Best glue for threaded inserts

First of all, ignore the flathead slot in the top. Instead, use a bolt that fits inside this insert and lock a nut on top of it. That way you can torque the nut to drive this insert in the mohagany. I didn’t do this last time and broke those brass inserts quite easily.

Epoxy is the glue to use. Make sure it will work for metal and wood.

But also, file one or two grooves ACROSS the threads (lengthwise up and down the insert) which will give the epoxy more to grip. If you can imagine how the epoxy will fill that groove, the threaded insert will never be able to “unscrew” itself out. It is ok to make the hole just a hair too big. You don’t want to squeeze all the epoxy out when you screw in the insert.

And like Mark said above, don’t use a flat head screwdriver in that slot. It will strip instantly. Put the insert on the end of a bolt, and tighten two nuts together just above it. Use a wrench (on the bolt) to screw the whole thing in to the wood. When the insert is flush, loosen the top nut. Then the bolt will easily unscrew out of the insert.

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On second thought, that bolt method is good when you are screwing the threaded insert into a tight hole and not using glue… with epoxy and a slightly larger hole you may get away with using that flathead screwdriver.

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Another option would be to place the threaded insert into a recess (think 1/8” to 3/16” deep) and then place a wooden inlay over the top of the insert with a hole just big enough to allow the brass knob to pass through. That way, the wood to wood glued surface would keep the insert locked into the support stem. And it would hide the insert completely, so they might never know it wasn’t inserted from the other side before the stem was glued up.

That is an option gotmarko, but I’m not sure what the physical size of the insert is. I’m guessing if it’s a 1/4” hole, it’s probably only 3/8” outside to outside. Essentially, that would create a 1/16” rim on the mahogany “donut”. I’d have to be incredibly accurate cut to get that right, and I’m not sure if the mahogany is dense enough for that type of application.
I’m not terribly concerned if the brass insert shows from the outside since it’s brass and would probably blend in with the knob.

-- David, Lakeland, FL - GO BOLTS!!!