OT: Hit the deck, Incoming rant. Machine screws etc.

[Captain K]

How bout taking a longer than you need 1/4-20 and screwing it into a shallow blind hole in a piece held in the lathe. Machine off the extra diameter, single point the threads a little deeper and cut to length. Really it’s probably a 1/4-20 set screw anyway. Screws are pretty much always a bit smaller than nominal.

[BCRider]

You ranted more generally about the other number screw sizes. The big box stores do stock #6, 8 and 10's in the the head styles and thread pitches used by electrical goodies. There's easily enough demand for that sort of thing. But not so much in other sizes.

Years ago when Fastenal did sell to folks off the street I started buying three or four boxes at a time of 6, 8, 10 and 1/4 allen cap screws in various lengths to use for making projects. This would make the bill up around $60 to $100. Only had to do it a time or three to get a really nice assortment that I'm still using and likely won't need to re-supply for the rest of my machining days. But the common big box stores are not machinery supply places so they simply won't have things like this or even much in the way of set screws.

And as mentioned #12 is pretty much the red headed step child of the fastener world these days. Once I realized that the use in this case was not 1/4-20 I think I'd have taken about 0.7 seconds to decide to re-thread it with 1/4-20 and move on.

[Willy]

So what would you really rather have?
Living in a laid back community that has no access to 12-20 set screws or living in a large metropolitan area and still no access to 12-20 set screws?

I live outside of a small community and not too far from a bit of a larger city and oftentimes complain that I can't get anything in Hooterville, either one! But trust me I'd rather whine once in a while when I can't source anything locally or instantly than b*tch every day about the issues I'd have to deal with constantly by living the "rats in a cage" lifestyle of the big city.
Slow down, enjoy the lifestyle, and whittle a couple of those screws out while enjoying the tranquility that surrounds you.

On another note, the town to the west which did have two choices for fasteners now only has one.
BC fasteners has always been very customer oriented. One screw or a pallet full no problem. Great helpful staff and the store is always full of customer traffic, both commercial and private.

We did have a Fastenal that only offered sales to commercial accounts, even if you offered to buy a box of a hundred. The few times I've been in there you could swing a dead cat and not hit anybody. Even then the staff was rude and arrogant when approached to bending the rules a bit on multiple 100 lots of fasteners because I did not have a commercial account there.
I went buy there the other day and see the doors are now closed.

[Doozer]

Dude, children are starving in Africa,
rainforests are being cut down...
You're ranting about a screw.
Really?

-D

[rdfeil]

Ok, just a thought without seeing exactly what the parts look like... 20 TPI is 20 TPI so... with 12 being so close to 1/4 and 1/4 X 20 being a UNF standard, would it not be a good possibility that you could run a 1/4 X 20 tap through the 12 X 20 hole and enlarge the thread to accept a 1/4 X 20 set screw? I know this is not really good or proper practice, but for a one off with plenty of cutting oil and a gentle hand it seems like a good possibility. If not take the 30 mile drive and have acelebratory lunch after you get the setscrews!!! I agree with some of the above, for those of us who live in small rural areas, parts availability can be a PITA, but being out of a jamb packed city is worth it to me 🙂.

[Stepside]

I did a bit of research. The American Machinists Handbook 7th Edition from 1940 does list a #12-20 Fine machine screw thread. It also listed it as seldom used. I think it is time to single point your own screw

[Illinoyance]

This is a machinist forum, right? Buy a 12-20 die from Victor ($11.50) and make your own. You can also try to single-point the threads. Joe Pie had a video on how to support the small diameter work for threading.

[J Tiers]

Ok, just a thought without seeing exactly what the parts look like... 20 TPI is 20 TPI so... with 12 being so close to 1/4 and 1/4 X 20 being a UNF standard, would it not be a good possibility that you could run a 1/4 X 20 tap through the 12 X 20 hole and enlarge the thread to accept a 1/4 X 20 set screw? I know this is not really good or proper practice, but for a one off with plenty of cutting oil and a gentle hand it seems like a good possibility.........

It seems likely that it could work just fine, especially if you hit it with a tapping size drill for the 1/4-20 first. That would make it a cake-walk

[andywander]

I had a Roper Whitney hand punch and in changing dies found out the set screw was an odd ball thread size.
About a 10 or 12 dia, I had to order that set screw from them while I had drawers full of fasteners.

They are 12-32, IIRC.

[andywander]

It seems likely that it could work just fine, especially if you hit it with a tapping size drill for the 1/4-20 first. That would make it a cake-walk

A number 14 screw, at nominal 0.242" OD, is even closer to 1/4" than a number 12 is...

[Bented]

Society as we know it will collapse when the antiquated screw supply is exhausted.

Due to the apparent madness of our forefathers the major diameter of a numbered fastener in the US system is.

Screw number X .013" + .060"

Why exactly someone would create such a standard is a mystery.

[J Tiers]

Society as we know it will collapse when the antiquated screw supply is exhausted.

Due to the apparent madness of our forefathers the major diameter of a numbered fastener in the US system is.

Screw number X .013" + .060"

Why exactly someone would create such a standard is a mystery.

So what is so much better about a mm? Or any other distance that a fevered brain can come up with? One mm is essentially an arbitrary unit, same as the 0.013 is.

[Captain K]

What’s better about mm and fractional inches is you can just measure and read the size off your measuring tool without remembering formulas or doing any math

[Bented]

So what is so much better about a mm? Or any other distance that a fevered brain can come up with? One mm is essentially an arbitrary unit, same as the 0.013 is.

You went off on quite a tangent.
I most always take the time to type the inch symbol or MM after each dimension in order to avoid confusion.

This has nothing to do with the metric system of measurement.

[RB211]

When I need 2 screws, I order 100 from McMaster. I'll order a bunch of different screws I don't need but think I might in the future. I try to design around what I have.