Screw material

[fieldwrangler]

Fellas -

How do we know what the heck these commonly available screws are made of? Somehow the generic term "alloy steel" doesn't fill me with confidence.

Is there a consistent difference between the materials used in zinc plated, chrome plated, & black oxide fasteners?

Bob Palmieri

[enkindler]

Fellas -

How do we know what the heck these commonly available screws are made of? Somehow the generic term "alloy steel" doesn't fill me with confidence.

Is there a consistent difference between the materials used in zinc plated, chrome plated, & black oxide fasteners?

Bob Palmieri

In this country any steel bolt that does not tell you the exact alloy should be assumed to be what ever scrap was delivered to Nucor steel that day.

It is tested and is good for strength but if you need a particular alloy you need to buy them as marked.

Obviously most of the world cares about the physical properties so Proof load, yield and tensile strength are know but the chemical makeup of the steel is not.

In the sizes of SAE bolts we use is that grade 8 will at least be medium carbon anything unmarked may be low carbon steel, I don't think they make Grade 5 in small fasteners.

[belwar]

In this country any steel bolt that does not tell you the exact alloy should be assumed to be what ever scrap was delivered to Nucor steel that day.

I dont nessesarily agree with that, most any fastener you buy meets some ASTM standard. We just dont know which one most of the time. If your thing is super paf accuracy then off the shelf is not for you, but if you just want to make diffent function/form good sounding pickups there is nothing wrong with shelf fasteners. Heck look at the use of set screws, lots of people make great sounding hex screw pickups and those are almost always off the shelf hex screws. If you find one you like have it checked out and know for sure. It's like $50 a sample to know for sure. I'd bet than many of the cheap screws are 1008, 1010. Other alloys will be the leaded steels like 12L14 which I like alot.

[enkindler]

I dont nessesarily agree with that, most any fastener you buy meets some ASTM standard. We just dont know which one most of the time. If your thing is super paf accuracy then off the shelf is not for you, but if you just want to make diffent function/form good sounding pickups there is nothing wrong with shelf fasteners. Heck look at the use of set screws, lots of people make great sounding hex screw pickups and those are almost always off the shelf hex screws. If you find one you like have it checked out and know for sure. It's like $50 a sample to know for sure. I'd bet than many of the cheap screws are 1008, 1010. Other alloys will be the leaded steels like 12L14 which I like alot.

I made no claim about how suitable they were for the purpose, only on what type of material they were made of, if you do not specify an alloy you will get a grade 2, Nucor is the largest recycler in the country and they do produce a lot of bolts.


I just claimed that if you wanted to know what your material is you should buy it based on that spec, SAE grade 1 and 2 and ASTM Grades A&B are low to medium carbon steel, I would bet that would be the "real deal"

I have not tested low carbon steel screws for tone however socket cap hex screws were designed for high-torque applications and it would be logical that they would not use low carbon steel.

[fieldwrangler]

I have not tested low carbon steel screws for tone however socket cap hex screws were designed for high-torque applications and it would be logical that they would not use low carbon steel.

This was my rough assumption as well.

[belwar]

I made no claim about how suitable they were for the purpose, only on what type of material they were made of, if you do not specify an alloy you will get a grade 2, Nucor is the largest recycler in the country and they do produce a lot of bolts.

Understood - My primary problem was with the statement "should be assumed to be what ever scrap was delivered to Nucor steel that day". To me (and I may be missinterpreting) the statement reads as "They throw whatever they have that day into the batch" and I dont believe that can be the case because there is so much emphasis on standards these days.

The rest of what I said was me talking out of my ass.

[captcoolaid]

You ask or read description that should be posted of the screw.

[big_teee]

Understood - My primary problem was with the statement "should be assumed to be what ever scrap was delivered to Nucor steel that day". To me (and I may be missinterpreting) the statement reads as "They throw whatever they have that day into the batch" and I dont believe that can be the case because there is so much emphasis on standards these days.

The rest of what I said was me talking out of my ass.

The Nucor Company is ISO9000 certified, then they do have to follow strict standards.
I worked in the Telecom Biz and we were ISO certified, It does make you follow strict standards.
I found this!
"Nucor has distinguished itself as a leading producer of quality steel and steel products. Many Nucor locations are ISO 9000 Certified. Nucor employees are committed to providing customers with the highest quality levels at the most competitive prices. And, while steel and steel products are Nucor's business, the real business of Nucor is its commitment to each and every customer on each and every order".
Terry

[enkindler]

The Nucor Company is ISO9000 certified, then they do have to follow strict standards.
I worked in the Telecom Biz and we were ISO certified, It does make you follow strict standards.
I found this!
"Nucor has distinguished itself as a leading producer of quality steel and steel products. Many Nucor locations are ISO 9000 Certified. Nucor employees are committed to providing customers with the highest quality levels at the most competitive prices. And, while steel and steel products are Nucor's business, the real business of Nucor is its commitment to each and every customer on each and every order".
Terry

There are dozens of high quality steels that are from scrap, most would greatly exceed the requirements for the lower grades of bolts, no one is questioning the quality of materials Nucor uses but the EXACT material does depend on what is being recycled.

If you care enough about the EXACT makeup of screws the only way to know what type you will get is to buy a fastener that is sold as a particular alloy.

There is no set alloy for the lower grade bolts, and there it still depends on if there are Nissan Sentras or a Cutless 88 on the trucks driving into the plant that day.

Of course Nucor does a fine job in steel production, that has nothing to do with the original question.

There is no set "alloy" for the grades of bolts people are buying, they produce steel based on cost and spec.