What's your favorite online place to order bolts/washers?

[BobbyFord]

I've never had a stainless steel fastener fail. I don't use them to replace grade 5 or 8 bolts.

[eggman918]

ENCO caters to machine shop accessory/tooling they are prompt.they carry high end stuff as well Chinese,labeled accordingly,Polish and checz tools are a good choice for the money.
web site is www.use-enco.com check it out

[shaggys_bump]

We also use McMaster-Carr where i work at, extremely good choice to order you hardware from.
the only problem i have ever had was when i received one of my socket sets it was missing the 18mm socket, but after a quick phone call they had it to me the next morning. im sure it was a problem from Proto instead of McMaster.

[basketcase0302]

We also use McMaster-Carr where i work at

I've also used them for many years.

[Alvin in AZ]

"all corrosion is electrical" - Richard "Curly" Hastings metallurgist

Curly also said...
"when adding stainless steel bolts or other parts, the corrosion problems will often get worse"

Just wanted to let you guys know that, so if you see a corrosion problem and you figure you
can "fix it" with added stainless steel parts or bolts you might want to re-think it? ;)
-Might- is the key word there, ok? ;)

You've seen it in action a jillion times... chrome plated wheels with rusted spots all over 'em.
"the iron is, in a way, sacrificing itself to protect the chromium" -Curly
"tin plating is like chromium plating that way" -Curly
Opposite effect...
"zinc or aluminum plating will sacrifice themselves to protect the iron" -Curly

So what'd I do?
Put stainless steel bolts and washers in place of the original zinc plated ones on my mirror! LOL :)
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/mirror1.jpg
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/mirror2.jpg
But see?
The mirror's frame is stainless steel in this case, so the iron bolts and their zinc plating were
catching hell. So now, it's only the inside of the door that's catching hell. LOL :)

See how it works? :)
The corrosion is just put off onto some other part but at the same time -prob'ly made worse-
by having a bigger electrical-difference in the "poles of the corrosion battery" you set up when
you add stainless bolts and chromium plated parts etc.

Not looking to get you to take your stainless steel bolts off anything, just want you to know
what's going on is all. :)

So why is Cr plating is so bad?
Is it really the Cu and Ni plating underneath it that's causing all the trouble?
http://www.ipfw.edu/chem/104/kimble/Activity.htm

Alvin in AZ

[BobbyFord]

That's why ocean going vessels have zinc plates in the bilge.

[Alvin in AZ]

That's why ocean going vessels have zinc plates in the bilge.

Only stuff like that I'm familiar with is in Mexico and they have
hunks of zinc bolted to the outside of the hull. :)

And pipelines use "cathodic protection" which is a small electric
current going into the pipe and then bleeding off into the dirt. :)
Where there's no power lines, they use big hunks of buried zinc.

Alvin in AZ

[flyboy71]

Ive never ordered from these guys but they had a decent tent at Carlisle last year and they had the stainless fender bolts and clips I plan to use later.

http://www.homeprofasteners.com/index.php

[Dirty Offio]

another good site for hardware is Fastenal. If they have a store near you, they are usually really good to deal with.

www.fastenal.com

I needed some square headed bolts (for an olde tractor I am working on)fastener store in town said they could get them, for $4.80 each. Fastenal got them faster for $0.80 per bolt. I was stoked! I used to work on Wind turbines, when we needed bolts there they were usually huge and metric. Fastenal almost always got them for us. (try to find a 36 mm bolt sometime! )