Cap nuts are female fasteners used to bolt pieces together without exposed nuts. Cylinder nuts have a threaded hole and are installed by drilling a hole in the workpiece. They are ideal for aesthetically sensitive applications like furniture manufacturing.
A cap nut is a female fastener used to bolt individual pieces of an assembly together without having a nut exposed on either face of the workpiece. The cylinder nut consists of a short, straight round bar with a perpendicular threaded hole through the center. To install the nut, a hole is drilled, usually from a hidden surface, in a workpiece into which the nut fits. Another hole is then drilled in the workpiece to match the location of the nuts’ threaded opening. This allows a second piece to be bolted to the first without any nuts being visible on its faces, a useful feature in aesthetically sensitive applications such as furniture manufacturing.
Bolts and nuts are strong, simple and economical, making them ideal fastening solutions for a wide range of applications. Exposed nut and bolt heads, however, tend to mar the sleek lines of some items designed to be aesthetic as well as functional. They might not look out of place on the boiler of a steam locomotive, but they’ll certainly give a designer chaise longue a decidedly tacky air. That doesn’t necessarily mean that no bolts and nuts can be used in the manufacture of the high-end chair, or any other piece for that matter, that might take advantage of their inherent strength. The solution is to use a barrel nut instead of the conventional types, thus avoiding having hordes of ugly, utilitarian fasteners dotting the polished burr walnut.
These fasteners consist of a simple piece of round bar with a perpendicular hole drilled through their centers. This hole is tapped with a standard pitch thread for ease of joining. The installation is achieved by drilling a hole at the level of the intended joint in one of the two pieces to be joined, usually from a face which will be hidden later. A second hole is then drilled to match the hole through the barrel nut. A second workpiece can then be bolted to the first using the hidden nut.
This joint creates a face on the first work piece that can be presented, unblemished by any unsightly fixings, at the front of the unit, while the bolt head is hidden within the second work piece. The use of a cylindrical nut rather than the conventional types is particularly useful in furniture making, where elegant and decorative upholstery finishes are essential. Some cap nuts can be cut with a screwdriver slot on one end so they can be turned into tight holes to match the tapped hole to the hole in the work piece. In some cases, they may also have a second or third threaded hole at the ends running parallel to the nut for the attachment of additional hidden bolts.
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