Loose Snaps

I was removing the covers on the front windows of my boat. One of the snaps was a little loose. I like to keep them tight and sealed, so I took it out, applied a little sealer and ran it back in the hole. And you guessed it, she wouldn't snug up -- the hole was too big.

I cleaned the hole well with acetone and mixed up a small batch of epoxy/cabosil. When it kicked I drilled the pilot hole, gooped up the threads and put the snap back in.

Then I found another loose snap. I wasn't going to go through all that trouble with this one.

I grabbed a beer and picked out a stainless sheet metal screw that was large enough that the snap threads would fit into a hole I would drill in the new screw. I drilled the hole just a tad smaller than the threads on the snap screw...so I could screw the snap securely into the new piece.

Then I cut just enough off of the drilled piece that it was a fraction shorter than the original stud. And mated the two - now I had the original snap with larger threads that would grab in the oversized hole.

Hole in new threads.

The original snap is a snug fit when screwed into the new threads.

A little crude, but effective. I may make a few spares.

The original thread tip protrudes from the sleeve for easy alignment. I put sealer on both threads before putting it all together.

Granted, I might have spent a little more time overall, but it was very satisfying.