I stock black oxide SHCS in all diameters from #2 through 1/2"
Available lengths vary by diameter, with longer ones available only in larger sizes.
I stock all available lengths because I'm unable to cut longer ones off.
This will likely vary considerably depending on where the screws were made.
Mine are all from reputable American manufacturers.
- Leigh
If you believe you can, or you believe you can't... you're right.
Harold and All,
Very good advice. I do appreciate it. It seems I will have to take very little off of the head to made it the right diameter. It should look stock. I thought of reaming out the holes in the lever. It would be easier but would not look stock.
One question. Steel could rust once it is filed. I know Ace carries some stainless. Should I try to use a stainless steel bolt instead? I will probably go to Ace sometime tomorrow. I don't know if stainless would be more difficult to file.
Regards,
Steve
Steven,
The screw that you illustrated is slotted; socket-head cap screws were suggested because it is the side of the screw that forms the bearing surface in the camera situation, and the cap screws have tall, vertical sides. If you want something which looks resonably original, get a fillister head screw; the head shape is cylindrical at the sides and gently domed on top. This should give you plenty of bearing surface and you can file the head flat without losing all of the driver slot. For some reason, McMaster-Carr calls these fillister heads when they are Philips drive, and high-profile when slotted (which is what you would want.) The originals are either stainless or nickel on my cameras, so here
https://www.mcmaster.com/#91794a108/=17cyjde
is an example in type 316 stainless. All of the common stainless steels except for type 303 are tougher (not necessarily harder) than carbon steels. They will be a little, but not much, more difficult to cut and anyway the amount of metal that you need to take off is really small.
Good luck; I don't expect that you will have much trouble, and in any case that's a nice camera so it will be worth it.
Harold
Harold,
I did order those screws from McMaster-Carr and have received them. I think I am going to replace all 4 screws so they match and then ream out the holes a tiny bit if they need it. At least they will all match. Harbor freight sells a reamer that is a minimum 1/8 inch so I think it will do the job. I am going to try this on the weekend so I will let everyone know how it goes. Again, thanks all.
Steve Pituch
I reamed out the hole in the lever with a Harbor Freight step drill. The step I reamed it to read "3/16" , which is just over the .183 of the screw head.
It looks like the hole is bigger though. There is a little more slop in this arrangement than the one for the original screw. But it works fine.
I did it for both sides of the rear release lever. I think I will buy the $2.99 reamer from Harbor Freight when I do the two screws for the front standard.
That way I should get a tighter fit.
HF cutting tools have zero tolerance.
That does NOT mean they're precise.
- Leigh
If you believe you can, or you believe you can't... you're right.
I buy Harbor Freight tools that will get only non-critical occasional use. They are usually good enough for that.Originally Posted by Leigh
Barely.
- Leigh
If you believe you can, or you believe you can't... you're right.
Steven,
I'm glad that it worked out.
If I had thought you might ream out the hole, I would have suggested not a step drill, but a #15 twist drill (0.180 nominal diameter) followed by a #13 (0.185, giving you a couple of thousandths clearance). The reason for two drills is that these tools are not meant to make precise diameter openings (that's what reamers are for) but usually are pretty accurate in their own diameters. Taking all but a trace of metal away with the first drill means that the second one will have very little work to do, and probably cut close to the nominal diameter.
Fortunately, if you look at the geometry of the lever, when you press on it the load is on the side of the hole where the metal is widest. The narrrow side would probably have been OK anyway, but before removing metal from something stressed it is always a good idea to figure out the load situation. Some designers don't mind letting the rest of us live dangerously
Your pictures show a nice bit of work. Unless the bevel left by the step drill exposes unpainted steel which then rusts, it is unlikely that anyone will ever recognize the modification.
Harold
I think this would have been perfect if I had had the patience to wait until I was near a Harbor Freight store.
https://www.harborfreight.com/t-hand...mer-66936.html
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