Topic: Hardened STEEL , not chinese junk?

[74cb750]

hI aLL,

Just had a problem w/ a Chinese "#8 Hardened" steel bolt. It broke off w/ less than 35foot pounds of torque! Who sells real hardened steel bolts made in the USA?

[HondaMan]

hI aLL,

Just had a problem w/ a Chinese "#8 Hardened" steel bolt. It broke off w/ less than 35foot pounds of torque! Who sells real hardened steel bolts made in the USA?

NOW you're starting to see the bigger problem!
Oddly enough, Japanese-made bolts are better than most you will find in hardware stores, etc. If you can get aircraft-qualified bolts, even better, but hard to find...

[scottly]

hI aLL,

Just had a problem w/ a Chinese "#8 Hardened" steel bolt. It broke off w/ less than 35foot pounds of torque! Who sells real hardened steel bolts made in the USA?

What size was the bolt?

[74cb750]

the bolt was holding the sissy bar my wife was resting on...I believe it was 12cm x 1.25pitch or larger, not sure.  What I am sure of is the slap across the head I got after the bolt hit and she almost felll off at almost double the speed limit.
Ordered a tool to measure thread/bolt sizes, so I'll be sure, and stop guessing.

[Hoosier Honda]

Not sure where they are sourced from, but I have been using www.boltdepot.com for home and work and have never had any problems. I use a lot of grade 8 bolts for industrial equipment that I make.
Plus you can order by the piece with them instead of lot quantities.

[Don R]

 On problem with today's steel is we aren't making new steel. Most of it has been re-cycled multiple times and contains metals that are difficult to remove. I read that the most desirable steel has low radioactivity indicating it was made before the nuclear age and was new steel when made. (Pre WW2)  The local factory buildings were removed and the structural steel re-cycled.

[Alan F.]

Tractor Supply Company and MSC both disclose country of origin.

[ofreen]

hI aLL,

Just had a problem w/ a Chinese "#8 Hardened" steel bolt. It broke off w/ less than 35foot pounds of torque! Who sells real hardened steel bolts made in the USA?

Just curious, if you still have the bolt, could you provide close up photos of both sides of the break?

[calj737]

I’d love to understand how you measured the torque when your wife was seated, weight against the sissy bar when it broke and you were doing 2x allowable speed limit? That’s an incredibly interesting mixture of variables 

[BenelliSEI]

When I need good hardware for our race cars, I visit my local airport. There is a small company there that does maintenance on aircraft and has counter sales for others. One of the guys is an off road motorcyclist! Years ago, set me up with a few old catalogues and spec sheets, so I learned the ordering protocol for spec hardware.

This stuff is not cheap, but when I want really excellent hardware (nuts, bolts, wire, cable pins, rivets and just about anything else), I head there, with lots of CASH.

[754]

Yeah there is a few spots on bikes where fastener  choice is critical... choosing wrong can be life changing.
 So dont be buying every thing at a big box store. USE a BOLT PLACE for CRITICAL Fasteners.
 Good thing on custom bikes , you can use a lot of easier to source standard, get a good grade..

[74cb750]

Tractor Supply Company and MSC both disclose country of origin.

yep, and sodoes the local ACE hardware store, which went all Chinese a few years back. No thanks, unless the bolts/nuts are not for critical applications.

[74cb750]

hI aLL,

Just had a problem w/ a Chinese "#8 Hardened" steel bolt. It broke off w/ less than 35foot pounds of torque! Who sells real hardened steel bolts made in the USA?

Just curious, if you still have the bolt, could you provide close up photos of both sides of the break?

Not any more as I drilled and tapped the hole in the frame welded nut and threw away the bolt as far as i could throw it. ha ha

[74cb750]

When I need good hardware for our race cars, I visit my local airport. There is a small company there that does maintenance on aircraft and has counter sales for others. One of the guys is an off road motorcyclist! Years ago, set me up with a few old catalogues and spec sheets, so I learned the ordering protocol for spec hardware.

This stuff is not cheap, but when I want really excellent hardware (nuts, bolts, wire, cable pins, rivets and just about anything else), I head there, with lots of CASH.

That's really interesting, never thought of it. Now if only the guys at the local airport would answer the telepone once in a while. Seriously, last saturday I went to buy fuel at 11:30 am, calling several times to get in with no answer. The maintainace guy finally comes out at 12:00hrs to go to lunch to let me in. Guess I'll just have to go during lunch time as they DON"T like people walking up to the hangers where they hang out. ;-) Found that out the hard way last year, but maybe it's worth it. I will check it  out. Thank you.

[74cb750]

Not sure where they are sourced from, but I have been using www.boltdepot.com for home and work and have never had any problems. I use a lot of grade 8 bolts for industrial equipment that I make.
Plus you can order by the piece with them instead of lot quantities.

will try these guys on your say so..... ;-) michel and hope the wife does not have a reason to slap me upside the helmet again at 100+mph.

[HondaMan]

I went looking thru some tables, and max torque I can find for the 8mm hard bolts is 28 ft-lbs. Did you have a spec that shows more?

[74cb750]

I’d love to understand how you measured the torque when your wife was seated, weight against the sissy bar when it broke and you were doing 2x allowable speed limit? That’s an incredibly interesting mixture of variables 

ha ha ha

[74cb750]

I went looking thru some tables, and max torque I can find for the 8mm hard bolts is 28 ft-lbs. Did you have a spec that shows more?

I said "...the bolt was holding the sissy bar my wife was resting on...I believe it was 12cm x 1.25pitch or" not 8mm.