Nut setter advice

[jack stand]

I'd like to have one of these for an upcoming project.
Some of these fasteners will be going into some structural metal with a 1/4" wall thickness and I'd like to use 5/16 or 3/8 bolts.
Amazon has a selection that doesn't really give me much information and in my estimation, not a tool of much quality and intended for much thinner (and smaller) fasteners.
As I type this, I'm thinking that someone will ask why I don't just drill and tap in the thicker parts of this project. The truth is that it never really crossed my mind, us being "tool guys" and don't need much of a reason for buying a new tool.
That's what I probably should do, but my question stands as to a quality nutsetter and any other tips or suggestions.

 

[theluke]

I use Dewalt and Makita. Short ones are Dewalt, long ones are Makita. Haven't had a problem with either. Usually only use 1/4", 5/16" or 3/8". None have broken or rounded out and magnets are still strong.

 

[Shed of tools]

I’ve found it worth the money to buy brand name Makita Dewalt etc. The cheap ones loose the magnet right away and are useless for metal roofing screw that I used them for.

 

[matt_i]

5/16" or 3/8" is either a 1/2" hex or a 9/16" hex. I would just goto an impact socket with a square-drive adapter.

That said, a 1/8" drill, size F or 5/16" drill, a spiral point tap and a Lisle tap socket plus a squeeze bottle of tap magic would make your life a lot easier.

 

[mc4life27]

also since you will be going into steel sometimes the metal chips created by the self taller screws or just from the pre drill can cause the bug setter to clog up. But Makita and some other companies make nut setters that use a snap ring instead of a magnet to hold the bolt in. They seem to hold ok well. Also I got a few of the Makita nut sets that have a little 1/4 hex adaptor that is three scokets that slide on. So it’s a smaller tool when carrying three sizes.


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[techieman33]

Malco makes some nice ones that are like flip sockets. You get 2 sizes in one and it's easy to clean the magnet off. They don't make anything big enough for bolts that size though. As u/matt i said I would just go with a regular socket for something that size. And you could drop a magnet into the socket pretty easily if that's something you need. Lisle makes magnets sized just for that purpose. There are magnetic socket extension also. Don't know that I've ever seen one on a drill/impact adapter though. Of course you could always just put a generic neodymium magnet in there as well.

 

[jack stand]

Sorry, this is what I'm talking about.
https://www.erivet.com/category_list.cfm?ID=ERIVET_2178916_54250955&itemtype=INSRT
I should have mentioned "rivnuts" or "rivet nuts" It's got a rivet action that leaves a threaded "nut" installed blind.

 

[MoonRise]

Rivnut.

Check out Astro Tools (aka Astro Pneumatic ).

www.astrotools.com

They have several rivnut tools. Little, medium, bigger, hand-powered, powered by a drill or an impact driver, pneumatically powered, multiple options.

And they offer several rivnuts too. Their STEEL 3/8-16 rivnut is rated for use in material from 26 gauge to 11 gauge.

https://www.astrotools.com/100pc-3-8-16-steel-rivet-nuts.html

 

[Astro_Pneumatic_Tools]

For 1/4" wall, you're going to be looking at plus-nuts not rivet nuts. Not because of strength, 5/16" rivet nuts are plenty strong:

But rivet nuts have crush/crimp zones made for sheet metal.
You'll want to look into 5/16-18 pre-bulbed plus nuts and our model 1450 tool.
The hardware is more expensive than regular rivet nuts however.