[Milsurplus] Naval radio experts: captive screws and other mysteri es

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

On 5/13/05, WA5CAB at cs.com <WA5CAB at cs.com> wrote:
> George and Todd,
> 
> All captive screws are basically of the same design.  The diameter of the
> head is larger than the major diameter of the thread.  The diameter of the shank
> (that portion of the screw between the head and the threads is smaller than
> the minor diameter of the threads.  

Okay, I have a confession to make: I wasn't wearing my glasses when I
looked at these things last weekend, so I'm not sure if the little
keeper rings are clips, have splits, or are there for life. And I have
no idea how to tell the thread size/pitch, other than to try a nut on
the end and visit the hardware store. Yep, I'm that bad.

I do know that the screws have a pretty large head, maybe 1/4 inch
deep, with a cross-hatched knurled side edge. They are chromed, the
shank is thin with a few larger threads at the end. And then there's
the clip....

I'll pull the radio apart again this weekend and take a better look,
maybe try to measure the threads. If there's a visible way to remove a
clip, I'll take one out and try to take a picture. There are three
missing, so finding replacements will be a requirement for the final
project.

Looking around did in fact yield some places with the rubber toggle
covers, they are indeed molded onto a nut that just screws onto the
toggle in place of the typical trim-type mounting screw. One mystery
solved. Need to measure the Barry mounts too, they look the same as
the standard 'big' size used on RAOs and the like, maybe three or so
inches square, inch or two high, looks like a 1/4" thread tapped in
the center of the rubber mounting.

Thanks for all of the tips and pointers, I'll report back next week
with my findings.

~ Todd,  KA1KAQ