Thread repair

Best is to make a new one from tool steel. Second best is to get another one cast from aluminum, using yours as a mold, and machine that one.

After that the options are all bad. You can try carefully removing all of the threads, cleaning the bore meticulously, and epoxying in the handle (after roughing the mating surface). You may have some luck with helicoils but if as I suspect the part is made of pot metal, it likely won't hold.

You may be able to buy a replacement part, depending on your machine's manufacturer or distributor (i.e. Jet/Grizzly/Delta/Ridgid/DeWalt/Craftsman).

Good luck. You're going to need it.

GWE

Alex wrote:

"Grant Erwin" wrote: (clip) Good luck. You're going to need it. (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I agree. Those epoxy thread repairs are okay for very non-critical repairs. In your case, the threads are subject to repeated heavy bending, which is very likely to crush the epoxy filler over time, causing the handles to loosen again.

Agreed, but not tool steel. It's not necessary for the application, is expensive to buy, and can be difficult to machine. Plain old (low) carbon steel, or even medium carbon steel (1018 to 1045) would work just fine.

Assuming you end up going that direction, a little creativity in attaching the handles could go a long ways towards longevity. A larger diameter at the attachment point, for example. Allows for more threads, or a counterbored entry, so the shank is supported. The bad news is it requires the use of a metal lathe and at least a mill drill, so if you don't have them at your disposal, it might not hurt to look around to see if you don't have others in your community that have a like interest, and have some machine tools. Could be a six pack of beer or a dozen donuts could turn into an afternoon of fun and a new friendship. I do repairs like that for neighbors at no charge.

Harold

I'd make a new hub out of aluminum barstock, or perhaps make a hex insert to fit your DP and loctite that into a stock mill vise spinner available for about $15 from Enco.

Might you be near Minneapolis?

So, unless it would interfere with mounting, _fill_ the hub with a stout, filled epoxy all the way out the holes. Then drill and re-tap. I've had very good luck with several of the concrete anchor adhesives. They're designed for slight (but minimal) expansion on cure, and are tough as a cob. The Simpson Strong-Tie system works quite well on metals.

LLoyd

LLoyd

"Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" wrote: (clip)fill_ the hub with a stout, filled epoxy all the way out the holes. Then drill and re-tap. (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ If you are able to drill and re-tap, why not just go to three locations halfway between the old holes?

Could be a cheap casting with no metal there.

Try locktite 10 minute metal patch - it is rated to be equivalent in strength to a grade 5 bolt, and is about as fragile as cast. Put a coating of mold release on the bolt, goop it on and ram it home. Or use a light smudge of anti-seize. Or just slop the hole full, then redrill and re-tap.

Works either way.

Do you know which mold release or anti-seize won't stick to metal epoxy?

snipped-for-privacy@sny.der.>

I have some Bondo Body Filler. Is it as strong as "liquid metal" epoxy?

No. Not in the slightest. Its miserable stuff with little strength of its own.

Gunner

Liberals - Cosmopolitan critics, men who are the friends of every country save their own. Benjamin Disraeli

CRC's "Heavy Duty Silicone Spray" forms an effective dry release for epoxies and polyester. Paraffin dissolved in xylene, toluene, or naptha works well, also.

LLoyd

Any antiseize I've ever tried has worked.

is the part

Definitely not. It is basically polyester.