hardware- will this cause a ground?

[unknown00]

i need to ground a wire. this is what it looks like (the end clamp is like the same)

so i just need to connect it to metal right? i was thinking attach a metal bolt at the end like this

obviously, the nut will be screwed up to the top so the wire doesn't move

would that work?

 

[BillParrish]

Depends on what you bolt it to, most metal chassis and for sure a normal computer case are grounded so that would work to "make a ground"

I would use a "star toothed lock washer" instead of the split washer in your picture, it bites through paint or any other protective coating on the metal to ensure good electrical contact.

You would put the wire between the toothed washer and the head of the screw/bolt - not next to the metal.


If what you are attaching it to is not plugged into the wall with a 3 prong AC cord you need to tell us more about what you are doing.

 

[unknown00]

to be more specific, i'm trying to ground a turntable, usually i just hook it up to my mixer that has a metal bolt like thingy sticking out the back. i wasn't plan to "bolt" it to anything, just keep the bolt on the table

 

[BillParrish]

Perfect, yes that bolt on the mixer chassis would/should work well. And you will know it if it does not due to the hum you will get through the speakers when the turntable input is active. Also if you touch the tone arm and hear a buzz etc. the ground is not good.

Cant hurt anything so give it a go, any metal bolt, screw whatever you can find on the back of the mixer should work. I used to back out a screw that held the rear panel of my stereo amps out a couple of turns and put it under that and tighten it back up .

Also to check before making permanent, hook up the turntable and touch the tonearm, you should get some hum and then take your ground wire and touch the bolt or other metal parts, when you hit one that is a ground the hum will go away.

No voltage at all - none -nada you cant hurt yourself or anything (dont max the volume) with the "poke it around and find a ground" method.

 

[unknown00]

ok thing is, i DON'T WANT to use the bolt on the mixer. i actually want to internally ground the turntable, but that requires soldering, so i was wondering i could just hook it up to a random bolt/nut and have it grounded like that (no mixer at all, ignore i even said mixer)

 

[dogbert_2001]

If you mean the bolt is going to be dangling in the middle of the air, no, that is NOT a ground.

Your wire must touch the bolt AND the bolt must be grounded by touching something else. And that something else can only be grounded by touching something else that's grounded. And so on and so forth.

The only thing in your house that is grounded is the third hole (the round one, not one of the two slots) in the three-hole outlet in your wall. Your "wire" must have a connection or path to that hole.

So, start with the power cord. Does it have three prongs? Then the one that goes into the third hole is providing ground to your device.
Is your chassis (the metal box enclosing your device)grounded? This requires the other end of your power cord to have the grounded wire attached to the chassis in some fashion.
If you're good so far, you can attach your "wire" to any part of the chassis to ground it. Soldering can make a more permanent connection, but honestly, you can use tape or glue, as long as the wire is touching the metal chassis.
If you really want to use the bolt, the bolt needs to touch the metal chassis, either taping, glueing, soldering, or screwing in the bolt into a hole in the chassis.


And by wire, I mean the metal inside, not the plastic insulation outside, must touch other metal directly.

 

[Whatsisname]

Grounds are called grounds because they are literally a connection to the earth. Having a piece of metal just floating around is not a ground.

Why are you adding a ground to a piece of electronic equipment to begin with? The device's engineers have already taken care of that. You haven't given enough information as to why your system deviates from standard electrical setups.