Home Depot Week: T-Nuts
So, you bought a cheap old flash on eBay with a busted hot shoe for $5.00. If you've got 69 more cents you can mount it to a light stand.That thingie mounted onto the back of the (perfectly good) Vivitar 285 at left is called a "T-nut." They are pretty easy to find in 1/4x20 or 3/8" sizes. It is fastened with "JB Weld" glue.
Long story short, anything you can stick a T-nut to can be mounted on a light stand. In fact, you could purposely destroy the hot shoe of a flash without a PC jack to get access to the synch wires and easily fashion your own pigtail 1/8" synch cord, using the T-nut to mount the flash. But that's another post.
You can also get spiked t-nuts that would mount to the underside of a small piece of wood (which would increase the surface area for the gluing) if you are concerned about strength of the bond.
Added bennie: The t-nut mount gets the flash head very close to the axis of the umbrella shaft, if you are softening your light that way.
(Thanks or the head-up, Chad!)
-30-
__________
New to Strobist, or lighting? Start here.
Now shipping, in DVD box set or download: Lighting in Layers
Connect: Discussion Threads | Reader Photos | Twitter
Posted at 3:55 AM.
7 Comments:
I've been using adhesives for over 50 years and would offer this bit of caution. Reliably bonding metal to plastic may NOT be as easy as squirting out a bit of J.B. Weld and I wouldn't want to use this "T" nut mount unless I were prepared for it to fail someday. Things that will help are careful cleaning of the metal and plastic along with using a bit of clean sandpaper to roughen the bonding surfaces. Measure and mix your epoxy carefully. Use mechanical back up fasteners if possible. Consider a safety lanyard to save your gear (subject's head?) if your bond fails.
Bob
I like this, how about combining these with some velcro (adhesive or straps) to make them removable?
What a great band name: "Spiked T-Nuts"
You may be able to make them removable by gluing a 'slide' like bracket to the flash! that way you have more strength than a piece of velcro.
Hmm... I'd be very interested in that "other post" of converting a broken hot shoe into a pc cord.
I guess I'm missing the point. Would the light stand plug in to the t-nut, thus making the flash stand on its head?
Alex
Nifty...
And don't forget how much fun a t-nut and some foam core is...well, that is until you discover the threaded 1/4-20 rod connectors and fender washers...
Post a Comment
<< Home