Best source for unusual bolts?

For instance: I'm looking for a grade 8 hex-head bolt 1/2-20 x 1 1/2" long half-threaded, half unthreaded. So far I haven't been able to match that up. If I had something close I could probably get it to work.

Is there some awesome source out there?

uneedabolt

I usually start at McMaster, then Fastenal, then punt to the uneeda type stuff. Even ebay.

In the exact case you have - I have had to buy a longer bolt and cut it or buy a full thread and turn it. In fact, I just had to do that for a flywheel a few weeks ago. It's very annoying and time consuming.

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/menus/ha/fast.html

FYI - Fastenal supplies my company with fasteners. They are very low quality. I don't recommend them.

In reply to bravenrace:

That is good to know. I've sourced things like grade 5 and 8 4mm cap screws to 12x1.5 in odd thread lengths but they were not for anything where they would be loaded to capacity.

What sort of quality issues are you dealing with? Porous castings or something like that causing failure or poor machining causing headaches using them?

I'd been leaning towards Mcmaster Carr and cutting bolts down, but Aircraft Spruce has some very useful configurations up to 1/2". Pre-drilled for safety wire too. Thanks for that.

I'm surprised to hear that about Fastenall. They aren't my favorite hardware source, but I haven't had any bad experiences with them.

We have a Fastenal, literally within walking distance, from where I work, yet we buy ALL our fasteners thru McMaster-Carr. Quality and price.

All stock fasteners we get from Fastenal are from China. The biggest problem I see is inconsistency. They get the stuff from anywhere they can. That may be more of a issue for a company than an individual. The other thing is poor coatings, and poor thread tolerances. I've never checked the hardness, but have suspicions that sometimes the hardened fasteners wouldn't meet the Rockwell hardness rating for the given grade. When I need something high quality, I can get it, but I have to take my Fastenal rep aside, show him what I need it for, and specify every characteristic of the fastener that I expect, including the country of manufacture.

On a different note: I've got another condition where the threaded portion of a rod end is 5/8" but the eyelet portion needs to accept a 16mm shaft. now the difference in diameters is only about .015, but that inner sleeve is hardened steel and not easily clamped. Does anyone have a recommendation on how to ream that out?

In reply to Kreb:

Turn the shaft down?

BrokenYugo wrote: In reply to Kreb: Turn the shaft down?

Defeats the purpose. The shaft has to fit snugly in a casting

I've been ordering stuff from McMaster-Carr for my current build. The quality has been good (almost everything made in US/Canada) and the cost reasonable. The only issue I have with them is that if you only need 2 bolts, they only come in boxes of 25 or 50 which drives up the initial cost. I'll eventually use them, and the total cost is less than buying individual crappy bolts from Lowes.

Pegasus Racing also sells some quality hardware.

Kreb wrote:

BrokenYugo wrote: In reply to Kreb: Turn the shaft down?

Defeats the purpose. The shaft has to fit snugly in a casting

Metric rod end with the proper hole or bigger inch rod end with a sleeve pressed in.

Tractor supply has alot of grade 8 hardware.

To the op, it sounds like you need a shoulder bolt.

I've been buying a lot of my metric fasteners from Belmetric because they have reasonable pricing and fast cheap shipping to Canada.

Can't speak too much to the quality, I've mostly just used them so far to replace non-chassis fasteners on my projects.

In reply to Kreb:

If you find a source for quality fasteners in the bay area please post it here or PM me. There used to be a hardware store in San Carlos that specialized nuts, bolts, and fasteners. They had a huge amount of stuff in stock and they let you walk through stacks to find what you needed. They had quality stuff. They would sell in as small a quantity as you wanted to buy. They closed about 5 years ago. I miss the place.

There are specialized fastener places in San Jose and South San Francisco. I have not done a road trip to explore yet.

Bowlin Equipment in Berkeley is my favorite fastener house

Where are you located?

Kreb wrote: Bowlin Equipment in Berkeley is my favorite fastener house Where are you located?

Redwood City

Standard thread length on a 1/2-20 <6" long is 1-1/4" so you would need at least 2" to get the 3/4" shoulder and cut down the threads to length.

For AN bolts, Pegasus Racing Supply or eBay.

For nearly anything else, McMaster-Carr.

An amazing resource for metric automotive-specific hardware is Belmetric.

When you have a couple hours free, go digest the whole website. Stuff you always wondered where it came from.

I've had great experiences with a small outfit in north Jersey called "Mutual Screw & Supply"

https://www.mutualscrew.com/

I was rebuilding a set of 3-piece Epsilon wheels for my old E30 and needed grade 8 bolts with a weird size/pitch and anti-corrosive coating. The guys at Mutual were able to hook me up. First-rate customer service and the price wasn't bad either.

LanEvo wrote: "Mutual Screw & Supply"

Great name!

I know the past 2 companies I've worked for have used these Applied Guys and while they're reps are slow as dirt usually they have some of the best bolts and especially spray paint you can get.

$0.73 each

https://www.boltdepot.com/Hex_bolts_Zinc_plated_grade_8_steel_yellow_1_2-20.aspx