Wing Nuts: All You Need to Know

Wing Nuts: All You Need to Know

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If you are the sort of person that looks at an assembly or mechanical joint and notice things like what type of fasteners have been used, you’re probably the target audience for this article. If you have looked at a wing nut and wanted to know everything about them, then you’re definitely in the right place.

What Is a Wing Nut?

A wing nut is named quite accurately, as it’s a metal nut with two wings to grab hold of, which allow you to loosen or tighten down onto a threaded bolt or stud. It’s also known as a butterfly nut.

Wing Nuts

Who Invented the Wing Nut, and When?

Harry F Kellogg invented the wing nut and filed the patent in the US on January 6, 1927. The patent application was granted on August 19, 1930. Harry also invented the wing screw for his company, Central Screw Company of Chicago, Illinois.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Wing Nuts

Next, we’ll go over some pros and cons to using wing nuts that should be considered.

1. Wing Nuts Can Be Tightened And Loosened By Hand

The reason wing nuts were invented was for this reason primarily. Prior to wing nuts, you would need a wrench or some other tool to tighten and loosen nuts.

Wing nuts, with their ergonomically designed ‘wings’, can be tightened sufficiently with only your thumb and index finger.

2. Wing Nuts Can Loosen In Certain Applications

The main advantage of being able to tighten a wing nut by hand is also a potential weakness. Wing nuts, improperly tightened, are likely to come loose. It’s difficult to know exactly how tight or how much torque you have applied to a wing nut.

Because they are only ever ‘hand tight’ wing nuts should not be used in heavy load conditions or areas of high vibration.

5 Common Wing Nut Uses

Wing nuts are often used when an assembly is required to be frequently taken apart and assembled by hand. Let’s take a look at a few common uses of wing nuts.

1. Drum Hardware

If you take a close look at a drum kit, you’ll see wing nuts. Wing nuts are used to fix suspended symbols to their stands and to secure adjustments.

2. Bicycles

Where quick-release skewers are commonplace on modern bicycle wheels, before their invention, wheels were secured with wing nuts.

3. Furniture

Wing nuts are also heavily used in the production of furniture. Table legs are often secured to the tabletop with wing nuts, providing a secure attachment while making it quick and easy to disassemble if necessary.

4. Machinery Access Panels

Additionally, wing nuts are used to secure access panels to machinery or electrical panels. If all that is needed is a visual check of what’s behind the panel, then wing nuts mean you don’t have to carry any tools to get in there.

5. Hatch Fasteners On Ships And Boats

Wing nuts are also used to secure weather-tight hatches and doors on ships and in other marine applications. These nuts are often made of stainless steel to resist corrosion and make access without tools quick and easy.

6 Different Wing Nut Types

There are many different types of wing nut out there. Let’s take a look at them here.

1. Type A

Type A are cold forged or cold formed produced in regular, light, and heavy dimensional series.

2. Type B

Type B are hot forged solid nuts available in three different wing styles.

3. Type C

Type C are diecast nuts available in three wing styles with variances between regular and heavy dimensional series.

4. Type D

Type D are stamped sheet metal nuts available in three wing styles. The original wing nut invented by Harry F Kellogg is a Type D wing nut.

5. Wing Wire Nut

These are wing nuts that, instead of attaching to a screw thread, are used to screw down into the soft copper of multiple electrical wires. They are used to make electrical connections in home electrical installations.

6. Plastic Wing Nuts

Wingnuts are typically metal, but plastic versions are available. Often these plastic wing nuts are regular metal hexagonal nuts held inside a plastic ‘winged’ housing.

How to Tighten a Wing Nut

Sometime in the 1920s, Harry F Kellogg probably looked at regular nuts and imagined a new type of nut, accessible to all, not just those with suitable wrenches and sockets. So, with that ambition, he created the wing nut.

Tightening a wing nut is much the same as tightening a regular nut. You start in a similar manner by placing the nut onto the thread of the bolt or stud and turning it on with your thumb and index finger.

At this point, things change. With a regular nut, now would be the time when you start searching for the 7/16 wrench in the corner of your workshop. With wing nuts, you just continue turning the nut until it goes tight.

Now, all there is to do is to get a good grip on the wings and really make sure it’s secure. How tight it should be is hard to say without a torque wrench so keep going until the skin on your knuckles goes white.

How to Loosen a Stuck Wing Nut

Remember that wing nut you tightened? Maybe it was a while ago and since then it’s been out in the elements and some light corrosion has formed. Or maybe someone else with incredible strength tightened it and it won’t budge when you try to loosen it by hand.

There are a couple of different ways to get it loose. Here are a few suggestions;

1. Soak It with Penetrating Oil

If you aren’t in a rush and it looks really crusty with corrosion, then try this first. Penetrating oil left to work for an hour or so will work into the stuck threads, giving you a good chance of getting it loose with your hands.

2. Use a Wing Nut Tool

There are tools out there designed to fit over the wings of a wing nut, allowing you to apply more force than with your hands alone. Wing nut wrench, wing nut T handle wrench, and wing nut sockets are all good options here.

3. Use a Screwdriver

Depending on the design of your stuck wing nut, you can try to loosen it with a suitable screwdriver. Place the shaft of the screwdriver diagonally between the two wings and rotate it counterclockwise.

4. Use an Adjustable Wrench

If you have the space to get the tool in there, you can cinch down an adjustable wrench over the wings and try to get it loose that way.

Tips To Prevent Stuck Wing Nuts

Stuck wing nuts can be avoided if the correct steps are taken. Material choice makes a difference too. If it’s going to be in a damp environment then using stainless steel wing nuts will help reduce corrosion.

Another way to help keep things from getting stuck is to apply a little anti-seize paste or copper grease to the threads before you tighten down the wing nut.

Summary

When used in the correct application, these nuts do the job well and cheaply, which in engineering terms is pretty much the best you can hope for when inventing something new.

Wing nuts have been around for almost 100 years. Although they have their drawbacks, wing nuts have found their place in the world and are likely to be around at least 100 years more.