Iâm in the USA in a major city, and I have to buy all my bolts online. The local stores only carry FUB which is not very useful for vehicle engineering/construction/repair. Almost always I need or prefer metricâŠ
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Great info Mike, thank you. Iâve been using these stores for 3 years and the products have been very good so far and not expensive.
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I think thereâs some standardized torque for screws based on size, type and material. Iâm starting to use torque control tools for fasteners, figuring Iâll maximize torque and reduce chances of stripping.
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Thereâs is and there are. Good idea, I mostly do it by feel, but torque wrench are nice.
Oh, I remember. Truss head screws have a very wide head, making washers unnecessary. I like these for truck hardware.
Use socket heads where you can too. They are pretty hard to stripâŠ
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Another maner special bookmark post. Nicely done sir.
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If you are looking for a good source of hardware check out https://www.mcmaster.com
They have anything you could want in any grade or material for the most part.
I am extremely lucky with what I can source locally. Its been commented on before with deep jealousy by @b264. It suits my style of building because I am by nature extremely disorganised and impatient. This completely ruins the internet for me with regard to ordering in a timely manner. What i canât source locally I find an adaptation, for example, my evo runs m6 kitchen cabinet inserts. Built specifically for particle/chip board. I got those bad boys into a rock hard LY deck. Wasnât easy but they are in there and they ainât coming out. Did take 20 to get 8 to work but they were 5 bucks for 20. I do have a wonderful fixing and all things penetration (ooh er) shop in an industrial estate just down the road who have every kind of bolt in every pitch/denomination/material/size and head. 70 year old guy runs it and only takes cash. Card fees are taking the piss apparently. I have witnessed a guy trying to buy a 3000 dollar concrete borer with his credit card and being refused. What he doesnât have I have yet to find. Wonderful. I have a rubber shop that sells all kinds of foam/ gasket material etc etc.
Electronics suppliers that sell xt90âs and silicon wire and bullets even 30q batteries but they are 20 bucks each so we give those a miss but in a pinch? Hobby shops here sell everything.
Point to this rambling is that I am sure that I am not unique in this, I just took the time to find local suppliers to make my life easier but so many of us rely solely on what can be sourced online. Try having a mooch about, you may be surprised. With fasteners and fixings I am quite sure that most of what you need can be found a stones throw away if you look.
Daren helpful if slightly smug rant over
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A quick tangent regarding my earlier mention of threadlockers/retaining compounds:
The strength you get out of them is often highly dependent on the surfaces theyâre sticking to - bare steel is best, zinc chromate is worse, and brass/stainless/aluminum are worse still. Iâm talking a 75% decrease from bare steel to brass in some cases.
Many are also quite sensitive to the size of the gap theyâre filling! the strength of loctite 290 (a very thin, wicking threadlocker designed to be applied after parts are already assembled) for example, loses 60% of itâs strength if used in a 0.15mm gap compared to a 0.05mm gap.
TLDR: You have to know what youâre using, and what you should and shouldnât expect out of it. Read the datasheets, they have pictures.
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Donât forget primer 
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This is very important as is knowing whether the lock is anerobic or aerobic. Some blues are meant to be left to cure open and then act like nyloc. Some the thinner varieties will only cure if tightened.
Datasheets. Or indeed the instructions on the bottle. I know the instructions are usually a last resort to any red blooded male.
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And solvent to remove the dirt/grease/old loctite. (This is one of the reasons I like 243: itâs less sensitive to dirty conditions and it reaches nearly full strength on most metal surfaces.)
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douse everything in medical alcohol. then set fire to it. Perfectly sterile. Then you can do what you want with it.
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Great details on the mechanical properties of fasteners. A lot of people also get confused when it comes to stainless steel fasteners - here is a guide on the different stainless steel grade options and where they are used and also the strength properties of stainless fasteners.
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Good info for sure! Anything high stress, get grade 8 or better. Donât buy the grade 5 hardware from Loweâs for anything other than lights and enclosures.
I have purchased hardware in bulk from aliexpress for reasonable prices. Iâve used McMaster and granger. I also use monster bolts eBay store. Theyâve got a big selection and quick shipping.
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If I can dig up this thread as well, thanks a ton @mmaner this is great info.
In addition to the excellent info on type, material, grades, and finishes, a gap in this discussion I noticed is appropriate torque values.
Especially when using fasteners on rotating machinery or in a vibration heavy environment (skateboarding being a perfect example), torquing down your fasteners can go a long way to keeping everything firmly affixed. Just about every fastener on your car, mountain bike, and motorcycle has a torque spec; why wouldnât you use the same philosophy on your board. Additionally, torque wrenches arenât very expensive, especially compared to the general cost of this hobby.
Machineryâs Handbook 26th Edition - Fasteners:
Tightening Bolts: Bolts are often tightened by applying torque to the head or nut, which causes the bolt to stretch. The stretching results in bolt tension or preload, which is the force that holds a joint together.
âŠ
High preload tension helps keep bolts tight, increases joint strength, creates friction between parts to resist shear, and improves the fatigue resistance of bolted connections.
If we want to get technical, measuring the elongation of the fastener while tightening is on average, a good bit more accurate than using a torque wrench, but thatâs not always physically possible or convenient.
Correct torque value is affected by many variables - ambient temp, lubrication, thread lockers, fastener grade and material, head type, finish, intended load, washers, etc.
That said, we can use a torque table to get more accurate than âhand-tightâ. Fastenal has a really thorough guide, broken out by size, head style, and material:
Most common use case for us is probably the truck mounting bolts:
| SIZE | TPI | STYLE | MATERIAL | GRADE | Finish | Torque | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #10 | 32 UNF (Fine) | Button Head | Medium Carbon Steel | Grade 5 (120ksi tensile strength - medium) | Zinc | 48-60 in-lbs DRY* | https://www.mcmaster.com/91306A714/ |
*This assumes youâre using locknuts, not loctite, and youâre adequately spreading the load with washers so you donât risk damage to the deck.
If youâre concerned about any of your nuts rattling loose over time, or especially if youâve had issues before, you may try whatâs called torque striping/sealing. Itâs an instant visual indication of tightness. You can buy specialty high-viz compounds for this (or just start with a sharpie).
On a related note, this is why Iâve almost completely stopped using phillips or flat head fasteners - too easy to strip and you cannot reliably measure their tightness.
Note #2: When choosing screws, I generally aim for zinc-plated, alloy steel, hex drive. Theyâre higher strength than stainless, and zinc is a better coating than black oxide, which Iâve seen rust regularly in humid conditions.
This may be overkill, but itâs good to at least be aware of when and how to use a torque wrench. Hope it helps someone.
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I think this is the way to go actually â
worth the added cost over making one of these for $8
because it can be easily put in a tool bag, not easily damaged, can be used on fixed/stuck fasteners. I suppose you could add loose fasteners to that diy version to gain that bonus but its a band aid.
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We have a few like this at work
I want one for home right next to all my nuts and bolts but canât justify the price. I think youâre spot on about buying an assortment of nuts and bolts and building your own.
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