wayward nut in old DS-5

[jfw]

I heard a rattle in my DS-5, and upon opening it, found a loose nut inside (see it positioned on its side in the first pic).

It doesn't seem to belong anywhere: the three screws on the bottom (two for the transformer, one for the capacitors) all have their nuts secure. I see no other screws from the outside, or holes (except the one in the bridge rectifier).

Is it just a spurious one that was accidentally dropped inside the case many years ago? (I seem to remember hearing it rattle in there before but never looked inside until now.)

[BeenDown139]

maybe it's a spare?  i always keep a couple handy.

[jfw]

Perhaps, it looks identical to the ones in use, but having it loose inside the case seems like an odd way to store it. (no tape residue)

[JimmyJ]

Hang on a sec...  Isn't there supposed to be a bolt and nut holding the rectifier to the case?  I think there should be a single bolt head showing on the back like in this pic I stole from the internet.  If you have no bolt there, that's likely the source of that nut.

Jimmy J

[jfw]

That makes sense! Good observation and thanks for your sleuthing. I didn’t want to mess with the rectifier, but it definitely has a hole in it that could fit a bolt. Now I just have to find the right size (shouldn’t be hard, unless anyone knows what it would be in such an old box).

[JimmyJ]

It doesn't need to be bolted down very tightly as it it practically held in place by the solid leads from the caps. And I don't actually know how much pressure that component can take so you don't want to crush it.  But I think it wants to be snug against the chassis to help dissipate heat so ... snug is the word.  Maybe with a drop of loctite?

Jimmy J

[jfw]

The rectifier has never fallen away from the chassis even when it was carried around in a road case, so it must have some pretty good adhesive on it. But I'll get a bolt long enough to give it a little reinforcement without putting any real pressure on it.

[David Houck]

Nicely spotted Jimmy!

[cozmik_cowboy]

This reminds me of my old '66 Galaxie.  In the year and a half I drove (and, for a while, lived in) it, 5 or 6 dash lights burned out.  Every time, I took it apart, changed the bulb, and carefully put one screw back in each hole; each time I double checked to make sure I got everything.
Each time there was one screw left over........

Peter

[jfw]

Repair completed! It took a 6/32" screw bolt, which set me back 25¢ (not including tax).

Thank you JimmyJ and everyone!