Weird vintage pole screw...

[Possum]

Anyone know where I can get a pole screw that is 8-32 thread 5/8" long with SLOTTED head? I can find them as set screws with allen wrench drives but no luck with slotted.

[Bruce Johnson]

McMasters has them, but only to 1/2" long

McMaster-Carr

That shouldn't be too hard to find. If you just need a couple, you can make them up out of plain 8-32 threaded rod. Saw them off, grind the tips, and saw the slot with a hacksaw.

[Possum]

....

Yeah most of them are 1/2" if there were some 3/4 that would be good but no luck there either. I did cut some thread off and slotted with a band saw but it looks pretty tacky and hard to center the slot...

[Joe Gwinn]

Yeah most of them are 1/2" if there were some 3/4 that would be good but no luck there either. I did cut some thread off and slotted with a band saw but it looks pretty tacky and hard to center the slot...

The standard way is to cut the slot on the mini-mill with a slotting saw. Hold the screw in a maple block held in a vise.

OK for one-off production, but too slow for anything else.

[David King]

Centering your slots with a hack saw just takes a little practice. It's tough to find just the right blade width but those little German bow saws with the 6" blade are good at .025".

If it's a mission-critical screw head then I usually use a knife edge file to start the slot.

[belwar]

Anyone know where I can get a pole screw that is 8-32 thread 5/8" long with SLOTTED head? I can find them as set screws with allen wrench drives but no luck with slotted.

8-32 x 5/8 Slotted Fillister Steel Screw with Zinc/Yellow Coating. 6700 in stock. You could have them re-plated for dirst cheap.

Contact Name: Joe Greschuk
Contact Phone: 813-621-2625 *
Contact Email: joe@bayfasteners.com

Stock Location: Tampa, FL
Part Number: 08C062SUMSZY/FCH
Pricing Information: contact for quote
Minimum Order Total Value: $10.00
Minimum Line Item Value: $5.00

[belwar]

The coating listed at zinc/yellow, but they might just be standard zinc.

[Possum]

...

These are HEADLESS screws, thats the problem, no fillister, they look like long set screws. I tried some filiister head screws and it kills the gauss up there...

[chevalij]

Get yourself a few #8-32 nuts. Put one in a vice and cut a slot crossways about 1/2 way down. You thread an uncut nut onto some #8-32 rod or whatever else you are using, put the cut nut flush onto the rod and use the first as a jamn nut. Drop the nuts into a vice and it works like a perfect little cutting guide Also, when you remove the first nut, it should clean up the threads a bit.

[Possum]

....

Thats a pretty cool tip, I think I maybe can adapt it to my bandsaw which cuts perfect width slots, thanks man...

[EtLa]

SS-267

Spaenaur have them, look at the bottom of the page. Item# SS-267
carbon steel not plated http://www.spaenaur.com/view_pdf.asp?Page=B295

1-800-265-8772

[Possum]

....

Amazing, how did you ever find that? They're case hardened but I can fix that I think. Do you buy from them and how do you order by phone/fax?

[David King]

Spaenaur is in Ontario but they'll ship stateside.

[EtLa]

Spaenaur

I don't buy directly from them but from a supplier in Montreal. I know they do sell directly. If it's to much of a pain let me know.