SwampNut Posted December 6, 2023 Share Posted December 6, 2023 Cocksuckers. Also, my mistake for just reaching into the bag and using them. These were sold as wood screws. Look closely. Sheet metal screws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted December 6, 2023 Author Share Posted December 6, 2023 Oh, also the heads are soft as butter. I have really great drivers that lock in perfectly on all other screws, these end up with damage on every use. I was fitting and adjusting, which meant driving and removing, and had to toss them after 1-2 uses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted December 6, 2023 Share Posted December 6, 2023 So now what? You are building high end stuff, maybe it's time for high end fasteners? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted December 6, 2023 Author Share Posted December 6, 2023 I bought actual wood screws. If I knew where to get reliably high end hardware, I'd be all over it. Grainger maybe? Dunno. I got Spax #6x5/8 to finish this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furbird Posted December 6, 2023 Share Posted December 6, 2023 Grainger is a good way to get your head knocked off on pricing. We have a fastener place that's local that gives killer pricing, but they have a minimum buy. I've seen people go in there to buy one bolt for their lawnmower and end up buying 150 because they have to hit $10 minimum. But they go there because they don't sell the bullshit at Lowe's and HD that breaks in 3 seconds. Their parking lot looks like the drive-thru at Chik-Fil-A quite often. I was in there a few years ago because I needed bolts for my transmission jack. Old man and his son were sitting next to me and they needed new bolts for something and it was literally like $1.30. I just said "put it on mine" because that was the situation they were in, about to have to buy like 80 bolts when they only needed 10. I'm sitting over there like "give me the shit they bolt the bridges over Interstate 10 together with" and it was still only $14. I guarantee you there's some place in your town like this, you just gotta find it. And it ain't Grainger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted December 7, 2023 Author Share Posted December 7, 2023 You just need an account to knock off the super high retail. I have access to a couple. Copper State Nut & Bolt probably has options, also expensive. But who gives a fuck if 100 screws cost me $8 or $30? I use nearly no fasteners. That box only needs them for the adjustable faces. Hell, if I really wanted to be GOOD, I'd keep measuring and glue them on. No balls no glory. What's "high quality?" Just don't break. I think the Spax will be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Knievel Posted December 7, 2023 Share Posted December 7, 2023 Happens to the best of us…so you were really overdue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted December 7, 2023 Share Posted December 7, 2023 Those screws remind me of some I got from Hazard Fraught in a 4 drawer cabinet, I just wanted the cabinet. The sheet metal screws were so soft they couldn't bite into very thin sheet metal even with an oversized hole, the threads would just round over. I threw them away after trying to drive one into plastic. The kit also had some 1/4-20 nuts and bolts. The bolts had 10mm heads, lovely, and they broke using about torque one could make using a nut driver. I tossed all the hardware, and later tossed all the crimp connectors also. They achieved something special with those, plastic too hard to crimp without breaking and metal too soft to hold a crimp. The little bit of other hardware I've bought from them has been ok. I wouldn't use them to secure an overhead crane, but they functioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furbird Posted December 7, 2023 Share Posted December 7, 2023 But people actually buy their overhead cranes, so there's that... I think about half of the hardware either stripped or broke on my sandblast cabinet when I assembled it. Good thing I was using the Youtube video where you eliminate several components and assemble it a different way so it's far more usable and actually hinge the entire top instead of that stupid side door bullshit the way they make it. I had plenty of spares since the manual became optional as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted December 11, 2023 Author Share Posted December 11, 2023 I got a threaded rod from Amazon. It came with both ends pre-chingered. I'm not sure if threaded rod should arrive clean like a bolt, I haven't used many, but don't recall having to clean them up before use in the past. It also had a tight area a few inches from the end, but no visible damage. It arrived in a HUGE cardboard box but with no protection, so who knows what happened in transit too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted December 11, 2023 Share Posted December 11, 2023 I've never had one that was buggered up, but never had one delivered. Makes me wonder if it's soft or was beaten to death. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 Supposedly 6mm bolts. When they felt wrong going into the bike, I checked one on my hardened steel thread pitch gauges, and this is the result. Then holding them up to a normal bolt, you can see that over the length of the screw, the pitch is just a tiny bit off. WTF. Also it's truly Chinesium shit metal, soft as aluminum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Genius! The metal is too soft to cause damage from over-tightening and it has a built in thread locking system so that it won't loosen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted January 17 Author Share Posted January 17 Yeah, no more fasteners from Amazon, ever, unless they are branded and sold direct from the brand. In my defense, I got these a while ago along with the batch of all the other bullshit from Amazon. These should get about 14-16nm of torque. I got to 7 when they did this. Now, on the other hand, I was able to get 14 from them with a better tool, these oddly shaped but obviously super effective Wera drivers. So this speaks to the advantage of good drivers too. BUT that doesn't let the fasteners off the hook because the other tool is the one I have used for years on bicycles, to over 14nm, without any issue ever. In fact I love how precise they are so they live on my work cart and get 10x more miles than any others. Oh, yeah, the Amazon fasteners have loose heads too. Almost like a Torx shape but not quite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 Good thing it's only a brake rotor and not something important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 6 hours ago, superhawk996 said: Good thing it's only a brake rotor and not something important. For sure. Junk bolts for holding on body panels or such, brakes, steering, etc., NO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaBr Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 On 1/17/2024 at 12:16 PM, SwampNut said: Almost like a Torx shape but not quite. Those are Allen Keys, torx can be used in their place but can make a mess of the bolt if the size is even a tiny bit out. On the other hand, if an Allen key strips a a slightly oversized torx will usually get it out. I have a coupple of Wera tools, they're a brand I like a lot, not cheap, but very good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted January 26 Author Share Posted January 26 I think you misunderstood. The Allen driver above LOOKS like a Torx but is not. That's Wera's magic shape for a regular hex/Allen. It's extremely effective. They will not fit in a Torx, and the same set has both so it's obvious which is which. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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