GarryP
Senior Member
I've had to order some bolts and other fasteners recently. Then today I had to research fastener selections at work. Here are some basics*I learned.
The most common SS fasteners are broadly classified as 18-8 (18% chromium, 8% nickel) which usually means 304 SS. These are good for fresh water and less challenging (interior)*marine use. These are probably the handrail fasteners that generate rust streaks.* www.boltdepot.com is a good online source for these. This is what you'll get at WM and the big box stores.
The next upgrade is 316 SS which has a little less chromium but with the addition of 2-3% Molybdenum is more corrosion resistant in a marine environment. They are more expensive but applications like anchor roller bolts should probably be 316 SS.
www.Fastenal.com is a good online source for higher grade and specialty fasteners. They also have a lot of local stores since they supply construction and manufacturing industries but don't have weekend access like WM or the big box home supplies. They also seem to have good prices on other supplies such as 5/16 HT chain at 3.03 per foot.
Here are two references on SS materials:
http://www.ssina.com/download_a_file/fasteners.pdf
http://www.ssina.com/download_a_file/designguidelines.pdf
-- Edited by GarryP on Thursday 4th of August 2011 06:10:57 AM
The most common SS fasteners are broadly classified as 18-8 (18% chromium, 8% nickel) which usually means 304 SS. These are good for fresh water and less challenging (interior)*marine use. These are probably the handrail fasteners that generate rust streaks.* www.boltdepot.com is a good online source for these. This is what you'll get at WM and the big box stores.
The next upgrade is 316 SS which has a little less chromium but with the addition of 2-3% Molybdenum is more corrosion resistant in a marine environment. They are more expensive but applications like anchor roller bolts should probably be 316 SS.
www.Fastenal.com is a good online source for higher grade and specialty fasteners. They also have a lot of local stores since they supply construction and manufacturing industries but don't have weekend access like WM or the big box home supplies. They also seem to have good prices on other supplies such as 5/16 HT chain at 3.03 per foot.
Here are two references on SS materials:
http://www.ssina.com/download_a_file/fasteners.pdf
http://www.ssina.com/download_a_file/designguidelines.pdf
-- Edited by GarryP on Thursday 4th of August 2011 06:10:57 AM
