Hand Auger--Is this a special antique nut?

[Jack in omaha]

Is the missing nut on the auger here a special nut. The auger is marked It is marked Excelsior Mfg. Co No. 51. I think it is about 1 1/2 inch not sure when made but looks and feels old was it also missing a washer or was it a special designed nut? Thanks to one and all in advanced for any info. I purchased it and do not want to mess it up.

link to photos of this tool

[dowdstools]

Originally, it would have had just a square nut. I have seen them with and without washers. As a practical matter, I think a washer is in order to keep the nut from digging into the wood.

[rjdankert]

Jack in omaha said:

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Is the missing nut on the auger here a special nut. . .

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I don't know. Did you try a nut on it. It looks like it might be adapted from a bit made for a brace. The tang is tapered and the treaded part has a small diameter. Here is a brace, bit and t-auger that I have.

The t-auger has a square nut without a washer. I could not find a mfr mark on it. The tang is square (not tapered).

[Jack in omaha]

anyone care to make a guess about what size die this thread needs?
I am going to re thread the top and the threads are stipped I want to make sure it will accept a easily obtainable modern nut. looking for guidance and where to start. Thanks

[Bill_Houghton]

As to modern nuts - your hardware store may have square nuts, in standard thread pitches. It'd be worth the extra pennies to have a square nut on there, for aesthetic reasons.

[blackhat]

Photos are gone.

[Jack in omaha]

here is the problem

<a href="[URL=http://s164.photobucket.com/user/johnnytanner/media/IMG_0950_zpsppwzehia.jpg.html" ></a>]iem new photo[/url]

[blackhat]

Based on the screw heads, I would guess it to be 5/16. It's inside the era of standardized bolt thread pitches. Can you close the jaws of an adjustable wrench on it and then use an accurate rule to measure the current outside diameter of the threaded portion?

[Jack in omaha]

I think so. I will give it a try... Thank you!

[Bill_Houghton]

It looks like you're going to need some sort of washer with a square hole to accommodate the portion of the square tang sticking up above the handle.

I'm not aware of any commonly available square-holed washers of any thickness*. I guess, in your situation, I'd measure the width of the square portion, select a regular cut washer whose inner diameter matched that dimension, and file the hole square with a pillar (square-section) or triangular (maybe easier to come by) file. Make yourself a little template from something suitably stiff and thin, so you can mark out the square. Take a marker pen (the sort of thing you use to letter on posters) and rub it all over, then align the template to the hole on the washer, and use a sharp awl to scribe a bright line, so you can see what to file to (you know those otherwise useless little awls that come in combination squares, stuck in at the tail of the combo head near the level vial? Perfect).

You'll probably need to stack up more than one washer; you want the final stack to be just taller than the exposed square. You might be able to cheat by measuring the corner-to-corner dimension of the square, and stack up washers that fit that dimension, finishing with your square-holed washer, so you have to file just one. But you do want a washer that fits the square, so the nut has something to bear on.

*You can get thin washers with tangs on them, used to make a square hole for a carriage bolt head when the wood's too soft to hole the head; but you'd have to stack up a whole bunch of them to make it work.