| Author | Message | ||
     Fullpower |
best new year greetings from Alaska. project is adding CityX handguards to my wifes Ducati. would like to use aluminum fasteners. any one know where i can find aluminum metric bolts? say about 8mm by 110mm. also metric nyloc nuts. thanks for the tips. cheers. dean | ||
| Spiderman |
why not use Stainless? Or are u looking to save a few milliounces  | ||
| Whodom |
Fullpower- check McMaster-Carr (industrial supplier). They have just about any kind of fastener you could want. | ||
| Bluzm2 |
I just stroll on down to my local hardware store! They've got just about every fastner I've ever needed. | ||
| Fullpower |
ok bluz: next stroll down check-see if they have a couple (2) aluminum M8-1.00mm x 100mm length hex head OR allen head screws. titanium wouild be a possibility also, if not ridiculous in price. stainless metric nylock hex nuts would also be required. price check please. thanks. dean | ||
| Harley_jethro |
You could try "Small Parts Inc" if you have no luck locally. An alternative to the aluminum may be nylon but I agree with the stainless suggestion. Here's the link - www.smallparts.com | ||
| Benm2 |
http://www.racebolts.com M8 x 100 might be tough. That's a pretty long bolt. Are you sure you need them that long? Are they really that long for handguards? McMaster-Carr or MSC Industrial will work for stainless or galvanized. Good luck! | ||
| Harley_jethro |
Good thought on MSC Industrial. It is easier to call them vs trying to search the on line catalog. You may be able to get stainless 8mm x 100 clamp studs from them. We have a measuring machine that uses 10mm and the kit came from MSC. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
I would not use aluminum bolts in this application. They are only one-third the strength of stainless under the best of conditions, and are very brittle by comparison. They also are rather far apart from normal steel on the galvanic scale, and tend to corrode in a way that makes them impossible to remove. The reason that you may be having trouble finding them might just be because they have very few applications, and none in the motorcycle or automotive world. They really are only useful for static low load applications connecting one aluminum part to another. Even there, anti-seize treated stainless fasteners are the normal selection. | ||
| Fullpower |
Gentlejon: I actually want them to be of inferior strength, were something to snag them, or otherwise go awry, i wish for the handguards to breakaway, leaving the master cylinder, and balance of the expensive Ducati parts intact. I have decided to use 5/16 aluminum rod, which is very inexpensive, and thread them 5/16 -24 apllying nylock nuts to each end. instant custom length aluminum fastener. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Now I see what you had in mind. Good idea. 5/16" might be a bit large. You could put it in a vise and try hitting it with a hammer and dull chisel to test for shear strength. At that diameter, Nylon might do the job, and be a lot easier to remove in case of breakage. One thing to keep in mind here, is how to remove the fastener if they do in fact break off in an incident. Because of the corrosion problem mentioned above, you might want to use a zinc anti-seize specifically designed for steel and aluminum, otherwise you may not be able to remove the fastener even with an easy out. The anti-seize used on the Buell axles should do the job. Best thing of course, is to keep the shiny side up  | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Dean, Still want me to check? Won't have much luck on the Ti stuff however. Brad | ||
| Fullpower |
hey Bluz: just ordered a 6 foot stick of Aluminum rod from MSC. only 4 bucks or so. going to thread the ends and use nylock nuts. should have some left over to play with. Thanks. dean | ||
| Vr1203 |
Heres a chart to show different tensile strengths http://www.geocities.com/dtmcbride/home_garden/bolts.html And aluminum bolts, notice 7075 aluminum is as strong as mild steel. http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.ACCT40184/sc.8/category.-108/.f |
