Thread: Best way to mount the fuse panel

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Sniper, what are rivnuts and stovebolts? Do you have a link for them?

Just Google Rivnuts or Rivetnuts and you'll get quite a few hits. They work along the same line as a pop rivet, only the inside of the barrel is threaded to the size of bolt you are using. I have one myself, and it's worked nice for items of this sort. While they are now more more common and available for the automotive world, they are used in the aircraft industry for removeable panels and things like that. Not meant to be used as a stuctural fastener, but used for removable panels, small items like your fuse box, dash insert where your gauges would be etc. I'll have to find mine and get a couple of pictures for you, haven't used it for a while, I forget where it is. (If you seen my shop, you would understand. If the lights ever went out, you would bleed to death from the shins on down just trying to get back out!!) Stovebolts are just the small sizes, anything under 1/4 inch. They come in 'number sizes', 10, 8, 6, 4, course or fine thread is available. The smaller the number, the smaller the bolt size. They can have various head shapes, (but seldom hex, unless it's metric, different animal) dome, pan, taper for countersunk. And now a days, have any kind of recess in the head. Used to be the standard slot for a screw driver many years ago, now there's slot, Phillips, Robinson, Allen, Torx, GMC used a double 'D' or Clutch head back in the forties, maybe even before that. Cadium plated steel, stainless, brass, are the common materials they are made from. I'll see if I can get you some pictures of the rivnut being used and installed in a panel. Sniper