Topic: What grade bolt?

[neale_rs]

The Atlas rear support ring the shop ordered took too long to arrive so one was fabricated.  It turned out pretty good but we are having trouble finding a grade 5 or better 7" bolt to go through the bottom bushings.  We found a 12 mm bolt in grade 8 but something a bit thicker would have less play in the bushing sleeves.  Grade 2 bolts in 7" x 1/2" are readily available but higher grade seems to be hard to find for bolts longer than 6".

Here is a picture to show what this thing looks like (this is not the locally fabbed one but it is pretty similar):



So the question is:  Would a grade 2 bolt be good enough for this?

[aw12345]

Here ya go order away.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-cap-screws/=gc471b

Don't know if they ship to Mexico, a good local bolt ore hardware place should be able to get a bolt like that for ya

[neale_rs]

Thanks, lol.  It could be ordered but I could get the grade 2 right away.

You would be amazed how hard it is to find some things here, the yellow pages aren't much help, few businesses have web pages, a lot of times it's just word of mouth and a lot of driving around in heavy traffic that helps you locate something. I've already been to a specialized bolt store and they only had up to 6" bolts in grade 5.  Grade 8 is actually pretty hard to find anywhere, most bolts are referred to just as grade or non-grade. Hardware stores here have only the cheapest bolts you can imagine, probably grade 1 and they rust as soon as you step out of the store!  It's a whole different world down here!

[aw12345]

Well for special needs find a supplier in the US that will ship to your part of Mexico.
For some small stuff I could always order it and stick it in a flatrate mailbox with the US mail

[sharpxmen]

the M12 is fine, you don't need it snug as the sleeve is the one holding the bushing and not the bolt, the bolt only tightens the sides against the sleeve. I wouldn't use grade 2.

[neale_rs]

Well for special needs find a supplier in the US that will ship to your part of Mexico.
For some small stuff I could always order it and stick it in a flatrate mailbox with the US mail

Thanks, I appreciate the offer.

[neale_rs]

the M12 is fine, you don't need it snug as the sleeve is the one holding the bushing and not the bolt, the bolt only tightens the sides against the sleeve. I wouldn't use grade 2.

So the sleeve will be kept in place by the pressure from the sides. Ok, sounds like the 12 mm might be good enough then.  But I'll still keep looking around as time permits.  Thanks

[neale_rs]

Just for entertainment, I found a 7" grade 8 bolt listed by Grainger, which has a store here.  They list a price of 600 pesos.  That's about 46 USD. 

How can they get away with this?  Well, let's say a company (lots of manufacturing companies here in Monterrey) needs it to get a machine fixed and they can either lose a lot of money on lost production or lose a relatively small amount on a bolt...so Grainger gets to sell a bolt for 46 bucks!

[sharpxmen]

Just for entertainment, I found a 7" grade 8 bolt listed by Grainger, which has a store here.  They list a price of 600 pesos.  That's about 46 USD. 

How can they get away with this?  Well, let's say a company (lots of manufacturing companies here in Monterrey) needs it to get a machine fixed and they can either lose a lot of money on lost production or lose a relatively small amount on a bolt...so Grainger gets to sell a bolt for 46 bucks!

at that price you can probably make one for way cheaper. retail here for one of those it's about $4 something, from a distributor it's probably around $1 or maybe even less.

[neale_rs]

Maybe I could buy a rod (metal scrap stores are all over the place here) and use a die to cut threads on both ends.  How would I know or ask for the right type of material?

[aka-justin]

American Materials Co. in Lake Elsinore CA is awesome. My bro-in-law used to work there and they have ready access to a ton of specialty bolts and nuts - or can get them quick. Its a tight nit family and they have awesome customer service. Could always try giving them a call during the week and see about the shipping to Mexico?

http://www.americanmaterialcompany.com/

1200 W. Flint St
Lake Elsinore, CA 92530
Phone (951) 674-1160

[sharpxmen]

Maybe I could buy a rod (metal scrap stores are all over the place here) and use a die to cut threads on both ends.  How would I know or ask for the right type of material?

take a file with you and run it over the rod, you can tell which one is treated and which is soft steel, but then it's a matter if you can cut the threads. You can ask for tool steel, the rods are usually precision ground and you can tell that by looking at it, you can cut threads in that one if it's not heat treated and is strong enough but i'm not sure if you can find it at a metal scrap yard (probably you could but it's finding a needle in a haystack). might be easier to find a sleeve that is 12mm ID and turn it to your needed OD if it's thick enough or the other way around (drill out to the desired ID, but since is long you'd need a machine shop to do it unless you find something pre-drilled and you can run a larger bit thru it from both ends).

[neale_rs]

American Materials Co. in Lake Elsinore CA is awesome. My bro-in-law used to work there and they have ready access to a ton of specialty bolts and nuts - or can get them quick. Its a tight nit family and they have awesome customer service. Could always try giving them a call during the week and see about the shipping to Mexico?

http://www.americanmaterialcompany.com/

1200 W. Flint St
Lake Elsinore, CA 92530
Phone (951) 674-1160

Thanks, this would be a good source.

[neale_rs]

take a file with you and run it over the rod, you can tell which one is treated and which is soft steel, but then it's a matter if you can cut the threads. You can ask for tool steel, the rods are usually precision ground and you can tell that by looking at it, you can cut threads in that one if it's not heat treated and is strong enough but i'm not sure if you can find it at a metal scrap yard (probably you could but it's finding a needle in a haystack). might be easier to find a sleeve that is 12mm ID and turn it to your needed OD if it's thick enough or the other way around (drill out to the desired ID, but since is long you'd need a machine shop to do it unless you find something pre-drilled and you can run a larger bit thru it from both ends).

Thanks for that information.

I finally found a 1/2" bolt this weekend, I was driving and suddenly saw a bolt and metal store and decided to cut across a few lanes or traffic and see what they had. 

Got it installed and now it seems the fabricator did not put a sleeve all the way across so now I'm on a search for sleeve material.  It just goes on and on!

[aw12345]

That pretty much sums up the story of fabbing up custom Jeeps, you run into fitment issues all over the place, keeps the mind active lol