?? about bolts where to buy

[Madmandav]

I notice that in most people's builds they are using new gold colored grade 5 bolts. The only place around here where you can buy bolts by the pound is Rural King and their grade 5 bolts are a weird purple color. Their grade 3's are gold but I don't want to use grade 3. Where do you guys get yours?

[LockDoc]

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Where I get my bolts the purple ones are grade 8, the gold ones are grade 5, and the silver ones are grade 2, or common. If I remember correctly, the grade 8 have 5 bars on the head, the grade 5 have 3 bars on the head and grade 2 don't have any bars on the head.... Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

LockDoc

[chris71]

http://www.fastenal.com/

go under the locations tab and find the nearest one to you, if they dont have your bolts, not many places will

[cdowns]

unless grade 8 is required i go with marine grade stainless wherever possible/i get them local at boat places or nut and bolt shops that are all over the place down here
check in your yellow pages under fasteners

[TonyJohnson]

I was just reading in a FAQ somewhere that good bolts were plentiful and cheap at local John Deeres...

[sameyrasmea72]

That's funny, The only grade 8 I can find are all gold!!

[Dingfodgy]

If you are in a rural area without a well-stocked hardware store close by.....get yourself a McMaster-Carr cataloge. They have anything a wrench-turnin' freak could ever want. When it comes to fasteners, you might have to buy some things in bulk but most others you can get onesy-twosey. But you will need to plan ahead 'cause it can take a couple days for the shipping. If you're doing a frame off or are simply swappin' out stuff on a regular basis- it's a good idea to buy in bulk for the more common sizes especially if you want stainless, black oxide, flanged heads, or allen head......it's hella cheaper than you're local ACE and very often the local stores mix and match between various suppliers whose products look slightly different- which is really annoying to an Anal Retentive Perfectionist like myself.

[TonyJohnson]

Good call. Check out their online catalog... http://www.mcmaster.com/

An assortment I'd like to have in my garage: check out part number 91350A112 for $157. 910 pieces of grade 8.

[mahanian]

The gold is a zinc coating to protect from the elements, you can find grade 5 and grade 8 in zinc

The rule of thumb I grew up with is all suspension and brake parts and seat mounting hardware should be grade 8, all other load bearing fasteners are grade 5, the rest (like fender mounting) are Stainless steel

[Wrenchbender Ret]

I use grade 8 for everything. My local Ace hardware has a good selection. Like Chris says Fastenal is a good place. The one I deal with is very helpful.

[weav1]

Tsc Tractor Supply Co Grade 8 Are Gold Grade 5 Are Gold With Green Tint I Used Grade 8 On My Frame They Were Like $3.29 A Pound Cant Beat That

[Madmandav]

Yeah, after I thought about it today I realized I was wrong on the grades. 8 is what I am looking for to put the suspention back together but I think it would look stupid with those purple ones and I don't want to step down to grade 5. I think there may be an ACE store somewhere in town. Would much rather buy by the pound than by the piece.

[Sequoyah]

I've gone to Fastenal here in NM for most of the Grade 8 bolts...Home Depot and Lowe's for a couple of others.

[PanelDeland]

Check for an "Automotive Fasteners" store near you.I have one here in NC and really like their bolts.Can't say the same for their service OTC but hey the bolts are worth it.

[IvelDesigns]

Originally Posted by weav1

Tsc Tractor Supply Co Grade 8 Are Gold Grade 5 Are Gold With Green Tint I Used Grade 8 On My Frame They Were Like $3.29 A Pound Cant Beat That

yup, that's where i got mine.

[Wreckless_71]

Yup fastenal works good we use a place around here called Vancouver Bolt... just add 3 to the bars on the head of the bolt and that gives you the grade, I'm not sure about anything less than grade 5. Mostly we use 5, 8, and Caterpiller and Komatsu's use 10.9 so there are a a lot of those around the shop. Also I think that metric is 10.9 standard grade? The Grade 8's are just a black finish, and the same goes with the Grade 5 fasteners, though you can get them in a zinc coated finish.

[special-K]

For general hardware I go to my local TSC and stock up by the pound.I buy specialty hardware wherever I find it.The Yellow Pages from a sizeable city will have listings.
The only reliable way to grade a bolt is by the industry standardized markings on the head.Any given company will vary the plating for an easy way to tell them apart at a glance,like a gross.Also.the nuts and washers aren`t marked,so the difference in finish helps keep those with their proper bolts.

[Madmandav]

I got some from Tractor Supply today but they had NO 7/16 sizes in grade 8, not even bins for them. What the heck???

[msgross]

Originally Posted by Madmandav

I got some from Tractor Supply today but they had NO 7/16 sizes in grade 8, not even bins for them. What the heck???

yep, I got all my bolts from tractor supply but they don't carry some sizes. Luckily our truck frames take 3/8th bolts ( i think, its been awhile) and they carry lots of those. The only bolts I had to go buy where the engine out 7/16 and the rear leaf spring bolts that were big (and TSC didn't carry them either) Other than that I saved a ton of money with tractor supply bulk grade 8 (gold) bolts.