Boasting over four thousand manufacturers in the United States, tens of thousands of jobs, and over $25 billion in revenue, the nuts and bolts hardware manufacturer business is alive and booming. Many manufactured products require a supply of nuts and bolts to keep the item securely and safely put together. Determining the tool and fastener supply that will be needed is a vital step in assembling machinery, furniture, or any item that will have regular use. For example, hex flange bolts are fairly universal in projects requiring parts to be held together with medium support, while you may consider using plow bolts for less generic projects and for a stronger, industrial bond. There are a few interesting nuts and bolts facts that you may not have come across in your assembly experience. For example:
- There is a standard for screws size that makes them easy to find and match with whatever project you need them for, regardless of the place of purchase or manufacturer. All screws are given a number, the higher the number the larger the screw size
- The standards screws referred to as “Machine Screws” have a range of sizes that go up to .75in (9.05mm)
- You may be familiar with the screwdriver heads referred to as “Phillips Head” vs “Flat Head”, but originally only the Flat Headed version existed, and subsequently, only screws with a single slot were used
- Screws in the earliest form were made of wood and were used to press olives to make oil, grapes to make wine, and clothes for cleaning and drying purposes
- Depending on the size and material being fastened together, different materials of screws ma be used. For example a “lag screw” is made of wood and used in bringing wooden materials while you would use large metal plow bolts for less novice projects, such as the construction of work machinery and vehicles
Be sure to consult an owners manual or directions to fasten the correct nut and bolts to a product safely.
