Taking Great Care of My Factory

Locating The Right Bolts And Fasteners For Your Project Needs

31 August 2021

Deann Hunter

When you need a specific fastener for the project you are working on, you need to know where to look for it. Often fasteners like hex head bolts are available from home centers and hardware stores, but there are some specialty bolts that you may need to seek out online or through a specialty fastener supplier.

Specialty Bolts 

When you are using hex head bolts that are made from non-standard materials, they can be harder to locate than standard bolts. While the majority of hex head bolts made are steel or an alloy like stainless steel, there are also bolts made from aluminum, brass, titanium, and other materials. 

Finding these alternative bolts often means working with a fastener supplier that deals in hard-to-find fasteners or one that has some resources for old or custom-made fasteners. Most of these bolts are used for a very specific purpose, and may need to be soft enough to shear off to protect equipment, or need some specific properties to avoid corrosion and rust over time.

Heat Treated Bolts

If you are looking for hex head bolts that are heat-treated to a specific hardness level or tensile strength, you will need to find a vendor or supplier that works with these types of fasteners. Often you may need to turn to a large supplier that handles many different fasteners for many different purposes. 

There are also some specialty fastener suppliers online that offer hardened hex head bolts and other hardware that may offer the ones you need. You may find a hardened hex bolt at your local hardware store or home center up to a grade five hardness level but seldom do they go beyond that. 

If you need a hex head bolt harder than grade five, you may need to find a shop that can make and custom harden the bolts for you to ensure you get the right strength and durability from the fastener. Often hardened bolts need to also be annealed to remove any brittle characteristics that are picked up in the hardening process. 

Thread Pitch And Design

Some hex head fasteners have a very fine thread on them or use a reverse thread to counter loosening during rotation of the part they are securing. Fine thread hex head bolts are common in applications that require the bolt to stay in place, and in soft materials like aluminum or brass. 

The fine threads are smaller but because there are so many threads they spread the stress over more surface area and are typically stronger bolts. If you are looking for fine thread hex head bolts, take one with you to the store because several thread pitches could be used on the bolt, and is it important to match them up correctly.

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