Head Steady Allen bolts

DogT · Jul 16, 2013

Where can I get longer Allen head bolts, the originals are 3/4" and I need maybe another 1/4" or so since I have a home made heim joint head steady and added a plate to accept the MKIII spring. I'd prefer SS if possible. 5/16-22BSFx1 would be great. I'll take plated ones too.

Time Warp · Jul 16, 2013

?

http://www.mcmaster.com/#

DogT · Jul 16, 2013

No BSF at McMaster. Seems to me I had a lead from some UK suppliers a long time ago, but that small amount would be pricey. Walridge has some hex head but don't want to go there.

rvich · Jul 16, 2013

Maybe you should countersink the headsteady and use the bolts that you have.
Russ

bluemax · Jul 16, 2013

Hmm if you were on our side of the globe you could try

http://www.classicfasteners.com.au/sock ... 6-bsf-x-1/

I think they post overseas.

They have a lot of interesting nuts and bolts

Cheers

L.A.B. · Jul 16, 2013

http://www.britishfasteners.com/index.php

acotrel · Jul 17, 2013

Buy yourself the appropriate die, and cut the ends off very long bolts to make the length you want, and carefully thread them yourself. You don't want plated Allen bolts. They are usually about 90 TSI tensile strength and very susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement from being plated .

DogT · Jul 17, 2013

You got it Larry. They have steel ones for $.50.

DogT · Jul 18, 2013

British Fasteners replied to my question about their allen head 5/16 CEI bolts. The SS is A2 or 304 grade and are in stock, but rather expensive at about $7. The steel ones are not in stock and grade 10.9 which i understand is like grade 8?

Will the 304 be good enough?

They must be related to Caswell plating as I got the message from Jon Caswell and they are in Lyons NY too.

Cheesy · Jul 18, 2013

DogT said:
British Fasteners replied to my question about their allen head 5/16 CEI bolts. The SS is A2 or 304 grade and are in stock, but rather expensive at about $7. The steel ones are not in stock and grade 10.9 which i understand is like grade 8?

Will the 304 be good enough?

They must be related to Caswell plating as I got the message from Jon Caswell and they are in Lyons NY too.

A2 means 304, it depends on the number after as to how strong it is such as A2-50 or A2-70 etc. In terms of strength A2-70 (or A4-70 which is 316) is a little bit stronger than a 5.8 metric bolt. I think you are correct with the grade 8 and 10.9 being similar.

batrider · Jul 18, 2013

DogT said:
British Fasteners replied to my question about their allen head 5/16 CEI bolts. The SS is A2 or 304 grade and are in stock, but rather expensive at about $7.

$7 each or $7 for all three? Well if you need them you need them and if it gets the job done what's 20 bucks? So skip lunch a couple times.

DogT · Jul 18, 2013

$7 each. I'm not worried about the price, I want to know if 304 SS is OK for the bolts.

pete.v · Jul 18, 2013

DogT said:
$7 each. I'm not worried about the price, I want to know if 304 SS is OK for the bolts.

It only need to be as strong as what it's going into.

Nater_Potater · Jul 18, 2013

Cheesy said:
I think you are correct with the grade 8 and 10.9 being similar.

Yep; for us cowboy boot-wearing, cheese-eating Americans, Grade 5 (three head marks) equals M8.0, while Grade 8 (six marks) equals M10.9. They're not perfectly identical, but so close as to not worry about arguing.

gtsun · Jul 19, 2013

Hey you Ask our esteemeemed friend/member Jim Comstock. I have one of his headsteadies from CNW' and if I remember corectly it came with SS Allen head bolts.. Could be wrong, it's been a few years. Glenn.

Rohan · Jul 19, 2013

DogT said:
$7 each. I'm not worried about the price, I want to know if 304 SS is OK for the bolts.

pete.v said:
It only need to be as strong as what it's going into.

Good comment.

Most common grades of stainless steel ( 304, or 316 = marine grade) are barely stronger than mild steel - so only just a little more than a grade 2 bolt
(ie not even marked on the bolt head).

But bolting it into an alloy head, the aluminium alloy is always going to be the weakest bit, so doesn't really matter what the bolt strength is.
Hi-tensile bolts look good there though....

Just don't over-torque them into there though, or you'll find out how strong the alloy threads really are....

DogT · Jul 19, 2013

OK, SS it is. Not that I'll see them in there much.

Cheesy · Jul 19, 2013

Rohan said:
Most common grades of stainless steel ( 304, or 316 = marine grade) are barely stronger than mild steel - so only just a little more than a grade 2 bolt
(ie not even marked on the bolt head).
.

The problem with this statement is that the strength of a SS bolt has little to do with the strength of some stainless sheet even of the same material. The actual heat treatment and or mechanical deformation during processing will have as much influence on the strength of the bolt as the material itself (assuming it is appropriate for the material), hence the fact that you can buy SS bolts in different grades, A2-50, A2-70 and A2-80 or the same in 316 which would be A4-X0

B.Rad · Jul 19, 2013

gidday Dave

gidday Dave

this is in Aussie but google Classic Fasteners. they are in Adelaide South Australia.

have a real good look at their site. they have unf, bsf, british cycle, BA and some british kits, in stainless, high tensile, chrome plated, zinc plated. you name it they got it. if not in the catalog just send a request. they have thousands of products but not all in catalog.

i have dealt with them quite a bit and have no troubles recommending them. well worth a look.

hope this helps
Bradley

Rohan · Jul 19, 2013

Cheesy said:
The problem with this statement is that the strength of a SS bolt has little to do with the strength of some stainless sheet even of the same material. The actual heat treatment and or mechanical deformation during processing will have as much influence on the strength of the bolt as the material itself (assuming it is appropriate for the material), hence the fact that you can buy SS bolts in different grades, A2-50, A2-70 and A2-80 or the same in 316 which would be A4-X0

The stainless bolt makers themselves bandy about numbers in the order of 90,000 psi for common 304 or 316 (marine grade) stuff.
Which is only very slightly more than mild steel numbers..
(Assuming you even get a quality stainless product, not something you can take for granted these days)

You pay a LOT more for anything hi-tensile or superstrong in stainless.
And it doesn't come unmarked on the heads, or in plain boxes.

And when did anyone ever see suppliers of stainless motorcycle bolts quote the actual bolt specs or grade. ??
Aircraft bolts come with pages and pages of their pedigree - and you pay for it. Boy, do you pay for it...

P.S. If you go down the Marina after a windy Sat or Sun afternoon, you can see all the discarded stainless bolts lying about - bent mangled and pulled.
You know when you see them that there is no great strength there, little better than mild steel...

Head Steady Allen bolts

DogT

Time Warp

.......back to the 70's.

DogT

rvich

bluemax

L.A.B.

Moderator

acotrel

DogT

DogT

Cheesy

batrider

DogT

pete.v

Nater_Potater

gtsun

Rohan

DogT

Cheesy

B.Rad

Rohan

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