I sometimes have problems with screw heads stripping out on my fixtures when the screws won't break loose, due no doubt in part to the heat of the fixtures and also dissimilar metals. Has anyone here had any experience with using an anti-seize compound on screws when building and servicing fixtures? If so, how well has it worked, and/or can you suggest any other methods of assuring easy removal of fasteners once the fixture has been in service for a while?

-- Joe Werner (jwerner@southco.com), August 01, 2002

Answers

I have seen "copper lube" used with great success on screw-in electrodes in the automotive world. The company that makes Cool-Amp silver plating compound has an anti-sieze with silver in it that probably works even better. www.cool-amp.com/ Also, as Bruce Kelly of the GM Tech Center once showed me, on a seam welder, silver plate the mating surfaces between the copper wheel and the hub. This reduces the amount of current that flows throught the threaded fasteners, which you should always avoid.

-- David Bacon (dbacon@updatetechnology.com), October 03, 2002.