DIY Budget Steel Borden Connector

Hey Team,

Here's another DIY. I wanted to make my own steel borden connector so this is what I came up with for a quick cost effective way of making one. If you have the right tools this took me all of 30 minutes to make and cost $0.97. The tools I used were a 1/2" x 8" Steel Galvanized Anchor Bolt, an angle grinder or band saw, bench grinder, a drill, vise grip, and steel wool. I figured the diameter of the Borden by matching a 23/64 drill bit against the cast borden that was attached to my GMH. The drill bits I used to make the holes in the borden were 9/64 for the big hole, 5/64 for the medium hole, and 1/16 for the small hole. This was my first attemp. I may make a few more and choose the most accurate looking one.

Attached are pictures of the procedure.

Sorry I missed the first photo shot of the Galvanized Anchor Bolt complete so here is an image of a smaller anchor bolt next to the galvanized 1/2" x 8" already cut.
Cut below the threads of the anchor bolt with an angle grinder or band saw if available.


This is the tedious part. Using a bench grinder slowly and evenly spin the anchor bolt around and around frequently checking the diameter to your 23/64 drill bit. Try and maintain an even depth while grinding to create a nice shelf the 1/2 diameter of the anchor bolt. This will make for easy installation of the connector when finished.


Drill your large hole as straight as possible the depth of the borden stopping just shy of the shelf. Use reference pictures.


Drill your other two holes as straight as possible the depth of the borden stopping just shy of the shelf. Use reference pictures.




Cut just below the shelf with an angle grinder or band saw if available.




Use steel wool to polish and smooth out any imperfections.


The shelf helps keep the borden from falling out and makes for easy installment using JB weld.






Again, this was my first attempt but I think it came out pretty good.
I hope this helps some other doityourselfers

Awesome work!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A

BobasDent1138 said:

Awesome work!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A

Click to expand...

Thanks 1138! I hope more people try it!

Wow. That was fantastic.

I took a few hours today fashioning one out of cardboard. It works, but not like that.

It's off to menards in the morning.

A couple questions. The Borden connector itself is 23/64? I'll have to pick that bit up. How thick is your Borden from the top face to the shelf? I'm having trouble eyeballing it from pics and yours looks spot on.

Lastly, any special bits I should pick up to cut out the holes nice and clean like that?

Thanks and great job!

I did this the other day and detailed it in my WIP thread. I'll go over a few pitfalls I ran into to hopefully help anyone else out.

First, if you have the tools, this really is a simple fix for a Borden. Thanks for this WIP. It's excellent.

Okay, make sure you get the 1/2" X 8" bolt. I bought the 6". There are multiple bordens you could make with either, but the 8" bolt will make the turning process much much easier.

Next, make sure you have something to cut the metal with. I used my chop saw with my metal cutting blade. Bad idea. While it worked, the thing gets incredibly hot and takes forever to get through. But it worked.

My grind wheels are about an inch wide. You don't need that much. Grind about 1/2 to 3/4 of the wheel.

Lastly, since the bolt is round, I just ground it until I could read 3/8" across the top in most all directions. It's only 1/64" bigger than the recommended, but readable on any tape measure.

Also, when drilling the 1/16" hole, make sure to start slow, don't push, and make sure your drill is set to spin as fast as possible.

JSmails said:

Wow. That was fantastic.

I took a few hours today fashioning one out of cardboard. It works, but not like that.

It's off to menards in the morning.

A couple questions. The Borden connector itself is 23/64? I'll have to pick that bit up. How thick is your Borden from the top face to the shelf? I'm having trouble eyeballing it from pics and yours looks spot on.

Lastly, any special bits I should pick up to cut out the holes nice and clean like that?

Thanks and great job!

Click to expand...

Sorry about the delayed response. I didn't see your post for some reason. Anyways I measured it right at 5/16 to the shelf. I haven't installed it yet since I'm still doing the paint job on my lid but I am probably going to use a washer on top of the shelf because from what I can tell, looking at reference pictures, at the size it is now it may stick out just a little too much.



Yes I matched the diameter of the borden to 23/64.

Yeah, I ended up grinding about an inch to the shelf, which was WAY too much. I cut it off then ground it way down from behind.

As it turns out, having too much of a connector, even after grinding, worked out okay as it is in there solid and the back piece that portrudes into the mask I just covered with hot glue. That thing isn't going anywhere.

I just eyeballed how much of the connector should stick out from the mask. I'm sure I left too much out, but it's good enough for me. And it's a HUGE improvement over the cardboard connector I did.

Thanks for the DIY WIP.

JSmails said:

I did this the other day and detailed it in my WIP thread. I'll go over a few pitfalls I ran into to hopefully help anyone else out.

First, if you have the tools, this really is a simple fix for a Borden. Thanks for this WIP. It's excellent.

Okay, make sure you get the 1/2" X 8" bolt. I bought the 6". There are multiple bordens you could make with either, but the 8" bolt will make the turning process much much easier.

Next, make sure you have something to cut the metal with. I used my chop saw with my metal cutting blade. Bad idea. While it worked, the thing gets incredibly hot and takes forever to get through. But it worked.

My grind wheels are about an inch wide. You don't need that much. Grind about 1/2 to 3/4 of the wheel.

Lastly, since the bolt is round, I just ground it until I could read 3/8" across the top in most all directions. It's only 1/64" bigger than the recommended, but readable on any tape measure.

Also, when drilling the 1/16" hole, make sure to start slow, don't push, and make sure your drill is set to spin as fast as possible.

Click to expand...

Thanks for Chiming in and trying this out yourself! Do you have any pictures of your borden?

Great point on getting the 8" for turning purposes. I've only ever tried the 8" for the sole purpose that if I messed up I would have extra to start over.

Good to know you can use a chop saw even if it does get really hot. How long did it take you to get through? I first tried an angle grinder which worked but fortunately I have a nice band saw so it literally took 10 seconds with that.

I'm not sure which drill bits I have at the moment so I'll have to find out. I do know that they were brand new and worked very well.

My Borden is in my WIP.

http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f20/jsmails-semi-accurate-rotj-boba-wip-53622/

I have an old Ryobi miter saw that I put a metal blade in for cutting golf shafts. Works great.

1/2" solid metal? It took like 30 seconds with stopping and rotating it a bit etc. The metal got so hot it melted my safety work gloves. It also melted the plastic shelf where the blade goes into the saw. HOT. Lol.

For metal bits I just picked up a small set of them at Menards for like $8.99. The 1/16" snapped on me but I had a different 1/16" I finished the job with.

I remember when mine fell to the ground after cutting it I thought, I'm just gonna leave it on the concrete for a couple minutes. Lol. Good decision.

Yeah I just remember asking the gentleman at the hardware store for the strongest drill bits. I've snapped a bit before, and man unless you have backups that will ruin your fun.

JSmails said:

My Borden is in my WIP.

http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f20/jsmails-semi-accurate-rotj-boba-wip-53622/

I have an old Ryobi miter saw that I put a metal blade in for cutting golf shafts. Works great.

1/2" solid metal? It took like 30 seconds with stopping and rotating it a bit etc. The metal got so hot it melted my safety work gloves. It also melted the plastic shelf where the blade goes into the saw. HOT. Lol.

For metal bits I just picked up a small set of them at Menards for like $8.99. The 1/16" snapped on me but I had a different 1/16" I finished the job with.

Click to expand...

That is really cool such a small part that makes such a big difference.

When I stuck it in the hole from the cast borden that came with the helmet for the first time it made it seem like a whole new helmet. It is such a small detail that makes such a big impact on the feel if you ask me. I should be actually installing it this week in my lid now that I'm so close to finishing the paint job. I can't wait to post Pictures