1/4" threaded inserts in UK

"Peter Irwin" wrote in message
...
Do you have a reference for this? My 1969 edition
Focal Encylopedia says Whitworth. I suppose
that the standard could have changed since then,
but it would be nice to have a reference.

There are two official standards for tripod threads (look them up) a

DIN Standard:
DIN4503 (1993-10) which specifies 1/4-20UNC

ISO Standard:
ISO 1222:1987 and ISO 1222:2003 specify 1/4-20UNC and 3/8-16UNC. The
official standard has been 1/4-20UNC since 1972 when ISO1222 was first
published.

and of course Wikipedia says Whitworth:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screw#Whitworth
and Wikipedia is the absolute reference of truth!

It would appear that anything newer should be UNC, stuff older than 1972
could be Whitworth.

On Mon, 01 Oct 2007 14:48:07 +0100, bugbear
wrote:

In order to build assorted camera gadgets, one
often runs into the hallowed 1/4" x 20 thread.

This is (actually) the old Whitworth standard,
but it's also used in all (smaller than medium format)
size cameras.

Since the UK has followed Europe, and most
connectors use metric threads, I am struggling
to find a source for these:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...,43455&p=52800

Note the wide range of knobs, nuts, buts,
threaded inserts etc.

Can anyone advise me of a mail-order source
for anything similar in the UK with sane
prices (including postage)?

BugBear


The advice about the difference between the Whitworth and American
thread shape is worth heeding. When I owned a 1961 Triumph TR6C
motorcycle, I found that out the hard way. A bolt with an American
thread will start fine in some Whitworth threaded holes, but will jam
as it goes deeper. That's bad enough in an aluminum crankcase, but
the tripod hole in some digicams is plastic and inserting a
differently threaded bolt or stud will easily distort or strip it.

I've mounted cameras on a non-camera tripod using a homemade
converter. After you obtain a bolt or stud that matches the hole in
your camera, attach it to a bolt that matches the thread of the
tripod, etc. that you want to use with it. For joining two bolts with
different threads, a flat metal plate with two plain holes works well.
Install the bolts in opposite directions and secure each with a
matching nut. It's also a good idea to add enough nuts to the bolt
that will go into the camera so the bolt does not bottom, especially
if the camera has plastic threads.

Of course, you then wind up with both ends being studs, but you can
use a threaded sleeve to convert the non-camera end to a female
thread, if required. If so, be sure to do that with the bolt which
has the threads that are the most common where you live.

Bruce

default wrote:
"Peter Irwin" wrote in message
...
Do you have a reference for this? My 1969 edition
Focal Encylopedia says Whitworth. I suppose
that the standard could have changed since then,
but it would be nice to have a reference.

There are two official standards for tripod threads (look them up) a

DIN Standard:
DIN4503 (1993-10) which specifies 1/4-20UNC

ISO Standard:
ISO 1222:1987 and ISO 1222:2003 specify 1/4-20UNC and 3/8-16UNC. The
official standard has been 1/4-20UNC since 1972 when ISO1222 was first
published.

and of course Wikipedia says Whitworth:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screw#Whitworth
and Wikipedia is the absolute reference of truth!

If you can get me an online version of those standards,
I'll edit wikipedia. That's rather the point of wikipedia!

BugBear

On 1 Oct, 15:48, bugbear wrote:
In order to build assorted camera gadgets, one
often runs into the hallowed 1/4" x 20 thread.

This is (actually) the old Whitworth standard,
but it's also used in all (smaller than medium format)
size cameras.

Since the UK has followed Europe, and most
connectors use metric threads, I am struggling
to find a source for these:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...,43455&p=52800

Note the wide range of knobs, nuts, buts,
threaded inserts etc.

Can anyone advise me of a mail-order source
for anything similar in the UK with sane
prices (including postage)?

BugBear

Get a mini camera stand and cannibalise it? They're selling for 99p +
p&p on eBay, so probably available at pound shops. The one I have here
won't take the weight of my camera, but the screw boss looks pretty
sturdy. Not really a "sane price" compared with a screw, but if your
gadget can use any of the adjustable bits as well ...

Chris

On Oct 1, 2:48 pm, bugbear wrote:
In order to build assorted camera gadgets, one
often runs into the hallowed 1/4" x 20 thread.

This is (actually) the old Whitworth standard,
but it's also used in all (smaller than medium format)
size cameras.

Since the UK has followed Europe, and most
connectors use metric threads, I am struggling
to find a source for these:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...,43455&p=52800

Note the wide range of knobs, nuts, buts,
threaded inserts etc.

Can anyone advise me of a mail-order source
for anything similar in the UK with sane
prices (including postage)?

You don't say where abouts you are in the UK, but the best place to
ask is in the model engineering groups and/or the UK astronomy group
uk.sci.astronomy (where a few engineers hang out). You can usually
find someone locally in the Yellow pages to sell (or on a good day
give) you a few odd sized bolts. On Teesside there is a pretty handy
bolt shop in Yarm industrial estate behind the various car dealers
(their name escapes me). Little back street engineering places like
that tend not to have a web presence and at best have a one line entry
in the phone book.

Regards,
Martin Brown

In article 0goMi.36735$x%6.22042@pd7urf2no,
default wrote:
It would appear that anything newer should be UNC, stuff older than 1972
could be Whitworth.

Might it depend where it originated? The UK was never *the* major camera
maker or indeed market. So UNC - which mainly came from American Coarse
might have been used then.

--
*A hangover is the wrath of grapes.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

default wrote:
"Peter Irwin" wrote in message
...
Do you have a reference for this? My 1969 edition
Focal Encylopedia says Whitworth. I suppose
that the standard could have changed since then,
but it would be nice to have a reference.

There are two official standards for tripod threads (look them up) a

DIN Standard:
DIN4503 (1993-10) which specifies 1/4-20UNC

ISO Standard:
ISO 1222:1987 and ISO 1222:2003 specify 1/4-20UNC and 3/8-16UNC. The
official standard has been 1/4-20UNC since 1972 when ISO1222 was first
published.

and of course Wikipedia says Whitworth:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screw#Whitworth
and Wikipedia is the absolute reference of truth!

Thanks. Wikipedia is often based on old reference sources.
It isn't hard to find sources that say that tripod
screws are Whitworth. It is useful to know that the
standard since 1972 says UNC.

Peter.
--

"Peter Irwin" wrote in message
...
Thanks. Wikipedia is often based on old reference sources.
It isn't hard to find sources that say that tripod
screws are Whitworth. It is useful to know that the
standard since 1972 says UNC.

Remember that lots of things don't follow the standards or follow
conventions instead and not every company just instantly switched over
because ISO decided to publish a standards document. I'm sure there is lots
of whitworth stuff out there, possibly to this day, I don't know. My own
tripods and monopod are clearly UNC.

In article ,
_trim says...
In order to build assorted camera gadgets, one
often runs into the hallowed 1/4" x 20 thread.

This is (actually) the old Whitworth standard,
but it's also used in all (smaller than medium format)
size cameras.
snip

Not the same as Whitworth, tripod threads are 1/4 - 20 NC (American
National Standard - Coarse). The diameter and number of threads per inch
are the same as Whitworth, but the thread form is different. From
experience, all of us who owned pre-metric British cars in US know that
an American fastener can be mated with a Whitworth one only once. It
goes on, but will never come off, due to an interference fit.

In article ,
says...
On Mon, 01 Oct 2007 11:21:05 -0400, tomcas
wrote:

bugbear wrote:
In order to build assorted camera gadgets, one
often runs into the hallowed 1/4" x 20 thread.

This is (actually) the old Whitworth standard,
but it's also used in all (smaller than medium format)
size cameras.

The 1/4 -20 UNC thread used in camera mounts is an Unified National
Coarse thread having a 60 degree included thread angle with flat crest
and root forms. The 1/4" Whitworth thread has the same basic diameter
and pitch but the thread form has a 55 degree included angle with
radiused crest and root forms. The two are not the same and while the
threads may mate the strength of the mismatched threads is severely
compromised.

That's interesting information, is the 1/4-20 UNC commonly available
in hardware stores?


It's the only 1/4-20 that's ever been commonly available in the U.S.