trouble holding up my arms

[johnny slade]

I have this wooden figurine of a person that is equipped with lag bolts holding the limbs on to the torso. This thing is designed to be a clothes hanger but if you set a pair of jeans of something heavy in its arms the arms fall down. I am looking for something like what one would see with a dash mounted cell phone holder where there is a grooved surface similar to teeth where you pick your desired location and tighten the nut and bolt running through it. Any ideas, please?
I have considered a Nord-Lock type washer system, however, would prefer something I can drill and countersink a screw to secure both pieces. Plastic would work.

[Steve Jenkins]

If you are fastening them with lag bolts I guess the arms are rotating Disney around the lag bolt. How about putting a dowel on each side of the lag bolts so it can't rotate. Should say down not Disney. Don't know we're that came from.

[johnny slade]

I appreciate and like your idea Steve but this thing is meant to be relatively adjustable to be converted into a small table, a firewood holder and a bunch of other jobs I forgot about ...it belongs to a friend of mine. He says it's 50+ years old.

[Phil Thien]

Does it need to be adjustable w/o loosening the lag bolt?

[Steve Jenkins]

Maybe replace the lag bolt with a threaded insert then put a couple star washers on the new bolt. The star washers may provide enough grip to prevent rotation.

[Jim Matthews]

Keep the lag bolt.

Add a series of holes in an arc
on the torso and a mating dowel
in the arms. When you change
the position, put the dowel in the
appropriate hole and crank down the
bolt.

Alternately - glue on some 150 grit
sandpaper to both the arm and torso
so that the rough sides face each other.

That would make the fit less likely to slide.

The sandpaper retrofit would be easily reversible.

[johnny slade]

Phil, Jim and Steve, Thanks guys. If it was mine I would go with the adjustable dowel but I am thinking the sandpaper may work. If not then the dowel. Thanks friends.

[johnny slade]

Went with the sandpaper idea and it is amazing how strong it is. Very good help here. Thanks again!




Keep the lag bolt.

Add a series of holes in an arc
on the torso and a mating dowel
in the arms. When you change
the position, put the dowel in the
appropriate hole and crank down the
bolt.

Alternately - glue on some 150 grit
sandpaper to both the arm and torso
so that the rough sides face each other.

That would make the fit less likely to slide.

The sandpaper retrofit would be easily reversible.