Loving stainless steel nuts and bolts

[nickel-city-fab]

ARP makes some very nice stuff rated @180,000 psi tensile strength, not cheap though.

The ARP stuff is nice and expensive like you say. I recall they had a chrome-moly bolt or stud set that was rated up to 250,000 PSI. IIRC they were using a high-end VAR 4340 or some such. But then again not many can lay claim to holding the crankshaft in a dragster.

[Willy]

The ARP stuff is nice and expensive like you say. I recall they had a chrome-moly bolt or stud set that was rated up to 250,000 PSI. IIRC they were using a high-end VAR 4340 or some such. But then again not many can lay claim to holding the crankshaft in a dragster.

Yes I believe they have an alloy now for that application rated at up to 310,000 PSI, I'm sure those are more than a buck or two a pop!
If you're looking for a really good and informative read on the metallurgy,science, and engineering behind what makes for quality fasteners order or download their catalog.
The technical section is quite inclusive and an absolute must-read for anyone interested in the design and engineering involved with fasteners in general, not just the ARP branded products.

https://arp-bolts.com/

[nickel-city-fab]

Yes I believe they have an alloy now for that application rated at up to 310,000 PSI, I'm sure those are more than a buck or two a pop!
https://arp-bolts.com/

I'm just real curious what would happen to the properties of the fastener, if they were finished to Clickspring levels of perfection?

[The Metal Butcher]

I'm just real curious what would happen to the properties of the fastener, if they were finished to Clickspring levels of perfection?

They would be better for sure. Surface finish is a major factor for crack propagation.

[Willy]

Not to take anything away from Clickspring but I think it would be hard to beat ARP's quality.
At $55 for one connecting rod bolt these aren't your average barn door bolts. Anything that is technologically possible to increase strength and durability has been incorporated into their top tier fasteners already.
They have some very demanding and fussy clientele in F1 as well as the aerospace industries.

[RB211]

I had a SS bolt and nut seize on my 3D printer, destroyed a part to remove it. No 3D printer to print the part that broke, I now put anti seize on ALL SS hardware.

[Tungsten dipper]

So why does stainless nuts fuse to stainless bolts when TIG welding when you are just welding the bolt?

[projectnut]

I am an old guy and keep my stuff forever.I have a very large selection of stainless nuts and bolts. For the last 20 years or so ,I have been routinely replacing plain steel hardware with stainless ,when I am repairing things.I know that there is an old wives tale about stainless nuts and bolts seizing up. Dont believe it.Now I am not talking about high strength suspension parts.I work on a lot of outdoor stuf ,like mowers ,four wheelers ect, If you cant afford stainless bolts ,try using stainless nuts with plain steel bolts. You can buy ss nuts online almost as cheap as plain steel The next time you take it apart ,you will be smiling..Edwin Dirnbeck

If you've never had them seize you haven't used enough of them. The company I worked for made food processing and packaging systems. We used literally hundreds of thousands of stainless steel fasteners. Most were used in areas that required a daily washdown. The USDA required stainless hardware. In potential food contact areas they had to be 316. In non contact areas they could be 18-8. It was easy to tell if an assembler cheated and didn't use anti- seize (food grade required in food contact areas). It was only a matter of months, and sometimes weeks before fasteners started to seize. In areas where panels had to be removed daily for cleaning mechanics applied new anti seize on a weekly basis.

[Doozer]

Is food grade anti-seize basically lanolin ?
The stuff I used at the grain elevators, that is
basically what it looked like.

-D

[Black Forest]

Not to take anything away from Clickspring but I think it would be hard to beat ARP's quality.
At $55 for one connecting rod bolt these aren't your average barn door bolts. Anything that is technologically possible to increase strength and durability has been incorporated into their top tier fasteners already.
They have some very demanding and fussy clientele in F1 as well as the aerospace industries.

What you be talking about! Barn doors have rights! My barn doors get the best hardware on the planet! (not)

[Black Forest]

I had a horse trailer custom built a million years ago. It was a Luxury Liner 12 horse. It had polished aluminum siding with a stainless steel roof. The company didn't use a gasket between the roof and sides and after one year the aluminum siding was terribly corroded where the two met. I took it back to them and had them replace the siding and put a rubber gasket between the two. After that there never was a problem. That was my first introduction to dissimilar metals in contact! The picture is not of my trailer but mine was nearly just like it except mine had a thermal King AC unit on the front. They were the ultimate in horse transportation back then.

[nickel-city-fab]

Is food grade anti-seize basically lanolin ?
The stuff I used at the grain elevators, that is
basically what it looked like.

-D

Dunno, but I've wanted to melt some lanolin together with lard and try that for screw cutting. One of those recipies you find in 100-yr old machine shop books.

[Willy]

Is food grade anti-seize basically lanolin ?
The stuff I used at the grain elevators, that is
basically what it looked like.

-D

Never tried lanolin, I wonder how that would work?
I have some Locktite food grade anti-seize for SS that I acquired from a welder buddy of mine that was doing some work at a cheese plant and I believe that the main ingredient is molybdenum.

[sid pileski]

These are some of the SS bolts I used in my suspension components when. Built my car. At the time, the largest bolt there was IIRC, was $18.00 each with my dealer discount.
But, they look Awesome.

[nickel-city-fab]

There is one place on a car where SS bolts belong IMHO, that is on the exhaust manifolds. If you've ever had to drill one out while laying on your back, you know what I mean. I replaced mine with SS studs and brass nuts, never a problem since the last 10 yrs.