Tool LibraryOne of our nicest chop saws, a Ryobi, mysteriously lost its miter-lock knob. Rather than paying big bucks to replace it, we decided to build ourselves one. We just what we needed in our bucket of metal set to be recycled. After buying a 3/8″ metric bolt, this is where we stood.
We’d need a way to lock that bolt in our sleeve. There was a hole in the side of the sleeve, not visible in this photo, and we happened to have a bolt that would fit that hole, if only it were threaded. Enter our tap and die set. Did you know we have one?
In just a minute or two there were nice threads for our lock screw. We don’t need a tap and die set very often, but when we do, it’s great to have one.
Next we had to grind down the head of the bolt a bit to get it to fit into the sleeve. Luckily one of our bench grinders was on hand, so this operation took just a few minutes.
A quick hammer tap or two settled the bolt head in line with the tapped hole and we were good to go.
The lock screw snugged nicely with quick turns with one of our crescent wrenches and our new knob fit nicely into the chop saw miter gauge and we were smiling broadly.
Not a major project, to be sure, but we thought it would be a good demonstration project. Do you have a need for the tap and die set? Bet you can find a job around the house that is just screaming for one!
Hope you liked reading about this small adventure in tool repair.
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