Assembling wood-based products that will need to be taken down and reassembled such as RTA furniture or displays require a fastener with holding power as well as ease of install, pull-out resistance and corrosion resistance.
 

If that is what you need, E-Z LOK threaded inserts might be the product for you. Kyle Lindsly-Roach,  director of sales and marketing at E-Z LOK, said “We have a wide variety of threaded inserts,” he said. “We're able to touch on almost all corners of the market as well as having different varieties of products within each material type.”

Lindsly-Roach, who recently obtained the Certified Fastener Specialist designation from the Fastener Training Institute, said that E-Z LOK’s threaded inserts are useful for furniture and other wood products applications, and sells inserts for everything from high-end furniture to “knock-down” furniture, retail displays, and related products. He said that threaded inserts are preferred for these types of applications because they ensure assembly is solid and lasting, and in the case of displays, assembly and disassembly are relatively easy.

Installing E-Z LOK threaded inserts for wood makes for ease-of-use during assembly and disassembly, he said. “One of the significant advantages of threaded inserts is their reusability. Unlike screws installed directly into wood, threaded inserts allow fasteners to be removed and reinstalled without damaging the wood, making them ideal for projects that require disassembly and reassembly.”

He said that for wood applications, the company has two primary lines of threaded inserts that are designed to prevent stripping and thread erosion while providing superior holding power in all applications. 

“We have knife thread inserts for harder woods where you've done which utilize external threads to cut into the wood, and we have hex drive inserts for softer woods, plywoods; applications where you don't need the greatest performance but you still need to have a reusable thread in there that's not going to pull out after one or two uses,” Lindsly-Roach said.

Products include the E-Z Knife inserts that are designed for use in hardwoods such as oak, cherry, and maple. The inserts use a proprietary external “knife” thread to slice into the wood, which Lindsly-Roach said provides superior holding power, and are most often machined out of brass when internal thread sizes range from #4 to 3/8 or M3 to M8. For additional corrosion resistance, stainless steel knife thread inserts are used with 8-32, 10-24, and 1/4-20 internal threads.

The E-Z Hex threaded insert for wood has cutting threads that eliminate the need for pre-drilling pilot holes. They are installed by inserting them into the soft wood using a screwdriver or power tool. The inserts features broad external threads for holding  power and thread sizes range from #8 to ⅜-16, plus M6 and M8.

In addition to products for the wood industry, the company offers products for metal and plastics.
E-Z LOK is a family-owned business that was founded in 1956 in Gardena, California. It is now owned and operated by the third generation of the founding family.

In addition to the plant and headquarters in Gardena, the company has warehouses in Indiana, New Jersey, and North Carolina. E-Z LOK also has a sister company, TCI Precision Metals, which makes machine-ready metal blanks.

Threaded inserts from E-Z Lok can now be viewed in an online CAD library that streamlines the design and specification process for engineers, MRO and OEMs by giving them on-demand access to threaded insert CAD models. The online catalog allows viewers to access robust product information anytime, anywhere through the E-Z Lok website.  

For more information, visit https://www.ezlok.com.