Just picked up a Godzilla and the head bolts / backbox nuts were cross-threaded. My brother tried to use an old tap and die kit we had, but we either don’t know what we’re doing or our kit just won’t do the trick.
What size is the recommended size to rethread the bolts and nuts? And a good (hopefully inexpensive) brand?
DF76E350-0723-4555-8D9B-31E89EFB8DD4 (resized).jpeg3/8-16
Depending on how bad it is you could get a thread chaser they reshape the threads that are distorted rather than cutting new ones.
I'd bet 90 to 95% of online stuff is Cheap crap. I'd go to a Fastenal or Grainger if you have one local or order online from them. McMaster Carr is also a very good place for quality tap/die stuff. You get what you pay for.
I think my kit from Snapon was $600 or so. (good chance that's not made in usa) I do have an Irwin set up north that has not let me down and that was substantially cheaper.
I could be wrong, but don’t believe the head bolts are 3/8-16. That size is for the leg bolts. I sold our later Stern pins so I can’t verify.
Quoted from play_pinball:Just picked up a Godzilla and the head bolts / backbox nuts were cross-threaded. My brother tried to use an old tap and die kit we had, but we either don’t know what we’re doing or our kit just won’t do the trick.
What size is the recommended size to rethread the bolts and nuts? And a good (hopefully inexpensive) brand?
[quoted image]
You could also just use the spots for head to cab bolts that go from behind speaker panel straight down to cabinet.
Personally I wouldn't use a tap. I'd used a thread chaser. Taps are for cutting threads; removing metal. You don't necessarily want to remove metal in this case, you want to straighten the threads to where they belong. There is a 48 piece set most mechanics/serious DIYrs have. It's made by Lang/Kastar, but most major brands rebrand it with their logo--Snap On, Craftsman, etc. I'd just buy the individual chasers I needed if I found myself in your situation and didn't have the need for the other 46 pieces in the set. Individual pieces can be bought from Snap On for $5-$6 each, probably cheaper elsewhere.
I wasn’t familiar with a thread chaser. Thanks y’all. We’ll look for one of those. Fortunately there are a few Fastenal and Grainger locations around here.
Quoted from JonCBrand:You could also just use the spots for head to cab bolts that go from behind speaker panel straight down to cabinet.
This is how I got it set up currently but I would like to fix the issue regardless.
Quoted from JonCBrand:I think my kit from Snapon was $600 or so. (good chance that's not made in usa
Last I knew, their tap and die sets are still made here (not that it matters, really, as some cheap crap is made here and some good stuff can be made over there).
It's hit and miss on whether some of the Snap-On, Mac, and Matco stuff is still made here. I still buy stuff from all 3 brands and have for over 25 years, and it all seems to be the same quality as it was way back then.
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Hopkins, MN