This is a tri-nut. It's a security nut. It has-this is the driver for it-it has 3 grooves.
You can see it has 3 slots. That's why they call it a tri-nut. It has 3 = Tri.
It has these 3 grooves and this is your driver. You put that into a ratchet.
Then it just falls right in there. Then you just drive it into place.
These are used a lot in TV installations in hotels.
Where they want to make sure the TV can not be removed from the wall.
Tri-groove nuts have these 3 grooves and you need a special tool or socket to install it.
You see it has those 3 grooves in it.
So I'm going to demonstrate this right now; an installation of it.
I'm putting it through my 1/4" steel here. I'm going to screw it on until it snugs up.
And now I'll tighten it up with this special tool.
I need an adjustable on the other side...
Here we go.
I'm going to wedge it against the vise so I don't have to hold it with two hands.
With these, you can only do so much torquing with it. Cause otherwise it wants to skip out.
Okay. That's the installation of a tri-groove nut.
You can't put anything on this to remove it; it's all round. You have to have this tool to take it off.
That's what's key to this nut.
You can put this where you can't get to the head
There are installations where you won't be able to access the head, so you can't put anything on it,
but, if you can, you would use a security screw with another type of security fastener to put it in place.
SUch as a torx with a pin in the center.
You can't take a wrench like this and take if off because what happens is the nut's been designed so you just slide.
Now, let's try the ultimate to get this off...This is a vice grip.
If anything's going to take it off, it's going to be this.
So let's see if we can do it.i haven't tried this but I'm gonna give it a shot.
I'm trying to grab it on the top ridge of it...
I'm gonna try and lock the vice grip; see if it holds.
Ah, see what happens is, once I apply pressure, it starts to slide off.
So let's see if I can get it this way...no.
There's not enough lip on the top to be able to use the vice grip to grab it.
Even this way I can't grab it.
So there's basically no way to get this off unless you have the tool.
It's too smooth, there's nothing for the vice grip to grab. This is the tool if you're going to use anything to get this off,
without having the right tool which is this socket with the tri-grooves in the socket, and that would take it off or put it on.
I'm gonna take it off now.
As you can see, if you have the right tool, you can remove it.
So I have here a break away security nut.
Basically it has a nut that is an integral part of the process when they made this.
There is a weak point, right here, at the neck.
So as pressure gets put on the nut side to tighten it, that will break away from the security cone nut.
Now this is almost the same as a tri-groove nut but it doesn't have the grooves in it to remove it down the road.
So there's gonna be only one way to remove this nut:
You're gonna have to take an abrasive, you'll have to cut the ends, or put some type of groove in it,
so you can get a flat head screwdriver in it or a vice grip around it.
So I'm gonna demonstrate this now, the installation, and how it breaks away.
So I'm gonna put a bolt in here and hand turn this on. Like that.
I'm gonna snug it up. Now this is for demonstrative purposes.
These particular break away nuts are used a lot in street signs.
So if you go out into the street and look at the signs, you'll find them there.
So I have this snug right now on this piece of steel and I'm going to start to tighten it.
Once it reaches to a certain pressure, it's gonna break. You're gonna watch that happen right here.
I'm just gonna turn it...
...and the other side is turning on me. So I'm going to hold it and now it's gonna...
...pop off.
And that's what you have when you're all said and done.
And this is the nut part that snapped off. Now you're not gonna get this off.
Unless you use a grinder with an abrasive and you cut grooves in it and then take it off with a wrench.
So it's a process.
So I have my cordless grinder with an abrasive wheel on it and I'm gonna cut a groove on this side and the other side.
No matter what you do, you can't grip it. So we have to create something to grip it.
So we're gonna cut the end there a little bit to flatten it out and then see how we do.
So I did one side over here. I'm going to do the other side now.
As you can see there: it's cut so we can get a wrench on it. That only took me about a minute, minute and a half.
I'm gonna stick a vice grip on it...and we're gonna turn it.
There it is.
I've taken it off. Took me a couple of minutes just to get it off.
And that's how you would remove a security nut without any grooves to use a tool on it.