Threaded inserts, I been doing it wrong all along

As a beginner woodworker that was a very informative video, thanks.

Thanks for clarifying the purpose of the slots on the inserts. It makes more sense than than a screwdriver slot.

-- I don't make mistakes, I have great learning lessons, Greg

I install mine using the drill press method. I don’t bother with the wrench though.
A couple of things I also do is chamfer the edge of the hole with a countersink for a cleaner install. Since threaded inserts work best a bit below the surface of the wood I use a steel bushing between the two nuts and the threaded insert. It’s sized for the machine screw but the outside diameter is the same as the hole that the threaded inserts go into. I’m able to sink the inserts a bit below the surface without marring the workpiece. I got the steel bushing (under spacers) from mcmaster carr. I use and like the EZ-Lok inserts. Great quality.

Here’s a pic of how mine come out.

-- He who dies with the most tools... dies with the emptiest wallet.

Great find, Pat. Just another thing thing I have doing wrong for years!

-- StevieP ~ Micheal Tompkins - you were not here on earth long but left a giant mark on us. RIP Brother

I can’t begin to count the number of ones I broke using that as a screwdriver slot when I first started using them. In fact I almost bought this

I have always used the hex drive inserts from Lee Valley, harder to make a mistake there… :)

Thanks for the tip!

-- Randy "You are judged as much by the questions you ask as the answers you give..."

I have a special tool that I use with the slot to insert these and I have had occasional problems with the insert not lining up properly.

I had never thought of this method, but this is what I will use from now on.

-- Rich, Cedar Rapids, IA - I'm a woodworker. I don't create beauty, I reveal it.

Well I’m going to admit that the way this guy demonstrates is an excellent method.

However, he is full of #$%& when he says that those slots are to help cut the threads. Those are in fact screwdriver slots, but they are best used not with a screwdriver, but with one of these:

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

I was wondering about the accuracy of that as the last ones I used had a allen wrench insert on the same side as the slot which is what I used to install mine.

-- A posse ad esse

Charlie, have you ever tried to use a screwdrive to install a threaded insert? The slot is alot wider than any screw driver that I have seen, thats why I kept breaking them.

Not being a seasoned WW, I have often wondered why the outer “thread/cutter” is not a left handed thread. If both threads are right handed, doesn’t that pose a situation where, let’s say a bolt gets “stuck fast” in the threaded insert, would attempts at extraction tend to extract the insert too?

-- Roger-R, Republic of Texas. "Always look on the Bright Side of Life" - An eyeball to eyeball confrontation with a blind person is as complete waste of Time.

Pat, a really large screwdriver fits most inserts I’ve used pretty well, but it is easy to misalign them.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Hello Pat,
I have been using threaded inserts for years and have a love/hate relationship with them. Lately I used them only as a last resort. After viewing the video, I went out to the shop and tried the drill press method. It worked 10 out of 10 times.
Thanks for sharing.
Keith

-- Keith, Charlotte, MI www.julyswoodworks.com

well imagine that… all those wine bottle stoppers i made with threaded inserts, mine are in backwards too!

I guess someone needs to tell WoodCraft that they don’t know what they’re talking about !

I wonder what brand of insert that guy is using in the video ? They look different from the ones I’ve used in the past.

-- I'm absolutely positive that I couldn't be more uncertain!