I've had a few Hammand boxes - wrestling with a 1590A tonight - where the screws supplied don't fit all the screw holes in the chassis. It's tolerances in both the holes and the screws. Some screws will fit most holes but not all, and some holes won't accept any of the screws. Exasperating. I'm going to need to buy a tapping bit for it.
Anybody else run into such irritations?
Are the authentic Hammond boxes? If so, maybe you can contact them and get them replaced? What you are describing is totally a defect...
https://www.hammfg.com/warranty
Also the reseller should have a replacement plan.. Might have to contact them.
If it's just a couple I would just re-tap the holes myself but, if I had to re-tap let's say more than 5 I would not be very happy! :icon_evil:
I have had quite few el cheapo boxes with the same problem that you're talking about and I found some short self taping screws that worked perfectly.
hmm...interesting. i switched to hammond permanently because of that reason....after so many "import" cheap ass castings. i couldn't take it anymore! lol
hammond is actually "imported'....but a much higher quality casting. no...never had an issue. (knock on wood)
They're genuine Hammond boxes, although the reseller (a local Active/Future Electronics outlet) doesn't move very many of them. Could be a single bad batch.
Of course, it might be the screws and the box is entirely within spec. There's a local fastener place I can bring the box to and try out a bunch of chassis screws, to see if I can avoid having to tap. Buying a quartet of 10-cent screws will be cheaper than shopping for the right tap, and probably something I can do in town rather than having shipped in from out of town.
Mark, you didn't buy one of these when they were available. I can't imagine they had trouble selling them, so handy.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/hardware/page.aspx?c=&p=64800&cat=3,41306
(http://www.leevalley.com/en/images/item/Woodworking/Screwdrivers/09a0190s10.jpg)
dave
In general, for poorly formed or buggered threaded holes, an electrician's "triple tap" is a super-handy thing.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-Triple-Taps-62532/203310531
However unless the problem is 6-32, it may not fit a blind hole. Very good for through-holes.
Quote from: davent on May 29, 2016, 04:01:22 PM
Mark, you didn't buy one of these when they were available. I can't imagine they had trouble selling them, so handy.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/hardware/page.aspx?c=&p=64800&cat=3,41306
dave
Thanks for that, Dave. Lee Valley's HQ is a mere 7 blocks from my home, so no shipping required! On the other hand, the fastener place a few minutes further away has one of those for customer use, and pretty well every thread imaginable...except for weird Japanese sizes.