# What size and thread are Torrington pedal block nuts?



## bloo (Sep 1, 2020)

Hi All. Title says it all. What size and thread are the nuts that hold the pedal blocks on a Torrington 9 (6?) short pedal? I'm pretty sure this is the same as on the 10. I don't see anything in my tap and die set that matches. Are they a proprietary thread? Or maybe Metric?

These are the nuts that hold the pedal blocks, not the ones for the bearings (but please post that too for posterity if you just happen to know it).

Thanks.


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## bloo (Sep 4, 2020)

Nobody? 12-24 maybe?


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## piercer_99 (Sep 4, 2020)

great question, all I know is that I have used the nuts from 8's on 10's and vice versa.


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## bloo (Sep 4, 2020)

Well that's good to know, and I suspected they were the same. 

For what it's worth, whatever thread that is the hardware store doesn't have any. I have some nuts on the way from another caber, but I need to order a die. Maybe someone knows....


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## bloo (Sep 10, 2020)

Welp... the die is here. It's not 12-24.


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## WetDogGraphix (Sep 10, 2020)

bloo said:


> Welp... the die is here. It's not 12-24.



  I'll check in the morning........


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## JLF (Sep 10, 2020)

By short do you mean the 3.5” pedals?  I think the girls pedal?  Sorry, I don’t know if mine are 9’s... but I did pull these out of a barn last month on a late 30’s girls Rollsfast.  I just checked and it’s 1/4-20.

Hope this helps.


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## JLF (Sep 10, 2020)

Wait... I just happened to look at the pedal on the other side and it’s different!  Weird.  It isn’t an 1/4-20 and doesn’t fit anything on my size board.  Sorry.


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## bloo (Sep 10, 2020)

Yes those are the ones and thanks for checking. I struck out at the local hardware, and they have the same size board. I have one cage here I would really like to save, but thanks to another caber I do have a plan B if it isn't possible to save it. I have a sneaking hunch it is going to be a proprietary thread. I can't prove it but am fairly sure all the 6, 8, 9, 10, 11,15, etc. use the same thread.


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## Archie Sturmer (Sep 10, 2020)

Maybe the same as some 7/32” hardware, (e.g., chain tensioning screws);  I believe that they were off of the #12 size by a few thousandths of an inch.
And then there is the number of threads per inch, (ugh).


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## bloo (Sep 10, 2020)

Well I already tried a Schwinn chain tensioner and it doesn't screw in. That is another screwball thread I would like to know the identity of. It would have come in handy a couple of days ago when I was repairing one of those screws.


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## WetDogGraphix (Sep 11, 2020)

I take it the 12-24 was too large..... 
I took my 10's apart.....Using my dies on the bolt, the 12-24 was too large, the 10-24 was too small..
On the nut, using a tap, the 10-24 went in, but was loose....sooooo, I have no answer


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## JLF (Sep 11, 2020)

Considering vintage road bikes for a moment, you don’t suppose they would have used French, Italian, etc threads?


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## bloo (Sep 19, 2020)

Archie Sturmer said:


> Maybe the same as some 7/32” hardware, (e.g., chain tensioning screws);  I believe that they were off of the #12 size by a few thousandths of an inch.
> And then there is the number of threads per inch, (ugh).




You may be on to something with 7/32". It measures 7/32".

Found my thread gauges and it APPEARS to be 7/32"-28tpi. Or maybe #12-28tpi. It's not metric.

This confuses me because I thought I tried some #12-28 fastener at the hardware store. I'll have to do that again to be sure. 7/32" should be 0.219 and #12 is 0.216" major diameter. Maybe its really 7/32" and the .003" was enough to make it not screw on?

I found these.....  https://www.tracytools.com/7-32-x-28-tpi  but there are no specifications listed. I found no other evidence that 7/32"-28 even exists. 

Any of you guys got a machinerys handbook? I can't find mine.

In other news, the Schwinn chain tensioning screws are 24tpi and measure about .243 major diameter. They are kind of beat up, and aren't terribly tight in the frame. I think it's a fair guess they were born as 1/4"-24tpi, halfway between UNC and UNF.


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## Archie Sturmer (Sep 21, 2020)

I believe that pre-war or so, Shelby may have used 26-tpi chain tensioning screws. 




I believe 26-tpi was a British Standard Cycle (BSC) thread. Tracy may also have 26 tools, but I'm not sure which is right.


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