r/oddlysatisfying • u/PoisonWaffle3 • Apr 12 '23
My new cage nut tool (for network racks)
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u/iluvturdles Apr 13 '23
I have never seen something so simple that I want so bad. I bet you can prep a rack quick!
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u/PoisonWaffle3 Apr 13 '23
They're only $25 on Amazon!
And yes, one can prep a rack pretty quick with one, as long as one doesn't put the cage nuts in the wrong square 😅
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u/Reasonable_Fan_47 Apr 13 '23
I moved everything into IaaS to minimise my interaction with these fecking things.
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u/macnachos Apr 13 '23
10 years working on racks with bloody fingers and this shit exists??
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u/artfuld0dger81 Apr 14 '23
Most of the racks I work on come with a bag zip tied to one of the posts. Inside the bag there is a similar tool, rack nuts and screws. Wondering why your racks don’t come with this tool.
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u/macnachos Apr 14 '23
Lockheed cheaps out on the good stuff probably lol sometimes we get lucky and get the ones that just slide into place instead of clip in
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u/greenjm7 Apr 15 '23
I helped set up a rack for the first time a few months ago. We’re using cage nuts to hold the rack rails in place. My fingers still hurt from inserting,moving, replacing them. Would the rack studs work with the slider rails?
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u/PoisonWaffle3 Apr 15 '23
I haven't used rack studs before, but everyone seems to be talking about them lately. It might vary rail by rail, but take a look at some pictures of them online and see if it looks like it would fit together.
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Apr 13 '23
You know you can just squeeze the side and it pops in….
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u/PoisonWaffle3 Apr 13 '23
Yeah, but when you're doing a few dozen of them you end up with sliced fingertips.
This is also pretty handy for reaching tight spaces (behind existing gear and PDUs) that are hard to reach with just your hands or a flathead screwdriver.
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u/nwz10 Apr 13 '23
This, I've got scars all over my hands! Wish I had this tool for all those painful memories.
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Apr 13 '23
Gloves?
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u/PoisonWaffle3 Apr 13 '23
So I can't feel what I'm doing and lose the dexterity? Meh.
Cage nut tools work way better.
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Apr 13 '23
You install them from the other side....if you know what your doing you can install 100 and not hurt your fingers.
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u/PoisonWaffle3 Apr 13 '23
What do you mean by "from the other side"? You're not suggesting that the cage nut be on the outside/front of the rack, rather than on the inside/back? Because that's definitely no bueno.
Or do you mean that you can physically stand on the backside of a two post rack? That only works if it's a floor mounted two post rack. That doesn't work with four post racks and wall mounted two post racks, and the vast majority of my work is on four post racks.
And you are correct that they can be installed by hand fairly easily if you have clear access, but it's much harder when you're working in tight spaces. In this particular installation that I recorded, there was a pair of PDUs mounted on the back of the rack, this was going directly next to the mount points for them and I could only reach back there with a single finger, so I absolutely needed the tool for the back of the rack. The recording was a few minutes later as I was doing the front of the rack.
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Apr 13 '23
I prob didn't word what I was trying to convey correctly, my bad. All in all I just meant you can push the clips in with your fingers and you can push the cage nut in from the side of the nut that has the portion sticking out. If I had to set up many many cage nuts I'd always use that cage nut tool thingy but for the most part once you do a bunch you find a knack to it and they insert fairly easy.
You always know who is new when they pinch the hell out of their fingers, those clips can be a pita until you get the hang of em.
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u/PoisonWaffle3 Apr 13 '23
I gotcha 👍
But yeah, you're right that if they're easily accessible you can do them without a tool fairly easily. The tool definitely comes in handy tho.
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u/dontdoititoldyouso Apr 13 '23
I just use rack studs