Rethreading Cheeseboroughs?

[illeagle4life]

As most theaters do, we own a handful of Cheeseboroughs that seem to have one side with bad threads on it. Is there any easy way to rethread or replace the bad bolt? Or am I better off just throwing out and replacing the whole lot of them?

 

[techieman33]

If you have the right sized die you could run it over the bolt to fix small problems.

 

[gafftapegreenia]

Wikipedia just informed me that the item you want is called a "die nut" or "rethreading die". These will clean up buggered threads with minimal material loss. A normal die may take off too much material, which could lead to failure. A chase, on the other hand, is used to clean the threads made by a tap.

Again, I would be careful about how much material one removes by chasing the threads on a cheeseborough, as that could lead to clamp failure, injury, or worse. In fact, I'm not even sure if its a good idea.

If the nut itself is the problem, I would just replace the nut, OR, more likely, just buy a new clamp.

 

[derekleffew]

I'm not sure "chasing the threads," "dieing the threads," or "rethreading" would work, as 99% of cheeseborough s I've encountered have the ends of the bolts intentionally buggered to keep the nut or wing nut from ever coming off.

Are the cheeseboroughs in question steel or aluminum alloy? If aluminum, the special eye bolt is replaceable by pounding out the roll pin, but that's a big pain in the neck. Then again, so is a bad cheeseburger. Let us know if you find a good source for the parts. The Light Source - Coupler Parts may or may not work, depending on the particular brand.

.

 

[illeagle4life]

Perfect. Thanks

 

[MPowers]

I'm not sure "chasing the threads.....................have the ends of the bolts intentionally buggered to keep the nut or wing nut from ever coming off.
.............. If aluminum, the special eye bolt is replaceable by pounding out the roll pin, ............. Let us know if you find a good source for the parts. The Light Source - Coupler Parts may or may not work, depending on the particular brand.......

Derek is correct. To add to what he said, If the ends are buggered, you will ruin the nut by forcing it off but it has to be done as both the stem and the nut are probably deformed. Sometimes forcing the nut off will "fix" the stem. Properly chasing should not actually "remove" more than a scrape of additional material, but only "nudge" the threads back into shape. McMaster-Carr shows a number of tools for repairing threads. For Mega couplers (not "really" Cheese burgers, but many folks use them interchangeablly) we use Light Source for parts. We also have a small bench top press for punching out and replacing the pins, makes it a lot easier.

When going over hardware like this, examine it closely for small cracks or deformed parts. A dent or small ding is not an issue, especially with steel couplers, but bent bolts, squashed or pinched body parts and such should be removed from service. Any fracture, hairline crack, weld seperation or other item of that sort is also a deal killer, chuck the part.

 

[porkchop]

I've punched out the roll pin and replaced the bolt with a new nut already on it before. It's kind of a pain, but it's do able. That being said it the first website I pulled up has $22 as the price for a new half-coupler, so it make not be worth the price of the new parts and your time for you to go through that process for just a handful of clamps. Buying new is probably a better overall choice.

 

[HiThere]

you could use a thread file McMaster-Carr and not have to remove the nut completly just hit the spots that show damage
of cource this wont help if the nut has buggered threads too

 

[StNic54]

Also think: cost of a new cheeseborough versus buying a die, the time and labor spent rethreading, and the possibility it may not hold out. Do yourself a favor - recycle the old ones, get some cash for them to reinvest, and request funds for new cheeseboroughs under the pretense of 'rigging safety'

 

[MPowers]

...........request funds for new cheeseboroughs under the pretense of 'rigging safety'

Working in the academic world for 12 years as university faculty, I am aware of the various games you must some times play to get funds but there is NEVER a "pretense" of safety. Safety is always a real issue and a serious one. Always play the safety game for real and don't even let the "appearance" of crying wolf creep into the scenario. The administration and the bean counters all know there are games being played all the time when funding is the issue. Make sure they know that when you use the "Safety" word, you are deadly serious and it is not merely a scare tactic to get money or gear. If you gain a reputation for this kind of approach, you will be surprised at how quickly they provide funds when you really do need it.

 

[StNic54]

Indeed. Agree 100%. Be safe and don't try to be cheap when safety is involved. My irony in using the word pretense in relation to a post that should have been shot down immediately was lost on this forum.