Where do you guys find your bolts?

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The Whitworth thread form has a 27.5 degree angle. Unified thread is at 30 degrees.
In real life this difference doesn't matter .
D Smith is fussiest motorcycle machinist I know and he uses his 30 degree tooling on everything British.
He says it works just fine, just worry about getting the TPI and major diameter correct
Right now he is restoring a very rough BSA Super Flash. He was a bit disgusted to find that the previous owner had used " hardware store unified bolts" wherever possible.
Another friend found similar on his 37 Rudge Ulster he recently purchased.
He felt it might be a war crime to commit such an act.
Both will replace all Unified bolts with original TPI types.
I could use their castoffs on the Norton Commando and remain almost sin free!

Glen
 
If anyone wishes to know what has what thread then they are welcome to ring or email me at work where I will check against the drawing. We all would prefer the correct threaded fastener to be used, if you sell the bike the new owner may thank you for doing so.

I would imagine some of the older fastener suppliers in the Midlands would still have stock of original 60's and 70's made fasteners. There is one trade supplier I visit that has steel pallets of fasteners that have not been moved in that time and can't remember what is in them.

Wish I had a pound for all the times I have been asked about the Commando front wheel spindle thread!

Personally, I like the old fasteners if they can still be had.
 
If you are in the US and you want "Whitworth" fasteners (perhaps better referred to as "Imperial" fasteners since Whitworth is just one among many "British" thread forms including - just for maximum confusion - the metric BA form) I highly recommend, https://britishfasteners.com/ The website is very informative.
 
I was going to replate all of my steel parts myself. It took about three weeks to realize that I am too lazy. I’ve replaced pretty much every fastener with AN parts from Old Britts. A credit card on file and just keep ordering. Ella is wonderful and Fred answers my questions. God help me if I ever add up my slips. My next build is a Moto Guzzi custom. I’m going to use all stainless metric hardware. Can’t wait. Good luck Norcoastal.
 
I had assumed some time ago that the term Whitworth is used (mainly by our American cousins) to described bolts that use Whitworth spanners (wrenches).

British Standards for Whitworth (BSW), fine (BSF) and cycle (BSC) all have the same flats, meaning a 1/4” BS spanner will fit a 1/4” BSW, BSF and BSC, they all therefore use the so called ‘Whitworth’ spanners. They should really be called British Standard (BS) or imperial spanners.

So, and owner of a 70s Brit bike really needs 3 sets of spanners: unified, imperial and metric.
 
Where do you guys find your bolts?
Fast Eddie said:
British Standards for Whitworth (BSW), fine (BSF) and cycle (BSC) all have the same flats, meaning a 1/4” BS spanner will fit a 1/4” BSW, BSF and BSC,
Click to expand...

Not quite Nigel. Normally BSF heads are smaller than BSW heads so a 1/4 BSW bolt will need a 5/16 BSF Spanner.

I've had a discussion with a vintage Bentley owner I do some framework for (he owns six including one of the ones made to homogolate the Birkin blower for racing).
He doesn't believe BSF is Whitworth at all.
He didn't convince me neither did I him.
He sort of won the discussion though because...well he owns half a dozen Bentleys and I don't.
 
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recently, I have started a compartment box of SAMPLE bolts with labels, for quick comparison. saves time.
 
Dommie Nator said:
I've had a discussion with a vintage Bentley owner I do some framework for (he owns six including one of the ones made to homogolate the Birkin blower for racing).
He doesn't believe BSF is Whitworth at all.
Click to expand...

BSF is a: "Parallel Screw Thread of Whitworth Form" conforming to BS 84 (1918 and later revisions) which states (1956 revision):

"This revised British Standard has been prepared, under the authority of the Mechanical Engineering Industry Standards Committee, to supersede BS 84:1940, “Screw threads of Whitworth form”. It applies to threads of Whitworth form used for general engineering purposes and is not intended to apply to special applications such as those requiring interference fits.
The standard includes tables of basic sizes, limits and tolerances for British Standard Whitworth (B.S.W.) and British Standard Fine (B.S.F.) screw threads."
 
Fast Eddie said:
British Standards for Whitworth (BSW), fine (BSF) and cycle (BSC) all have the same flats, meaning a 1/4” BS spanner will fit a 1/4” BSW, BSF and BSC, they all therefore use the so called ‘Whitworth’ spanners. They should really be called British Standard (BS) or imperial spanners.

So, and owner of a 70s Brit bike really needs 3 sets of spanners: unified, imperial and metric.
Click to expand...
Dommie Nator said:
Not quite Nigel. Normally BSF heads are smaller than BSW heads so a 1/4 BSW bolt will need a 5/16 BSF Spanner.

I've had a discussion with a vintage Bentley owner I do some framework for (he owns six including one of the ones made to homogolate the Birkin blower for racing).
He doesn't believe BSF is Whitworth at all.
He didn't convince me neither did I him.
He sort of won the discussion though because...well he owns half a dozen Bentleys and I don't.
Click to expand...
Re the Bentlry owner; how does his car bolt together then?
 
Bernhard said:
Re the Bentlry owner; how does his car bolt together then?
Click to expand...
Where do you guys find your bolts?


The fixings I have used were BSF but I only do Ash frame work to chassis nothing mechanical. The discussion came about because I asked for a Whitworth spanner and he said he didn't have any, only BSF.
 
[QUOTE="Dommie Nator, post: 453803, member:

I've had a discussion with a vintage Bentley owner I do some framework for (he owns six including one of the ones made to homogolate the Birkin blower for racing).
He doesn't believe BSF is Whitworth at all.
He didn't convince me neither did I him.
He sort of won the discussion though because...well he owns half a dozen Bentleys and I don't.[/QUOTE]
No doubt he only drinks Martini cocktails, shaken not stirred!
 
Most of the hardware on the SS clone is stainless steel purchased at the local hardware store.

Gearbox cover screws and some engine fasteners are the only oddballs. Lots of 1/4 x 20 stuff.
 
A stable of ludicrously expensive Bentleys is an indication of having, at least at one time, a healthy bank balance, or good access to someone elses!

It is not an indication of the breadth or veracity of the information stored or processed between the ears!
 
From memory (on holiday so can't check/verify) there are at least seven different thread/thread forms on my Mk 3
Unf
Unc
Whitworth
Bsf
Bsc (British standard cycle)
B.A.
Metric. (at least two other locations as well as the obvious spark plug)

I often say to others a commando has to have the most variety of spanners than any other bike!
 
SteveA said:
A stable of ludicrously expensive Bentleys is an indication of having, at least at one time, a healthy bank balance, or good access to someone elses!

It is not an indication of the breadth or veracity of the information stored or processed between the ears!
Click to expand...

A self made man from not a lot of means.
When anyone tells you "There's no money in haulage" disbelieve them.

Fair bloke though because when I gave him an invoice for working on his Bentley he laughed and gave it me back...
He said I wasn't charging him enough.
 
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