I can't find my nuts! Help me find my nuts!

[moid]

Hello good people

In October I bought a pack of ten Cliff sockets:
from Digikey (why, because I needed some LDRs that only they sell, and you need a big minimum order if you want to avoid postage costs) so I was throwing a lot of things into the basket that I didn't need immediately, but would come in handy later. Everything arrived but I was back in term time for teaching at that point and I barely noticed the parcel - looked inside, thought, yeah that looks like everything, and left it alone until the Christmas break... when I discover that my sockets have been shipped without any nuts Digikey say tough luck, you ony have 30 days to report an error with the order, and emailing Cliff has drawn a blank (they don't reply). Soooo does anyone know somewhere (preferably in the UK) where I can buy the right nuts for these sockets? Otherwise they are annoyingly useless... I know the nuts are in this PDF https://www.cliffuk.co.uk/products/dcconnectors/FC681473.pdf but I don't know what to search for to buy them. Can anyone help me find my nuts? I'm lost without them!

[GGBB]

Guessing.

From the drawing - the barrel is M12.7x1mm. Although 12.7mm is 1/2", 1mm is 25.4TPI, and 1/2"-25.4 doesn't exist. Would likely be too tight of a fit anyway. You probably need M13x1 nuts - a bit of an odd size but not non-existent.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/386267078716?hash=item59ef4fe03c:g:r4cAAOSwO3BlTIIU&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4Dm8dGGsjChYSpRcvP44PT4WNoCz80ur0NQLY7RTEFY8joRQqi%2B%2Bh2PlxEJzQWB0IilSiTiEY%2BfrzKA%2F%2FrpP%2BZTvg8sx5D2EXQDBrmY7t4MazP3xn06DBrDLVwUjvRr2PK1KsUmuj2dtORyNpUfb1omJ0xOaN0miLer%2FV6lrQCBY0ZyXrqQZeuBrzxAaOweBZc5jMdxgPiMaNOYK06Of4ZVDB5AWgakTBKQMwfDO11WcbXSpRIORsCngotlGOdAKwCe3NEewCCVj6ILbcHWe3b5hDfIPkPVuLruXqseH63yh%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR4rWmdagYw

https://www.amazon.co.uk/PATIKIL-Finished-Hardware-Fasteners-Machinery/dp/B0CN2RCNJ6/ref=sr_1_1?crid=247A95WEBZYJU&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.wtbMp1P65dg53PGLFKjmXo8VTbwmM0nEFMMRzecLRJ_5uRINThz_jX-0Aw5M6t9_Ma0FuuVIvZIzoFcABZw4IpiVn6s0R0tHP5klRWKVt7c.ha_0cIuE55v73LzLIf42TzcDglgGOUG1sGoHxQW7I04&dib_tag=se&keywords=m13x1%2B3mm%2Bnuts%2B10%2Bpack&qid=1705192569&sprefix=m13x1%2B3mm%2Bnuts%2B10%2Bpack%2Caps%2C132&sr=8-1&th=1

[Rob Strand]

From the drawing - the barrel is M12.7x1mm. Although 12.7mm is 1/2", 1mm is 25.4TPI, and 1/2"-25.4 doesn't exist. Would likely be too tight of a fit anyway. You probably need M13x1 nuts - a bit of an odd size but not non-existent.

I saw the 12.7mm and thought 1/2" as well.   However the Cliff drawing shows M12.7 like it's a metric thread but it's not a standard size.   So maybe the other angle is to translate the 1mm to imperial and find a 1/2" x 1mm.

I checked out some fuse holders, a well known brand like Schurter, and it seems they use M12.7x1.5.
 
Both 1.0mm and 1.5mm are used on metric fine threads.

The 12.7mm x 1.0mm seems elusive.

There's many ways to kludge it but you don't want to go down that road.
1/2" brass thread
https://www.classicfasteners.com.au/content/threadch.pdf
https://britishfasteners.com/threads-bsb

26 threads per inch = 25.4mm/26 =  0.977 mm pitch      but will it work, maybe of the nut is thin.
I search searched,
1/2" 26 tpi brass  lock nut

And got this example,
https://www.inlico.com/product/12-x-26-tpi-brass-hex-locknut-2mm-thick-16mm-af/25

(Still an unknown if this thread will even work.)

[bluelagoon]

I think if you went over to Aliexpress, you could pick up 10 of similar DC jacks no brand cheapies for around $3.50 AUD delivered see link below, and as from experience most all these DC jack nuts are interchangeable, so would be surprised if they weren't suitable as an easy cheap fix




DC Jacks at Aliexpress

[Rob Strand]

I think if you went over to Aliexpress, you could pick up 10 of similar DC jacks no brand cheapies for around $3.50 AUD delivered see link below, and as from experience most all these DC jack nuts are interchangeable, so would be surprised if they weren't suitable as an easy cheap fix

Probably cheaper than buying nuts.

[JustinFun]

I lost my nuts once, but luckily after a quick rummage around in my bitsbox, there they were.

I'm inspired by this thread to start a dragons den bid for a big bag of all the small nut sizes used in guitar and pedal building.

To be called... The Nutsack(tm).

I'm looking for £500k startup capital in exchange for a 4% profit share...

[Ben N]

... when I discover that my sockets have been shipped without any nuts Digikey say tough luck, you ony have 30 days to report an error with the order, and emailing Cliff has drawn a blank (they don't reply).

That's a pretty shitty way for them to treat a customer, even a small customer, and worthy of some public shaming IMHO. I know that doesn't help with your problem, but still.

[bluebunny]

Shame on Digikey.  Zero out of ten for customer service. 

Arbitrary time limit or not, they didn't fulfil their contract with you and should be a bit more accommodating.

[bluelagoon]

I can't find my nuts!

They should still be there, just need to rummage about a bit!

[Phend]

I bought these,  the nuts came in a small plastic bag.
DAIERTEK 2.1mm Barrel Jack 5.5x2.1mm Female DC Power Jack 2.1 X 5.5mm DC Jack Connector 6V 9V 12V DC Jack Panel Mount -30 Pack https://a.co/d/hh5dlcK

[duck_arse]

... when I discover that my sockets have been shipped without any nuts Digikey say tough luck, you ony have 30 days to report an error with the order, and emailing Cliff has drawn a blank (they don't reply).

That's a pretty shitty way for them to treat a customer, even a small customer, and worthy of some public shaming IMHO. I know that doesn't help with your problem, but still.

I second these sentiments. get right up them. kick up a stink.

it's a funny thing, I saw on teevee recently someone said you'd lose yer nuts if they weren't in a bag - and you have! also funny, I was just looking at C106's at diggykeys - but now I won't even mention them.

[davent]

I think we should consider ourselves lucky that a company the size of digikey and it's huge parts inventory would even bother with our business.

[GGBB]

... when I discover that my sockets have been shipped without any nuts Digikey say tough luck, you ony have 30 days to report an error with the order, and emailing Cliff has drawn a blank (they don't reply).

That's a pretty shitty way for them to treat a customer, even a small customer, and worthy of some public shaming IMHO. I know that doesn't help with your problem, but still.

The 30 day thing is in their terms and conditions - it sucks for moid but isn't unreasonable and is common in the industry. Moid doesn't say how many days had passed - 31, 35, 40, 50 ...? It's relevant.

I've used DigiKey quite a lot and they've been nothing short of stellar. I also had nuts missing once (from switches) and reported it soon after receiving the order. They sent them out without any fuss. DigiKey rocks IMO. (C'mon - CAD$8 overnight shipping? - incredible!)

[Phend]

Small Bear ships over seas, but the cost would dive you nuts.
BTW, they have nuts for DC jacks.

[PRR]

I was wondering if nuts were optional (so, your fault).

This is from the datasheet on DigiKey's order page:



DigiKey is legally allowed to disclaim infinite error correction, but in the past they have never been that picky with me. I wonder if a new-hire just needs to be reeducated.

[Phend]

^ most likely a "lazy girl" job occupied by ...guess who

[davent]

digikey warehouse

https://youtu.be/1Rc2mRa5feA?si=CHumKkbV05wdqlRv

In working in receiving you didn't sign off on a delivery until you'd checked the invoice to what came in the door, then the driver could leave.

Live and learn

[davent]

... when I discover that my sockets have been shipped without any nuts Digikey say tough luck, you ony have 30 days to report an error with the order, and emailing Cliff has drawn a blank (they don't reply).

That's a pretty shitty way for them to treat a customer, even a small customer, and worthy of some public shaming IMHO. I know that doesn't help with your problem, but still.

The 30 day thing is in their terms and conditions - it sucks for moid but isn't unreasonable and is common in the industry. Moid doesn't say how many days had passed - 31, 35, 40, 50 ...? It's relevant.

I've used DigiKey quite a lot and they've been nothing short of stellar. I also had nuts missing once (from switches) and reported it soon after receiving the order. They sent them out without any fuss. DigiKey rocks IMO. (C'mon - CAD$8 overnight shipping? - incredible!)

I had a similar experience with them once, checked the order as soon as it arrived and correct part number ordered but wrong part was sent, contacted immediately and they corrected their error.

I'm in Canada as well so an international shipment, on business days place my order by 8pm and UPS would be at my door with the order before noon the morning after, less than 16 hours after ordering. As well I always qualified for free shipping plus never surprise ransom payments at the door.

No one else stood a chance at competing with what they offered. Pedal specific/unique bits I'd get from the various pedal people in mostly the USA.

[moid]

Thank you ever so much everyone! I was never expecting to get this level of enthusiasm for my nuts (note to self, must make more schoolboy pun humour titled effects pedals in future), and I'm certainly glad to get exactly the types of responses I was hoping for - 50% practical and useful and 50% just as puerile as I am. DIYStompboxes.com, please don't ever change

Guessing.

From the drawing - the barrel is M12.7x1mm. Although 12.7mm is 1/2", 1mm is 25.4TPI, and 1/2"-25.4 doesn't exist. Would likely be too tight of a fit anyway. You probably need M13x1 nuts - a bit of an odd size but not non-existent.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/386267078716?hash=item59ef4fe03c:g:r4cAAOSwO3BlTIIU&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4Dm8dGGsjChYSpRcvP44PT4WNoCz80ur0NQLY7RTEFY8joRQqi%2B%2Bh2PlxEJzQWB0IilSiTiEY%2BfrzKA%2F%2FrpP%2BZTvg8sx5D2EXQDBrmY7t4MazP3xn06DBrDLVwUjvRr2PK1KsUmuj2dtORyNpUfb1omJ0xOaN0miLer%2FV6lrQCBY0ZyXrqQZeuBrzxAaOweBZc5jMdxgPiMaNOYK06Of4ZVDB5AWgakTBKQMwfDO11WcbXSpRIORsCngotlGOdAKwCe3NEewCCVj6ILbcHWe3b5hDfIPkPVuLruXqseH63yh%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR4rWmdagYw

https://www.amazon.co.uk/PATIKIL-Finished-Hardware-Fasteners-Machinery/dp/B0CN2RCNJ6/ref=sr_1_1?crid=247A95WEBZYJU&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.wtbMp1P65dg53PGLFKjmXo8VTbwmM0nEFMMRzecLRJ_5uRINThz_jX-0Aw5M6t9_Ma0FuuVIvZIzoFcABZw4IpiVn6s0R0tHP5klRWKVt7c.ha_0cIuE55v73LzLIf42TzcDglgGOUG1sGoHxQW7I04&dib_tag=se&keywords=m13x1%2B3mm%2Bnuts%2B10%2Bpack&qid=1705192569&sprefix=m13x1%2B3mm%2Bnuts%2B10%2Bpack%2Caps%2C132&sr=8-1&th=1

Thanks GGBB so they are M13s? I will see about getting those then! ahhh and I see Rob thinks they may be sadly something custom (which is what I was worried about) - as you say it's not just the girth of the nuts, it's the screw (thread)! Sorry I am channeling my inner schoolboy again...

BlueLagoon and Phend - that's a clever idea, buy the cheap crappy sockets and steal the nuts from them - it's  shame to generate more unwanted plastic waste though, but I may do that if I can't get the nuts on their own.

I lost my nuts once, but luckily after a quick rummage around in my bitsbox, there they were.

I'm inspired by this thread to start a dragons den bid for a big bag of all the small nut sizes used in guitar and pedal building.

To be called... The Nutsack(tm).

I'm looking for £500k startup capital in exchange for a 4% profit share...

... when I discover that my sockets have been shipped without any nuts Digikey say tough luck, you ony have 30 days to report an error with the order, and emailing Cliff has drawn a blank (they don't reply).

That's a pretty shitty way for them to treat a customer, even a small customer, and worthy of some public shaming IMHO. I know that doesn't help with your problem, but still.

Normally i would agree with you. but those sockets sat in a box for just over three months before I realised the nuts were missing, which I think is a bit extreme for me to claim on - and (as I discovered) you have to report any mistakes within 30 days.

I second these sentiments. get right up them. kick up a stink.

it's a funny thing, I saw on teevee recently someone said you'd lose yer nuts if they weren't in a bag - and you have! also funny, I was just looking at C106's at diggykeys - but now I won't even mention them.

I'm not going to complain considering I didn't check the damn things for 90 days, so put down your pitchfork Duck (unless you're enjoying holding it, I wouldn't want to tell you how to have fun!) Thank you for the sympathy, I think I will chalk this up to 'make sure I actually check what I have ordered'. It was the first time I've ordered from them and I have learned from this, I guess I've always been lucky with ordering parts from other sellers (the only one I ever had to complain about was an ebay seller who promptly deleted his shop... I still want those 2n3904s dammit, but I got them elsewhere) so it never occurred to me that things might be different.

I was wondering if nuts were optional (so, your fault).

This is from the datasheet on DigiKey's order page:



DigiKey is legally allowed to disclaim infinite error correction, but in the past they have never been that picky with me. I wonder if a new-hire just needs to be reeducated.

Their site doesn't mention nuts, but the image on the page I bought from shows the socket with nut attached -
https://www.digikey.co.uk/en/products/detail/cliff-electronic-components-ltd/FC681473/20532443

hmmm it says refer to the PDF, and the PDF file on their site does say supplied with nut!
https://www.digikey.co.uk/en/products/detail/cliff-electronic-components-ltd/FC681473/20532443

I never thought the two items would be separated - wenever i've bought them from any other seller the nuts have already been threaded onto the socket, so I assumed they come out of the factory this way? I mean, why would you separate them? I didn't even get as far as an email, there is an online form yo uhave to fill out for an error and you have to input your order number to it and it told me that the order was too old and that I couldn't claim anything because i should've done so months ago... so I guess that's one for experience and I'll always buy sockets from my usual vendor. Hopefully won't need to buy anything from Digikey for a long time!

Davent - that video makes the company look as impersonally soulless as I kind of thought they might be... normally I buy parts from a small seller (bitsbox.co.uk) who are wonderful, and might be slightly more expensive, but have bought in parts for me that they don't usually stock and are always super helpful and it's nice to deal with an actual human being!

Thanks everyone, sorry it took so long to reply, work is being very unpleasant at the moment

[Rob Strand]

Thanks GGBB so they are M13s? I will see about getting those then! ahhh and I see Rob thinks they may be sadly something custom (which is what I was worried about) - as you say it's not just the girth of the nuts, it's the screw (thread)! Sorry I am channeling my inner schoolboy again..

There's Beavis and Butt-head in all of us!   
2:50, 7:00
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6im6yf
7:11 "... I felt like a one legged cat trying to bury turds on a frozen pond out there today..."

Their site doesn't mention nuts, but the image on the page I bought from shows the socket with nut attached -
https://www.digikey.co.uk/en/products/detail/cliff-electronic-components-ltd/FC681473/20532443

hmmm it says refer to the PDF, and the PDF file on their site does say supplied with nut!
https://www.digikey.co.uk/en/products/detail/cliff-electronic-components-ltd/FC681473/20532443

All the Cliff docs I read said "supplied with nut".

I never thought the two items would be separated - wenever i've bought them from any other seller the nuts have already been threaded onto the socket, so I assumed they come out of the factory this way? I mean, why would you separate them?

I think it's so the company doesn't have to spend time putting the nuts on!

I use funky connectors for professional projects and a good deal of them come dissembled.  Some cannot come assembled because once you click in the final pieces you can't get it apart.