Making A Specialized Acorn (cap) Nut

Dunno' if this is any help to the OP but I've occasionally used carbide router bits as form tools. Easy enough to make a holder to fit a 4-way or a QC tool holder. Even with the carbide cutters, I do as Darrell suggested and run real slow with lots of lube !

P1020277.jpg

P1020273.jpg

P1020272.jpg

You can use these on a mill, of course, to obtain special countours.

P1020284.jpg

A small "ogee" bit might work well for producing an acorn nut shape.

P1020277.jpg

P1020273.jpg

P1020272.jpg

P1020284.jpg
 
Dear All,

Thank you very much for your replies. Yes, it is the shoulder on the left side that I need to recreate, and commercial nuts do not leave me enough room to do that and have any of the hex left. Otherwise I would be golden.

Darrell, I like the idea of making a form tool, or perhaps 2. Thanks.

Wreck^2, unfortunately the way the Sherline radius tool is made your technique for moving the slide won't work (I can't link to the design, as I haven't posted enough). I found a diagram for a horizontal radius tool holder that might work great for this sort of project. As I am very new to this machining stuff, it is currently a bit ambitious for me to try to make it for these 4 nuts. Also, it looks like the McMaster nut is a simpler design. I just took the cap design from MH.

Randy, I really like your idea.

As to making it exact, I don't really care if the cap is perfect, as it is hidden, but the shoulder on the left is important for stabilizing the nut in the hinge. That shoulder is a press fit into the top hinge pin support to help prevent the nut and hinge pin from spinning and coming loose.

Again, thank you so much for the time you have taken in responding to my question. I hope someday to be experienced enough to help someone else down the line.

I have reposted the drawing, so it is perhaps full size. The way the smaller radius protrudes is slightly exaggerated for clarity.

Cheers,

TomPackard hinge acorn nut.jpg
 
Wreck^2: Also, thank you for the tip on the hex shoulder radius. Very cool.
 
Success! I made a shaped HSS tool and it worked great on brass. Next I will try steel.

That is my first custom HSS tool.

Thanks again. Cheers,
Tom
 
Back
Top