Charvonia Design Bed Tie-Down Anchors

As long as the camming surface is a flat circle underneath the cam, you should be able to orient it any way you want, barring interference with the tie-down itself.

Only real complication I could see is material selection for the cam assembly. Aluminum is too soft. All of the scope mounts I have ever seen use aluminum for the body, but steel for the camming materials, include the surface the cam tensions against. I'm thinking for ease of machining and not having to work with inserts or some such nonsense, the whole thing should just be made of steel. Though I suppose it wouldn't be terribly hard to mill a countersunk hole in the aluminum tie down, then friction fit a steel insert for the camming surface.

Normal steel would mean no fancy anodizing. Paint would just chip, so nitriding would probably be the best route. Unless you went stainless and did heat tempering for color options...

Starting to sound like $350 per tie-down. Probably easier to just widen the dimensions of the mounting area, cut a relief, and use some spin on knobs.

 

Anodized aluminum is pretty chip resistant. I don’t think these have to be handling super strong stresses. Just enough to anchor the T nuts in place.

 

I sent out an email today announcing the new Rail Tie-Downs. This went out to anyone who has made a purchase or subscribed to the email list.

Can you guys please let me know if the email came into your inbox or if it went into spam?

 

The email came straight to my inbox

 

I got it.

 

Do you have a picture of the T nut used? Wondering if it’s slide in or if it’s camed so when you undo it, it pulls out.

 

It’s a machined threaded plate that slides in.

 

It’s looking like a thumb screw type knob is the best quick release option. What do you guys think?

 

It will be tough to balance the size... big enough that you can break it loose by hand, but small enough to not be in the way.

But assuming you find that balance, I'll be a buyer.

If you use the same thread size as the factory rail hooks... could we scavenge the rail plate, so it's drop in?

 

The factory anchors don’t use a plate, it’s an integrated bolt with a flat head that tightens against the inside of the rail. This is a complete replacement.

 

Gotcha... Couldn't remember if this piece was removable or not. Point still stands, it would be nice if it were a drop in.



Sometimes they use a plate like this, to make it "drop-in" versus sliding in from the end. Basically, rounded corners that allow it to go vertical.



Also, be sure to make it thick enough that it stands up on it's own. Mobtown used to offer thin (3/16"?) plates and they'd fall to the back of the rail and you couldn't get the bolt to engage. It was very frustrating to use.

 

Appreciate your insights. The current design uses a 1/4” thick aluminum plate. I did this for maximum contact area and strength versus the stock parts. Installation on the side rails is easy, you just remove the plastic cap on the end and slide in the loosely assembled Tie-Down Anchor. If you have the front (header) rail it will need to be unbolted to install these the first time. I always used mine on the sides, not sure how others use them though.

 

The issue I've run into with sliding in accessories is that they might not get past bed bars, racks, etc... Just trying to make suggestions that maximize your market.

 

Got the email to my inbox

 

Sliding them in would require me to disconnect my canopy tie down points.

 

they're just t-nuts, right? cant you just twist them in the rail? why would you have to slide them all the way in from the end?

 

The canopy mounts are not t nuts. The clamps need to slide out the ends.

 

Sounds like the design won't fit through the face of the rail... see above quote.

 

Any updates? Placed my order on Oct 4th for two sets of red tie downs and one set of red rail tie downs.

 

Your nut sketch looks like m-loc nuts for gun hand guards. Same design just way smaller.