Grrrrrrrr Does anyone make a damn set screw that doesn't strip the 2nd time you torque it down????????
I'm thru bolting all railing hardware as I grumble....
I'm thru bolting all railing hardware as I grumble....
See there? You're the Top Cat around here.Just finished drilling and thru bolting all push pit tube connections.
It isn't as pretty I suppose but it sure makes me much more confident concerning forces applied to the pushpit.
Also added an upright on each side that will oppose rearwards force since the front uprights opposed the lifelines.
The set screws are now just to reduce wiggle.
Johnb is right - all set screws that came in the new hardware are made of butter...
My guess is Allan has hit on the underlying issue. If you hex screw is just a little too small.... it will strip out the hole. I have a complete set of both metric and standard wrenches and it seems I'm forever having to fiddle between the two sets until I find a nice snug fitting match.Could be a metric-SAE mismatch? Is it at all possible the tool is not right? Or I've found the import hex keys are soft and they get rounded over.
dittoI have removed all set screws and drill and tap for phillip head machined screws. No problems with that set up. Set screws might be fine for bimini tops or dodgers but I don't think they belong in items that were designed to keep you inside the boat.
I think set screws should be banned on board any vessel. My 6 month old bimini collapsed in a mildly gusty wind last year. I did just that, drilled through and used SS pop rivets on every fitting. A bit of a chore but totally confident in the framework now.A lot of canvas shops drill the tubes and use 3/16" SS pop rivets. If they're going through the trouble to do that, must be they can't get the screws to work either.