Folks Of Interest Anybody Else have a Bolt hoard or Bolt hoarding problem?

Ha,ha, my idea exactly. Basically with my projects it's against the rules to buy anything new, the main exception is bearings. The challenge is to use what's on hand, swap or pay minimally for parts I don't have and build everything else. I generally come pretty close.

 

Yeah, I understand about parts. I'm very careful not to crash this old machine. If I tear up a couple of gears I'll be looking for another old lathe. Luckily the old flat leather drive belt I had made for it 25 years ago is stretched enough that it slips under a big load, so it won't allow me to work it really hard.

 

The only time it is a problem is when you do not have a hoard.

 

There was a way, back in the day, to kick start your hoard in my area. All of us, rich and poor handy, or want to be handy, shopped at a place called "The Whoopee Bowl". Had miles of green metal drawr units, thousands of mayo jars, Gerber baby food jars, coffee cans - any container imaginable - all filled with the wildest assortment of cast-offs from industry, old stashes - you name.

I've looked before for pics of the old place, sadly, most others were like me and never realized what a part of our history and existence it was.

 

This molasses bath you speak of what is it i know alotta guys said use a blast cabinate to clean up the bolts but there must be another way to clean off the layered grease and gunk.?

 

I think i now have a new goal!!!!! and thank you for all the stories/ advice!!

 

Yes, I probably have 50lbs of hardware in between house/wood screws/sheet metal screws... But I am not a hoarder because I use them. I have even gone as far as sort my car hardware by thread pitch as I have both metric and standard for my non hamb friendly vehicles... Really handy to have.

 

A soak in molasses, or Evaporust, or even your favorite solvent are all good options for that pile or bucket of old fasteners you want to hang onto, but I have found that an hour in a good rock tumbler filled with hot water, Tide laundry powder and Dawn dish washing liquid turns out the nicest, cleanest metal parts of anything I have tried.
Some claim the tumble damages the threads on screws and bolts but mine always come out like new, with no thread binding at all. It must have something to do with the speed or construction of the tumbler barrel?

 

Rock tumbler....? What is this, like a small vibratory cleaner or something....

 

Mine is an old one from a local gem shop, but I had a home made one before I found this one that worked good too. Think of a fairly water tight barrel the size of a mail box, and a double reduction belt drive to turn it about 30 rpm.

 

OK I will have to try those methods when it gets warmer here in good old PA

 

Guilty!

My bolt hoarding problem is when I can't find that special one that...

I knew I had
I can't believe I would have been stupid enough to throw away
I can believe I put somewhere safe

Yet I am inexplicably unable to locate





Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I am glad I do not throw away fitting for brake lines since I had to splice the line going to the rear wheels on a car today and had plenty in stock.

 

Some tumblers use a vibrating action, but the cheaper, more common ones simply rotate, and those are what you want for cleaning bolts.

Rock tumblers come in a huge range of sizes, from a quart up to fifty gallons. One gallon sizes are most common, and probably most useful for cleaning up nuts and bolts. The one Fan Attic showed is larger than most. Most of them are small enough to sit on a benchtop, then store on a shelf out of your way. Check your local craigslist. The best built and longest lasting brands are Lortone and Star Diamond. They will outlast you. Using a rock tumbler is a bit like throwing the bolts into a stream and letting the moving water and rocks abrade the dirt and grease away. A few hours in a tumbler won't damage the threads, but a couple days in the tumbler might start to damage them. A few hours in a tumbler with a grease-busting soap or solvent should be plenty to wear off the grease and dirt.

I just threw a batch of mildly greasy bolts and nuts into a small tumbler (quart size) with some hot water and a squirt of soap. I'll post a photo of how they come out of the tumbler after a few hours.

 

As promised:

I put this batch of greasy bolts that came off a '55 Studebaker into the rock tumbler, filled it about halfway with hot water, and a tablespoon of dish soap. I've never done this before, since I guess I don't mind using old greasy bolts. I suspect I'll be doing this routinely from now on, since it cleaned up the bolts beautifully with almost no effort. None of the threads were damaged after two hours in the tumbler. The nuts run on and off effortlessly now, almost like new nuts and bolts. The looks didn't change much in the two photos of the bolts, but in person, they are night and day cleaner. The water that I poured out of the tumbler was simply black with all the grease that came off after the first hour. After the second hour, with the same amount of soap and water, it was completely black again. Sadly, the photos don't demonstrate how much cleaner the hardware really is.

Before:


During:


After:

 

I got plenty keep a good supply in two bolt bins. and have buckets full. Ive spent many hours in the shop sorting bolts drinking beer and listening to the oldies channel. Not a bad way to spend a inclimate day. when I tear down a junk engine I put all of the bolts in a empty plastic gallon oil jug. put the lid on and label it. I don't clean them just leave them greasy. that way if Im building a engine I know right where a complete set of bolts are and I clean them just before using. I add some diesel to the jug and let the bolts soak a day or so. then clean them with a wire wheel. Im 20 miles from anyplace where you can buy bolts. and I hate spending money.

 

My dad always used to have a bolt hoard, but being by nature painfully tidy his was all set out like an old library card index. I always ascribed that level of tidiness to having way too much energy, and what I'm seeing now seems to confirm that. At 81 my dad is hugely frustrated at no longer having the energy to be painfully tidy.

 

What I have found is that your soap selection is the most important variable to success with this method, and by far the biggest benefit is time and effort to accomplish the goal. If you are starting with some really nasty parts (as long as they are all steel) a pre-soak with "Easy-Off" oven cleaner for 5 minutes, then a tumble for an hour or two in hot water with the Tide and Dawn will clean anything I have ever tried. I do nuts, bolts, washers, screws, brackets, push rods, rockers, rubber parts, really what ever will fit in the barrel that has a little room for dimensional or surface finish variability ( I wouldn't try automatic transmission internals). Adjust your tumble time down for soft metal parts.

"Easy-Off, gets through tough baked on grease"

"Dawn, cleans 2X more greasy dishes"

Note, this will make your grade 5 and lower galvanized fasteners plain steel when you are done.

 

Setting up a new shop. More cabinets to be added for more bolts. These are full and NO metric

 

i think i would be more worried about walls than the nuts and bolts.......

 

I put another batch of bolts through the tumbler. This photo represents two halves of the same bucket of bolts, all of them from dismantling a London Taxi like the one in my avatar. On the right, the dirty half, and on the left, the other half of the bolts from the same bucket, after an hour in the tumbler with nothing but a tablespoon of dish soap and some hot water. I'm a believer!

 

I have that are mine I also have my fathers. However when Brother passed away i found an old tool box he had that every old nut bolt and fastener you could think of . If i need something odd like a clip for a piece of carb linkage he has it there. It has been 15 years and i still turn to his stuff when i am stumped for a connecter or do dad

 

I do but I've started just buying new bulk grade 8 bolts. I used to just reuse bolts if their grade is adequate but I started worrying about fatigue on important parts so that's what I use the new bolts on. Old recycled adequate rated bolts go on non-critical areas. My old bolt stash is kinda thin these days, though.

 

I don't see the hoarding as a problem. Finding it when I need it is a different story. I soak them in vinegar to de-rust and that works pretty good.

 

I'm tired of this thread, so I'll just mention hoarding Craftsman Tools.

There, that orter do it.

 

Best pic I could find. I use old Prince Albert Tobacco tins and old coffee cans I find at auctions to keep nuts, bolts, chain, fasteners, nails, etc

 

key words--setting up. That picture was day 1. This is the next day Still need more walls

 

I'm on my second tin wash tub of nuts and bolts. I had one when I lived in Texas that my buddy would bring me bolts, nuts and washers that had been swept up off the floor where he worked to add to the collection and Early one Sunday Morning I woke up to noise in the garage and went out to see what was going on and he was digging though the washtub with my 110 lb German Shepard leaning against him watching. I still think he came and got that dog some early mornings to ride around town with him as the got along pretty well.
I've got another tin washtub in the garage full of bolts and stuff and who knows how many coffee cans full in the sheds.

 

I save all those odd sized nuts and bolts that came from a particular car . All the mechanics I know save them also . They got me out of a bind more than once !

 

Manyolcars, I like your priorities.