The old nut was made from thin metal, probably chineseium cheesemetal. You can see how it cracked in the picture from tightening. Machined new beefier/thicker nuts from 303 SS. Machined the contour on the Tormach and then turned the chamfers on my 8x14 lathe. Threading was done with a single point thread mill on the tormach as well. The threads are a not so common 3/4-20 thread and the nut has a tapered in to squeeze a bushing to tighten on the telesoping tubes.
Click the image to see where the nut goes
New nut vs busted old
Bottom
Top
Notice where the stock nut cracked all the way through.
Thread Milling is so handy for oddball threads
