Grinding the corners of a nut

[wstan]

Has anyone tried doing this before? I have a desire to grind the corners off because I need space to fit something and I haven't done it before. Will they more or less function with reduced corners?

 

[pontiac428]

To a point they will still function, until they don't. I'll admit in auto body I've shaved one flat down to make nuts fit, but that's mostly sheet metal and mounting brackets. Depends on the strength needed. There are cases where the nut has enough friction against the part to tighten without a backup wrench and strength isn't an issue, there I'd say its okay without flats. Then it needs to stay tight and not come loose. So sure, I've done it, but I wouldn't recommend it on every case, just the cases where it's safe and secure to.

Edit: Sometimes, I'll even tack weld a nut onto the work to ensure I don't need to back it up with a wrench on assembly. YMMV.

 

[dirty tools]

I never had any issues
some projects require nuts with limited space
I have had to use locking pliers to hold them while tighten the bolts

 

[tq60]

Use your lathe if you have one.

Place a bolt with long threads in lathe, place one nut on bolt so some threads still exposed, then grip be head and nut leaving stud sticking out.

Place a nut on stud and turn to size.

Can have longer stud and do more than one.

If strength is needed, use higher grade nut.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

 

[Mitch Alsup]

Yes, indeed, do this on your lathe--make a mandrel with a threaded member sticking out so you can screw the nut to the mandrel.

 

[ChazzC]

Has anyone tried doing this before? I have a desire to grind the corners off because I need space to fit something and I haven't done it before. Will they more or less function with reduced corners?

Not knowing what machines you have at your disposal, an alternative would be to mill the flats (you could also use a belt sander to carefully sand each flat) to reduce the actual size of the wrench/driver needed: old-style JIS nuts/bolts have smaller dimensions and work effectively. In small hardware, you used to be able to get “undersized” nuts in 6-32 & 8-32.

 

[Bone Head]

Depending on how much you remove, you won't be able to use a 12 point wrench/socket.

 

[MrWhoopee]

Just remember how a nut fails, the corners round off. The wrench pushes against the corners.

 

[twraska]

Why not mill the flats to a smaller size? Then you could still use a wrench on it.

 

[tjb]

That's not a particularly uncommon thing to do, but it would help to have a description of your application. As has been noted above, there are instances when that may not be the best strategy.

Regards