Hockeysticks and top grille moulding chrome

[Cam]

Has anyone got any tips and hints on how to resurrect old hockeysticks and top grille mouldings where the bolts have sheared off?

Anyone tried to extract the mounting studs and replace them (drill & tap or whatever)?

Any thoughts and experience would be helpful........

Ta!

[brixtonmorris]

me again cam. lets try my luck at this one.

When they shear they need to be drilled out, Loads of problems with this.
weve got to get the thread square and central to the drill, this is realy difficult to achieve this using a machine vice as the shape is so irregular. Another problem is that the shear will not be flat, so when the drill hits this, it will go of to the side, a center drill is needed to start the hole, and some times this may need to be milled flat. a bench pillar drill does not work as you cant move the work in small increments to align the drill to the center, so a milling machine is needed. (there are some pillar drills with a adjustable table). chose the right sized drill so that it does not cut the thread on the hockey stick. hopefully the drilling will all be square and then it could just be a session of picking out the debris, and running the correct size tap in there to clean the thread up. if your lucky.
the problem is very frustrating when you have a nice piece of Chrome.

[Cam]

Thanks mate!

Actually, the thread(s) have not sheared too low down and there is up to 10mm of thread left. Perhaps this could be 'persuaded' to come out on the bench?

I was more wondering if the chrome section was threaded, splined or had some other forms of fitting......... it seems then from your comments that there is just a threaded section in the hockeystick that the stud fits into.......... do you know if the top chrome grille bar is the same arrangement?

[brixtonmorris]

i thought about drilling and tapping new holes but there was no position to do it.
the top chrome is the same, little square bose's with threaded holes.
more annoying on the top chorme because these replacment top rail, the chrome is rubbish..
so if you have a good original one its best to try and save it. also its not the most accesible part, and if 1 stud is missing it wont sit properly, particually the end ones.
i have a big pile of both that i should start at some point. i will be using a milling machine to get at them.
one could always drill a larger hole and tap it using the next size up thread, but you still have to get the stud out.

[jonathon]

Cam , we have a stud welder at the workshop, (no not me ) This is normally used to affix a brass stud to bodywork so you can then attatch a drift /slide hammer to remove awkward dents. Now tou can find large diameter studs which could be tapped to an M5 or M6 thread. I believe that the new poor quality top chromes use a similar process but just not done with enough care. You are welcome to visit us and try this route if you like, just bring some biscuits.

[les]

There is a chance, if as you say there is some stud left, to use some threaded tube (imagine a long nut) screwed half way onto the remaining stud and then some more studding to extend it.

[chickenjohn]

I'm in the same position regarding the LHS hocky stick on my Traveller (just passed MOT!!!! :):):) )

I'm thinking of a bodge, welding a thread to the the sheared remains of the studs that are stuck in the chrome, which would enable the use of larger and more robust bolts than the 2BA size. Then carefully grinding the weld down and tapping the end part of the stud (or die ing!) with the correct thread, or simply making up stainless spacers so the nut screws onto good thread.

Is this a bad idea???

[Cam]

Jonathon, Thanks for the idea! I presumed though that I would not be able to weld to the section (which I presumed to be a chromed alloy of some kind). Trouble is though that the cost of a new hockey stick is cheaper than the fuel to get down to you! Oh well!

Les, I like the threaded tube idea, but I suspect that the shear is around the area where the stud passes though the bodywork and so it might be difficult/impossible to make the join there as the bolt won't do up. Of course if there is enough room, I could always make the join lower down perhaps.........

John, you might find that trying to weld two very small threaded studs together quite difficult and besides which, the welded section would be very hard and perhaps difficult to cut a threads into. Also, is suspect that the weld would perhaps break during the process.......... but if you fancy having a go, let us know how you get on. p.s. congrats on the MOT!

[chickenjohn]

Yes, i'm going to have a go, probably using a spacer so the nuts pull the hockey stick/wing/front panel together neatly, by gripping the new thread, I take your point about the welded section being hard and not able to take a thread.

Thanks for the MOT congrats!, its good to get the old car back on the road! , even with only one hockey stick in place.

[steamwagon]

In the past if there is enough stud stump left protruding in the top chrome I have successfully silver soldered new brass BA studs onto the old by lightly filing the rough lumps off the end of the old brocken stud so the new stud will bed onto it level, then lightly g-clamp the two together with a small g-clamp. I usually bed the chrome onto a wet rag to pull the heat from the chrome so as not to heat mark it, I use the oxy acetalene for a higher temperature rather than propane using a no. 2 or no. 3 nozzle and with plenty of flux the silver solder will nicely flash in to the joint when the right temperature is reached. I am not talking of ordinary soft solder here but a higher melting solder which as the name suggests has a silver content in it but a lot lower a melting point then brazing. I have found the studs in the past to hold perfectly alright but you obviously don't go overtightening them or they will shear, but for the job they are doing on the top chrome I have found it to be ample. Regarding the hockey sticks if the alloy has not brocken away and the old threads have just stripped out these holes can be opened out with a 3/16 inch drill and tapped 1/4 UNC or Whitworth which is the same pitch, on soft metal like this you are better with a course thread rather than a fine thread. Hope this may be of some help, John

[aupickup]

can you not just buy another hockey stick !!!!!
or is that to easy
LOL

[les]

Where's the fun in that!

[aupickup]

can not remember anyone saying it was supposed to be fun, but sure sounds it, i am going to buy a new one !!!!! when my one sheds its studs.

or should i really weld on some more studs

[TeHoro]

Not all of the studs can be removed. I found this out recently when swapping the (original) hockey sticks on my '68 Traveller. I was trying to unscrew the studs (which were in nice shape, the nuts came off easily) but couldn't. I finally realised that they weren't threaded in, but had a knurled section that was embedded in the casting. The only way to get them out was to cut the casting apart.

I had to make do with cleaning up some fully threaded studs to use on the better spare hockey sticks I had lying around.

[Cam]

can you not just buy another hockey stick !!!!!
or is that to easy
LOL

That's FAR too easy! and precisely what I have done with my 4-door and will be doing with my '52.

Anyway, I need 2 hockey sticks and a top chrome bar which is £46.50 + p&p from ESM (and that's for the 'cheap' chrome versions!).

On a budget banger (my '63) it's not worth it really. But an hour or so mucking about with threads, taps, etc IS worth it!