Threaded Brass Inserts

[Peter Stahl]

Anyone use 5/16-18 brass inserts? I bought a pack from Woopeckers and the package said make a 1/2" hole for them but that is too big. What would be the correct pilot hole size.

thanks, PeteQuantity Discounts

[Jamie Buxton]

My approach is to measure the body of the insert, and make the pilot hole somewhat larger -- maybe a thirty-second... whatever you've got in your tool box.

Do you know the trick for inserting them? Get a long bolt -- maybe 3" or 4" -- of the same thread. Put two nuts on it with maybe a quarter inch sticking out. Lock the nuts together by screwing them together with two wrenches. Put a washer on the end, and then thread the insert on. Use a wrench to drive the insert into the work. The long bolt gives you good aim, so the insert goes straight into the hole.

Apply good pressure into the hole with the insert when you're starting it. Otherwise it tends to splinter the face of the work.

I also wipe a little beeswax on the insert's threads before I drive it into the work.

[Keith July]

I use a slightly smaller pilot hole when using them in softwood.
If you are not sure on the pilot hole size, run a test in a small piece of scrap wood. When you are done with the test just split the scrap piece and retrieve the insert.
Jamie's right on with the bee's wax.

Keith

[Alan Turner]

Or, use Jamie's bolt, and nuts, and cut the head off. Mount the shaft of the bolt in the DP chuck, and turn the chuck by hand as it threads the insert into the pilot hole. DO NOT turn the DP on. The DP quill will keep the threads heading straight into the pilot hole.

[Peter Stahl]

Thanks for the reply and tips everyone. Thought maybe someone knew the pilot hole demension. Guess I'll get the calipers out.

Pete

[Byron Trantham]

Thanks for the reply and tips everyone. Thought maybe someone knew the pilot hole demension. Guess I'll get the calipers out.

Pete

Peter, as has already been pointed out, the best way is to install one in a scrap piece of wood. I use the recommended pilot hole as a start. For what it is worth, they are worth the trouble - very strong.

[Byron Trantham]

Or, use Jamie's bolt, and nuts, and cut the head off. Mount the shaft of the bolt in the DP chuck, and turn the chuck by hand as it threads the insert into the pilot hole. DO NOT turn the DP on. The DP quill will keep the threads heading straight into the pilot hole.

Allan,
I tried your suggestion and it is great!!!! I have to install about fourty of them so I bit the bullet and made the jig. Nice idea, thanks

[Steve Beadle]

Anyone use 5/16-18 brass inserts? I bought a pack from Woopeckers and the package said make a 1/2" hole for them but that is too big. What would be the correct pilot hole size.

thanks, PeteQuantity Discounts

I recently installed some 5/16-18 brass inserts in a jig I was making. If I remember correctly, I used a 7/16" bit.

I haven't tried using the drill press to install brass inserts, although I have heard of that method and am sure it works well. Instead, I found an idea for a very simple jig in an old magazine article. Basically, it's just a rather thick, but squared block of wood through which you drill a 5/16" hole vertically. You then cut away some of the wood around the bottom of the through-hole--say 1-1/2". You run a 5/16" X approx 4" long bolt through the hole and put two nuts about a half-inch up from the end, wedging them together. Thread the brass insert on the very end, snug up against the two nuts. Center the assembly over the drilled hole and, if possible, clamp down the jig to the workpiece. Then it's just a matter of turning the bolt downward until the insert is to the right depth (i.e., flush). Backing the bolt assembly back up off the insert is sometimes a little tricky, though.
This jig is a lot easier than I have probably made it sound--honest!

[Alan Turner]

Byron,
Glad it worked for you, but no thanks needed. This is a method that has oft been noted in the literature.