Set Screwed!!!!! &%@(*^$%$%#$$!!!

Aug 22, 2011
1,113
MacGregor Venture V224 Cheeseland
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....
 

Kermit

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Jul 31, 2010
5,657
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
I know you can handle it. You ARE the Top Cat.

 
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Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Is it the set screw giving up or the threaded hole?
 
Aug 22, 2011
1,113
MacGregor Venture V224 Cheeseland
The torque range seems quite small.

The threads are fine - its the darn hex wrench strips in the sockets....
 
Jan 22, 2008
1,654
Hunter 34 Alameda CA
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.
 

Johnb

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Jan 22, 2008
1,420
Hunter 37-cutter Richmond CA
I seem to find that the screws etc that come with hardware (e.g. barrel bolts, gate hinges etc) are junk compared with fasteners of known provenance. Some of them are like made of butter.
 
Sep 8, 2014
2,551
Catalina 22 Swing Keel San Diego
Cheap, sub-standard alloy, Asian made crap... I've actually gone through the painful effort of over-drilling and re-tap every piece of hardware so I could use the next size set-screw of known 316 alloy (Fastenal or McMaster Carr).
Subtle differences like this is the difference between a Yacht vs. 'Factory boat'... The cost is the labor.
 
Aug 22, 2011
1,113
MacGregor Venture V224 Cheeseland
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...
 
Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
its usually a substandard tool that allows the corners to begin rounding that creates the problem... and the stainless setscrews should have never-seize applied to them so they can be tightened tighter with less stress on the tool and hex hole... and so they can be removed when necessary.
 

Kermit

.
Jul 31, 2010
5,657
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
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...
See there? You're the Top Cat around here.
 
Aug 22, 2011
1,113
MacGregor Venture V224 Cheeseland
Very reassuring coming from an animated piece of green foam that kisses pigs...
 
Nov 26, 2008
1,966
Endeavour 42 Cruisin
I have had a lot of issues with ss set screws that come with rail fittings. It is the poor sizing of the socket. Often I cannot find any allen wrench, matric or sae, that will fit the socket. Off to the hardware store to get replacement set screws.
 
Nov 28, 2009
495
Catalina 30 St. Croix
I 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.
 
Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
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.
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.
 
Mar 1, 2012
2,182
1961 Rhodes Meridian 25 Texas coast
I 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.
ditto
 
Feb 8, 2014
1,300
Columbia 36 Muskegon
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.
 
May 7, 2012
1,338
Hunter e33 Maple Bay, BC
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.
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.
 
May 2, 2012
276
Catalina 310 Toronto, Ontario
Capt jgw
I started to use 3/16" SS pop rivets in places I know aren't coming apart. For the other spots I use pan head SS bolts 1/4" thread length. Work beautifully. :yeah: They are Robertson heads. Not sure if you can get those in the states or not, but they don't strip :mad: like the hex set screws.

Cheers
2 Old Pirates