Stainless nuts and bolts - a word to the wise
Posted: 28 Jul 2012, 21:49
Ask any engineer (mechanical preferably) about using s/s nuts and bolts and they will probably mention the phenomena known as "galling" where the like materials of nut and bolt basically cold-weld to each other, especially in close-fitting threaded parts.
By way of a demonstration, these two wound together easily but within a few turns seized solid. Reversal and brute force resulted in this:
The simple application of an anti-sieze compound, such a copperslip, would have prevented this happening since it creates a dissimilar material barrier between the s/s components.
How did I do this? Simple: working too fast and forgot to grease the last bolt as I was working my way around the roof bars
Every day's a school day!
By way of a demonstration, these two wound together easily but within a few turns seized solid. Reversal and brute force resulted in this:
The simple application of an anti-sieze compound, such a copperslip, would have prevented this happening since it creates a dissimilar material barrier between the s/s components.
How did I do this? Simple: working too fast and forgot to grease the last bolt as I was working my way around the roof bars
Every day's a school day!