To put this the simplest way I need to add threads to an existing hole in thinner aluminum sheet metal. The metal is too thin to tap. Tack welding a nut to one side is basically what I need. However I lack every single part of the welding process.

Google has lead me to rivet nuts (rivnuts), which are similar to a pop rivet with threads but they require a $50 plus dollar tool which I will never use again.

Is there anything else out there which is cheaper and easier?

IIRC, there is a method to set a rivnut without the tool
Or, maybe you could rent the tool from one of the auto parts stores?

This has a video on installing a rivnut with a bolt & a few washers.
https://www.homemadetools.net/...xpensive-tools-82177

Rivet on some nut plates.

McMaster Carr, or Amazon.

You can use a bolt, nut, and a couple well-lubricated washers to set a riv-nut without the tool, but it is difficult, and you must ensure the riv-nut stays flat to the surface you are installing it in. I would advise purchasing one of the cheaper rivnut assortment and tool sets from amazon or Harbor Freight. If you are like me, I think you will find more uses for them than you think.


If the hole is going to be close to the edge of the panel, a clip-on nut plate could be an even easier solution.

I don't know how strong it needs to be but I agree with using rivnuts. Maybe you could using aluminum brazing rods, a torch, and some aluminum bar stock to thicken the areas you want to tap but that seems like more work than rivnuts.

https://www.fleetfarm.com/deta...g-rods/0000000342894

Super glue and baking powder?
Gorilla Glue?

How about a well nut?

JB weld a flange nut to the sheet. Can I assume that once the bolt is fastened, it’s not coming back out? Or does the nut have to resist repeated assembly and disassembly?

Rivnuts or nut plates. Used them all the time when I was fixing airplanes for a living.

I’ve been using an insert called a nutsert that has a knurled outer so they don’t spin once they’re squeezed into place.
What size fastener and how many holes are you using and what’s the material thickness?

Here’s an example of what they look like before being squeezed into place.

https://www.fastenal.com/product/details/0125617

Nutplates are also a possibility depending on the application and only require pop rivets to hold them in place.

Search Amazon for rivinuts. They have cheaper versions. The cheapest set I saw was $30 which had 5-6 sizes and a ton of them.

as mentioned before. the JB Weld a nut method will be your cheapest, easiest way if the back is accessible and all the other previously mentioned conditions.

jb weld is not a really good answer. Do you have access to the back side? If so just manually set a rivnet which just takes a bolt, a couple of washers and wrench. Excluding the shipping on small quantities issue you will be out less than a $1. And if its a common size and you don't even want to spend that I will send you a rivnut and a couple of spares just because of how long you have been on Sigforum. What's the thread pitch and the material thickness.

quote:

Originally posted by Mustang-PaPa:
Search Amazon for rivinuts. They have cheaper versions. The cheapest set I saw was $30 which had 5-6 sizes and a ton of them.

Cheap: Harbor Freight.
https://www.harborfreight.com/...iveter-kit-1210.html