tonight to play around with and see what I needed to get it to look right in the wood. I still need to go buy that tap set, but want to wait until I find the right screw. I agree there are much better inserts out there(like the ones I tried tonight).

All of the plexi I am using will be machine cut for me from Tap Plastics. All of the pieces that I am getting made are fairly easy or small so it won't be too expensive. I might have to make my own hole or two, but shouldn't be any worse than that. I'll probably ask when the time comes to make sure I do it right

[Helevitia]

OK, I found out chroming is known as "plating". Looks like there are plenty of places to get it done around here. Seems like it is too expensive for a few screws though. I'll call tomorrow and see what my options are. Damn, I wish I could just find a place that sells chromed or nickeled screws.

[Greebe]

I'd suggest asking nicely, seeing that it's such a small batch somebody surely will cut you a break.

Figured you got chromed nightly so it came as a suprise to me when you found out it was also known as plating

[Dilitante1]

Dave can i ask why a stainless screw isnt "shiney" enough?

brushed stainless will not tarnish
or try copper-nickel or nickel-copper, strong materials that dont rust with a silver/gray finish


http://www.fastenal.com/web/products...oulder%20screw these? are what you are looking for at fastenal?


as for plating, you might have luck with a local machine shop...ask them about adding your screws to a batch they are sending out

[Helevitia]

Originally posted by Greebe
I'd suggest asking nicely, seeing that it's such a small batch somebody surely will cut you a break.

Figured you got chromed nightly so it came as a suprise to me when you found out it was also known as plating

LMAO! Wanker!

[Helevitia]

Originally posted by Dilitante1
Dave can i ask why a stainless screw isnt "shiney" enough?

brushed stainless will not tarnish
or try copper-nickel or nickel-copper, strong materials that dont rust with a silver/gray finish

Well, if you look at the above picture with the brass screws in the acrylic case, you can see they are very nice. Probably nickel plated. I don't think stainless steel will look that good. I'll find out when I get my order from McMaster-Carr. I guess because this is my first HUGE mod project I've done, I want everything to look nice. To be honest, I am looking at some stainless steel pieces in front of me now and they look pretty decent. If the scres I get looks like these, I will be happy. I called McMaster-Carr and asked them about the finish. They said they don't worry about the finish because they usually sell to industrial/machine companies.

[spadnos]

Stainless usually looks a little dull. Not like bright shiny chrome.

It's still a good look, just different.

- Steve

[Helevitia]

Well, I have almost given up on finding the right screw and have now moved to cabinet hardware! I was at Lowe's yesterday and they have all kinds of cool stuff to choose from.

I also went to Tap Plastics this morning and had 3 pieces made for me. I made the bracket I need to mount the 5.25" drives, the faceplate for the front of the drives and the motherboard tray back piece where you connect the keyboard/mouse, etc...

I need more than one of the faceplate and bracket but I am only going to make one for now to make sure it comes out right. I'll take pictures of the pieces and post them when they are done. They said it could take as long as a week.

[Helevitia]

Good news! The screw that I thought wouldn't be polished enough actually looks really good It's not nickel or chrome plated but I think I like the brushed steel look better anyway.

[Helevitia]

One more