Replacing slate nuts

[jarcher]

Hi, can anyone suggest what filler to use when replacing slate nuts to hold them in place. On one of the tables in my club, some of the filler has came away and when taking the cushion bolts out, the nut simply falls out.

I know of plenty of fillers I could use, but what is commonly used on tables?

Thanks in advance

[Geoff Large]

Just go to halfords and buy EASY SAND filler , loose nuts and filler fall out is very common in modern tables , also the nut sometimes spins around through vibration when you hammer the bed cloth tacks in , you then have to wiggle a screwdriver in the hole to realign the nut back up for the bolt , it is not easy doing the filling from under the slate , some tables have thicker wood lining for the bed cloth tacks and this covers the nut hole where the filler is preventing the filler falling out , but also making replacement difficult without a full strip down of bed cloth and removal of tack lining , or wait for the recover or a stretch .
when you put the nut back in , screw the bolt up to make sure the nut inside is aligned up then fill , it may be a good idea to rub candle wax on the threads before you do this , when the filler is set , remove the bolt and clean any filler off the threads .

[jarcher]

Replacing slate nuts

Hi Geoff, cheers for that. Wasn't sure if it was ok to just use standard car body fillers as I have plenty of that lol I'm switching slates around on tables to make way for those steels I've been talking to Ted about (hopefully ordering on Monday) so I'll be able to flip the slates upside down to have easy access to the slate nut recess and am I better to wax the bolts first or would a spray grease be ok?

[Geoff Large]

NO GREASE it will bleed up into the slate and stain the cloth , if you are flipping them then just melt a bit of candle wax over the threads with the bolt in situ , this will protect most of the thread from the car body filler .

Also never grease bolts or use any oil on them , the fitter has to unbolt these and handle them , he will transfer any grease from them onto the cloth , always use candle wax either by melting it onto the bolt or by rubbing the bolt into the candle .

I once went to a customers table that he had set up himself , to find he had sprayed WD40 into all the bolt holes , the oil from this just bled into the bed cloth all the way around the table , he wanted me to fit a new bed cloth , but he ended up taking the slates off and steaming them after cleaning with a degreaser , it took years for the oil to finaly disapear , around 4 recovers .
I also have witnessed a fitter who had changed the engine oil in his van and spilt the entire bucket of old engine oil on some slates , he leant them up outside and after cleaning with detergent also steam cleaned jet washed them , fitted them to a table and yes , it too bled the grease upwards into the bed cloth , this will happen more so with under slate heating as the hot air will force the oil upwards within the slate . and the cloth acts like blotting paper .