Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Follow-Up To The Last Weird Question

You have two objects that you want to lock together from opposite sides of a rectangle.  At the same time, you do not know the exact dimensions of the rectangle -- there could be as much as an inch or two of variation from unit to unit.  The obvious choice is two pieces of steel with a screw thread between them that lets you tighten them together.  Can you see a way to do this from steel pieces that can be bought off the shelf, or fabricated with a relatively light weight metal brake?  The force involved is not enormous.

4 comments:

  1. Can't you buy steel (or aluminum) angle in reasonable sizes at your local big-box hardware store? Much easier to work with than sheet metal, overkill on the strength but the total (especially if Al) won't be enough to matter.

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  2. http://www.uscargocontrol.com/Rigging-Supplies-Hardware/Stub-End-Stub-End-Stainless-Steel-Turnbuckles/1-2-Stub-End-Stub-End-Stainless-Steel-Turnbuckle-Type-316?gclid=CLO43M-p8bsCFQqCQgods2QAww

    A turnbuckle.
    It's placed between two threaded pieces- could even be two longish bolts placed through the outside of your rectangles, and then both bolts thread into the turnbuckle, which itself can be turned to tighten the whole assembly. To account for the variation in widths, you may need to buy different length bolts.Locknuts/washers could be used at either end of the turnbuckle to ensure they don't come loose, if that is a concern.

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  4. Screen-door brace. Designed for the purpose:
    http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-Hardware-Screen-Brace-748264/sim/B00004Z0YB/2

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