#HTE

How to Make Threads Without a Tapping Bit

B-Star Crafts is the guy who demonstrated how magnets can be used in hidden cabinet and drawer locks. That post did pretty well, and maybe this will interest you too: He came up with this MacGyver-like method of creating threads without using a tap set.

“The advantage is that you can create threads of any size and shape of bolt and in a variety of materials (wood, plastic, gypsum board, metal, etc.),” he writes. “The disadvantage is that [hot glue] is weak against heat, so you need to be careful about frictional heat when tightening bolts.”

While the connection’s probably not robust enough for furniture, I’d love to see Matthias Wandel do a scientifically-measured stress test to see how much force (or fastening/unfastening) it takes for the connection to fail.

I’m sure the more serious among you will pooh-pooh this method, but the more I live out here in the middle of nowhere, the more I’m coming to admire improvised solutions with whatever tools you have on hand.