Bolt Vibrating Loose In Auger for Flute

[Jawjacker]

On a few instances I've heard of people losing their flutes down a hole because the bolt came loose. I wrap a thing layer of Teflon tape to the bolt. The bolt has never vibrated loose. A few of my friends wrap hockey tape around the bolt and flute once the bolt is tightened into place . Beside checking the bolt every trip , what other methods are there to keep the bolt from vibrating loose?

[buckmaster]

BLUE lok-tite would would also work good.

[Drewski Canuck]

Go to Princess Auto, take your Bolt with you for cross reference of the size.

Ask where the Clevis Pins and Cotter Pins are located. They should be with the Lynch Pins.

You will see all manner and length of Implement pins, and you will find the length and diameter easy enough.

Now what you are looking for is a lynch pin that has a heavy wire "keeper" that is made from spring metal. It will wrap around the shaft to the end of the Lynch pin, and takes a bit of effort to pull into or off of lock position.

No need to worry about nuts falling off anymore. Nice part is you can snap it on or off easily if you need to add an extension, or for transport.

Drewski

[Jawjacker]

Go to Princess Auto, take your Bolt with you for cross reference of the size.

Ask where the Clevis Pins and Cotter Pins are located. They should be with the Lynch Pins.

You will see all manner and length of Implement pins, and you will find the length and diameter easy enough.

Now what you are looking for is a lynch pin that has a heavy wire "keeper" that is made from spring metal. It will wrap around the shaft to the end of the Lynch pin, and takes a bit of effort to pull into or off of lock position.

No need to worry about nuts falling off anymore. Nice part is you can snap it on or off easily if you need to add an extension, or for transport.

Drewski

Drewski that's a great idea. Does the flute wobble at all when drilling ?

[RavYak]

I assume he is talking about a quick pin(linch pins wouldn't work on an auger).

I have seen people use them before and considered doing it with mine but never did.

Here is a video of a guy doing it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5nE5M74e3w

Some of those pins are better then others. As you can see with his it would actually be fairly easy to accidentally flip the bail off. The round bail ones might work better.

I have heard of a couple people losing bits from the bolt coming loose but it is fairly rare and obviously because it wasn't tightened properly. Problem is most guys just tighten them with a little allen key, get at least an allen key with a longer handle so you can actually tighten them a bit if not a ratchet with allen key drive.

Edit: Don't use smaller then 3/8 pin and make sure the hole is snug. These pins are a fraction of the strength of these bolts and more prone to shearing due to their loose fit.

[Dean2]

I separate my auger for transport pretty much every trip and I have the Allan key permanently mounted to the motor. I have never had the bolt vibrate loose during a day or two of use. If I did I would get a nylon nut to replace the existing nut. If I never took it apart I would just red Locktite it if I was having vibration loosening issues.

[ROA]

Go to Princess Auto, take your Bolt with you for cross reference of the size.

Ask where the Clevis Pins and Cotter Pins are located. They should be with the Lynch Pins.

You will see all manner and length of Implement pins, and you will find the length and diameter easy enough.

Now what you are looking for is a lynch pin that has a heavy wire "keeper" that is made from spring metal. It will wrap around the shaft to the end of the Lynch pin, and takes a bit of effort to pull into or off of lock position.

No need to worry about nuts falling off anymore. Nice part is you can snap it on or off easily if you need to add an extension, or for transport.

Drewski


Not a good idea if your bolt threads into the auger itself self like some of them do. Putting a pin in there will wallow out the threads and you will have to redrill and tap to a larger size the day you get sick of all the wobbling and want to go back to the bolt.
Edit The vid above explains it.

[Drewski Canuck]

ROA,

A lot of the nuts you are thinking about are on a sheet metal "keeper" and the nut just pushes off.

Yes, if it is machined into the auger flute, you will have too much wobble, but a lot of the time, the thread is not by way of a machined thread on the flute.

A snug fitting pin, and I do not know the proper technical name, whether it is a quick pin, or lynch pin, will not wobble. As for shear, these pins are grade 5. It takes a lot to shear 3/8 inch of grade 5 steel. If it did, we would be shearing bolts as well then.

I doubt that there is a grade 8 bolt supplied with the Auger.

Drewski

[penguin]

I use a nylon lock nut and have not had it come loose. Nylon lock nuts can be re-used several times and they still work.
The pin idea is a good one too.

[RavYak]

ROA,

A lot of the nuts you are thinking about are on a sheet metal "keeper" and the nut just pushes off.

Yes, if it is machined into the auger flute, you will have too much wobble, but a lot of the time, the thread is not by way of a machined thread on the flute.

A snug fitting pin, and I do not know the proper technical name, whether it is a quick pin, or lynch pin, will not wobble. As for shear, these pins are grade 5. It takes a lot to shear 3/8 inch of grade 5 steel. If it did, we would be shearing bolts as well then.

I doubt that there is a grade 8 bolt supplied with the Auger.

Drewski

It must only be the old augers that use a nut and bolt system. I believe all the Jiffy augers now come with their "E-Z Connect" system which is already a pin held in place by a plastic body and the Eskimos are threaded in the bit. I thought that at least some of the older Jiffy's also used the same system(but 1/4 inch longer screw if I remember right).

You are right they don't come with grade 8 bolts. They are socket head cap screws which are ASTM A574 and are 50% stronger then a grade 5 bolt(180,000 psi tensile vs 120,000 psi tensile) and 20% stronger then grade 8... Many of these pins are not hardened to grade 5 quality either and good luck finding literature to actually back up the strength on most of these pins... Bolts do have a reduced shear due to their threads though, a 3/8 pin has around 65% larger shear area then a 3/8 bolt which overcomes the grade difference(IF the pins are grade 5 with 120,000 psi tensile strength) which is why I said don't use smaller then a 3/8 pin if you do this... Guys have sheared these 3/8 socket head cap screws before although it is rare. It usually happens when the bolt has come loose and stayed that way for a while allowing an impact force each time you drill a hole(which is why you also do not want a loose fitting pin).

Quick pins are the style in the video above. Linch pins are the ones most commonly seen on agriculture equipment securing larger pins(example when you hook up a pto driven attachment). They have a spring pin that flips down over the end of the main pin holding it in place that way.

If you have an old unit that uses a nut and bolt a nylock nut would be a good choice.

I just work as a mechanical engineer though, what would I know lol.

[ROA]

ROA,

A lot of the nuts you are thinking about are on a sheet metal "keeper" and the nut just pushes off.

Yes, if it is machined into the auger flute, you will have too much wobble, but a lot of the time, the thread is not by way of a machined thread on the flute.

A snug fitting pin, and I do not know the proper technical name, whether it is a quick pin, or lynch pin, will not wobble. As for shear, these pins are grade 5. It takes a lot to shear 3/8 inch of grade 5 steel. If it did, we would be shearing bolts as well then.

I doubt that there is a grade 8 bolt supplied with the Auger.

Drewski

You don’t make any sense. Look at the video, now imagine putting a loose (even if you think it’s tight) pin through the original bolt hole. That pin will wallow out the threads on the hole. My buddy did this and we had to drill and tap to a larger size. This is what I am talking about.

[EZM]

My bolt wasn't getting loose or anything but I always worried about misplacing the allen key and bolt (even bought a spare and left it in the truck) - BUT - it's such a pain in arse when you are out in the cold wind blowing with wet hands and gloves off on cold steel.

Then I evolved to the pin and retainer clip and it's it's quick and easy BUT the wobble on the flight when drilling seemed to dull blades quicker ..... so, then, and finally, I spent the money and bought the Eskimo quick release.

Yeah it's expensive and I hated paying the $40 (on Amazon) but it solves everything.

A little Lock tight on the bolt where the quick release attaches in place and never looked back ......

https://www.cabelas.ca/product/69759/eskimo-power-auger-quick-release-system

One of those, yeah "it was expensive, but worth every penny" items as far as I'm concerned.

Trust me when I told you I've made more mistakes and found solutions to more problems and annoyances most people have in an entire lifetime !!!! lol

[Drewski Canuck]

The handy little set up I could not name previously is a Linch Pin for Tubing.

its a much heavier wire that is offset so it is sprung open or closed. It is contoured so it does not stick out like the Linch Pin in the video on youtube.

For ROA, the answer is right in front of you on the video. The guy drilled a hole offset 90 degrees from the hole with the welded threaded nut on the Eskimo fluting. This is pretty easy to do with a 3/8 in drill bit, and you still have the hole with the threads if you want to go back. No risk of damaging the threads.

For Ravyak, if you go to the GREGG Distributors catalogue there are C 1010 steel linch pins which will have a 60,000 PSI yield if cold drawn or 45,000 psi yield if annealed. Yes, its a guess what format the pins actually are.

I did see some 1410 steel pins, which seem to be much higher PSI Yield. But again, there probably is no data sheet for the pins.

What I can say, is that the 3/8 linch pins for tubing that I buy at $4 for 2 at Princess Auto have been working for years with no damage to the pins. I do not drill oil wells with my auger, but it has probably drilled 3 miles of ice in its lifetime to date. But that's Perch fishing for you!!!

So as a Mechanical Engineer, the analysis of something that is working is why. The answer is that it is adequate for the application. You would know that though.

You may have to drill a offset hole in your fluting on the collar to ensure a 3/8 " tight fit, and your output shaft may not be 3/8" and may need to be carefully drilled out, but it is a pretty smart setup and it sure beats dropping nuts off a bolt and sometimes down into the open hole.

Drewski

[nast70]

My Jiffy has a 5/16" hole. It also had the plastic quick release set up. The pin was lost earlier this year, I just grabbed a spare pin for my 5th wheel hitch. Lucky it's the same diameter.

[mass]

Similar to the nylon lock nut, you can thread a length of nylon fishing line between the bolt and the nut.