Specialty Fasteneres for custom Mahogany Dash "pad" please advise

[darkone]

hey all. with a good bit of elbow grease ive made myself a dash pad from a mahogany glu lam i pressed about 6 months alo. is been varnished with marine quality UV protectant about 10 times or so, and wetsanded to perfection

on to the qustion:

If youre familiar with the dash pad on our trucks, you know that there are several threaded "pegs" that run from the top thru the dash to secure the dash pad. There are also 2 pegs (one on either side) which run front to back. these 2 i have enough depth to burry a small anchor in, but, the ones running from top down, i dont. I wouldnt feel comfortable playing with more than 1/8" as far as tapping. so im wondering what my other options are. maybe there are some specialty fasteneres of sorts, or super magnets, or a glue technique that could be recommended. anyway, any help would be much appreciated. thanks in advance for the help!

[71swb4x4]

If it was mine I would run your anchors in the middle too, but run it in the deeper parts of the wood and not the edge where it goes on the factory dash. This will mean you will have to drill new holes in the metal part of the dash for the anchor to go through but that shouldn't be a big deal because a factory dash would cover those holes too.

[70shortfleet]

Nice job, it looks great, but will it pass inspection?

[71sierragrande]

If you access behind the dash,(through the middle vent hole , glovebox, and gauge panel) you can use the holes on the front of the dash. You could line up the pad to the dash and mark on the back side of the pad where about five of the holes are. Get some bolt studs that have a wood screw on one end and a bolt on the other. Drill pilot holes in the back of the mahogany, screw the wood screw in, and nut it using washers from behind the dash. No fasteners will be seen at all for a clean look.

[68C15]

are you considering the different expansion rates of the mahogany and the metal dash? if it's mounted tight it may warp or split.

[WAAF]

I'd use threaded incerts that look like helicoils they make for wood that you'd glue in..
then use screws with a washer and light springs tighten the screw down but letting the spring hold it tight to metal dash.. this will allow for the wood to swell and shrink but still stay tight to the dash. and not split.
blue lock tight on the threads so the screws/bolt doesn't back out but can be removed if need be (don't use the red lock tight).. and felt on the wood side that touches the metal dash so it will not squeak/creek..

[71sierragrande]

The felt pads used for the bottom of table legs work well as a spacer/buffer at each contact point. Put the bolts right thru them so they cant move.