[Elecraft] Oddball tool question

Sat Feb 22 23:38:02 2003

Not for these knurled nuts, but there used to be a version designed for
a very safe tool. Do you remember seeing knurled nuts with a slot cut
across them on the facing side? GE used them on their Mobile radios, and
we had a special tool that removed them. It had a center pin the same
diameter as the plug that went into the jack. It was fairly shallow so
the pin couldn't reach the electrical contacts, but simply used the
opening to hold the tool centered. Then a ring around the pin had two
bumps that fit into the slots in the nut. You just pushed the tool onto
the jack like you were about to plug it in, then turned it to remove the
nut. The nut was tightened after it was "started" by turning the other
way. 

Of course, that didn't work on switches, and notice that switches use a
hex nut! 

I don't know when it happened, but it looks like at some point there
were so few people with the proper tools that the manufacturers just
quit putting in the slots for them. 

When I've encountered a very tight nut that is going to take some effort
to "break" it loose, I have put some strips of common tape on the front
panel where the needle-nose pliers will go to avoid a scratch. Also,
with a REALLY "stuck" one, I'll often use common plumbers pliers facing
directly down against the tape on the panel. They aren't grooved to grip
the nut that way, but they are much easier to grasp it tightly with when
a nut is stuck. The tape keeps the blunt "face" of the pliers from
scratching the paint. 

Of course, putting these nuts on, they should NEVER be more than just a
little beyond "finger tight" anyway. Certainly not tightened with any
real force. With PC-mounted jacks, that could put a lot of stress on the
PC board. Even with a floating jack, it seldom requires much force to
put the nut on so the jack is not going to work loose.

Ron AC7AC
K2 # 1289

-----Original Message-----
I'm sure one or two of you have encountered this problem.
>From time to time, when I embark on a project, I have to
mount a jack of some sort that uses one of those infamous knurled
nuts... even though I have the patience of Job when tightening these
little jewels using pliers of the standard or needle-nose variety, I
sometimes end up slipping and (albeit slightly) scarring the panel
beneath.  I hate it when that happens.

Now to my question: Does anyone know of a tool designed spcifically for
tightening/loosening these abominations?

Why they can't just use the old-fashioned hex nut, I'll never know.
It's on my list of questions to ask the OM of OMs 
once I pass the Pearly Gates (or the other, warmer ones).  :)

Thanks in advance and 73,

Bob  WA4FOM

--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts --- multipart/alternative
  text/plain (text body -- kept)
  text/html
The reason this message is shown is because the post was in HTML or had
an attachment.  Attachments are not allowed.  To learn how to post in
Plain-Text go to: http://www.expita.com/nomime.html  ---
_______________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list: [email protected]
You must be a list member to post to the list. 
Postings must be plain text (no HTML or attachments). 
See: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Elecraft Web Page: http://www.elecraft.com