Episode 2 – Why Protect Bolts?

Industrial bolts are a type of high strength hardware, used for fastening two or more workpieces together. They are threaded, meaning that they have ridges that wrap around the outside of their shaft in a helical pattern. They make use of nuts to secure them to surfaces. While screws have threads as well, they usually fasten by driving into the connecting materials directly rather than requiring the use of a nut to secure the connection. Think of screws fastening fence boards directly to a two by four vs. a bolt using a nut to fasten a metal bracket to a wooden post or a motor fixed to an automobile frame.

Though bolts were invented around 400 to 200 BC (thanks Archimedes & Archytas), they weren’t widely used until the advent of the Industrial Revolution, around the 18^th century. It was then that thread cutting machinery was invented to mass produce other industrial machinery. Imagine living during the previous 1500+ years when metals, rods, bolts, and threads had to be painstakingly produced by hand!

A more modern industrial world was born with a wide variety of options and fasteners, right?  Well, not exactly. What worked for Bob’s Sewing Machines didn’t exactly fit Thomas’ Train Engines (I see what you did there). Everything was so confusing because there were no standards. The only way to see if a bolt worked was to try it. What if I ordered 2000 bolts and every one was slightly different or the threads were slightly off. Did I really want to try all 2000 to make sure they fit? And what about the 800 or so that didn’t? Where were the standards?  We’ll cover that next time.

Keep in mind that no matter what parts you need to protect, Eagle Pride Supply has mesh netting sleeves to keep them safe during shipping. Diameters range from ¼” all the way up to 12” and the length is up to you. They are available in rolls of tens to thousands of feet or pre-cut to save you valuable time and money.

Thank you IQS for your research source: https://www.iqsdirectory.com/bo