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Thursday 13th 43F, milder but overcast and breezy.
The flanged M10 stainless steel fixings have just arrived. Excellent service from the climbing shop! The flanges are slim enough not to obstruct the shutter movement. A 12mm hole is bored in the plywood to accept the taper. The nut is inserted from the far side of the board to achieve automatic locking by friction. Though the three holes can accept screws. To ensure the nut does not rotate if corrosion occurs over time.
I have used T-nuts for years. So I am looking forwards to having a new form of fixing. These are not unlike the furniture nuts I used on my big GEM mounting. Being stainless steel and much larger, makes these new nuts much tougher. Having new materials is apt to introduce fresh ideas in other areas.
The problem now is that I have no M10 bolts to clamp the bogies to the top boards. This has to be done with some care. Otherwise the channels will be squashed inwards and overload the wheel bearings. It will require internal spacers over the bolts to resist the bolt's compression. [Fiddly!]
Or, shorter bolts passing through the far side of the channel only. Probably requiring hex socket head bolts to allow them to be driven through a smaller hole in the outer channel flange. It would be impossible to reach hex head bolts once the bogies are in place. It would require very large holes for a socket to reach a hex head. Which would weaken the defenses against the weather.
What are the chances of finding M10 hex socket head screws or bolts, in
stainless steel, on the shelf of a local DIY store? Probably nil. Which
means I will have to order online. It's Thursday. So I shan't see them
until Monday. Three days lost. Perhaps I should order the stainless
steel. Then go and collect zinc flashed, socket head screws to be going
on with.
The image [above right] shows how many clamps are needed. Just to add a single reinforcing bracket. To tie the top board to the inner shutter rib. It took me ages to find a suitably sturdy bracket due to the extreme overhang. I had to notch the rib to allow the bracket to fit under the shutter cover. I am using M10 galvanized bolts through the bracket and shutter cover. I managed to complete fitting the second bracket before it was fully dark. With the help of a torch to drive the Torx screws. It was so heavily overcast all day that it didn't really achieve normal levels of daylight.
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