Need Original Gold Crown Rail Bolts

[fastone371]

A little tech tip, if you ever have trouble with a worn or damaged Phillips head screw get some valve grinding compound used on engines, it has grit in it, just squeeze a little on the head, you would be amazed at the difference it makes when trying to remove Phillips screws with damaged heads, it truly is a lifesaver in the rust belt.

 

[Chip Roberson]

After running the roads playing pool all over the USA back in the 70's I decided to stop living out of Hotel rooms. Went back to school and a business degree was attained, then hit the road again as a salesman with one of the largest hardware firms in the country working primarily with the larger furniture manufacturers. I had one customer that I sold 4 containers a month of an #8X 1/2 pan screw each month for about 5 years..I got to know a lot about fasteners LOL. 37 years at this work as a detective for all types of parts,, when it comes to hardware we are the best in the biz. These stainless parts will be close to case harness, in stainless bolts , they are close to grade 8 , which is automotive hardness and without hydrogen em-brittlement issues which causes most of the lesser grade screws to break. Thanks for the kudos Trent

 

[Chip Roberson]

A little tech tip, if you ever have trouble with a worn or damaged Phillips head screw get some valve grinding compound used on engines, it has grit in it, just squeeze a little on the head, you would be amazed at the difference it makes when trying to remove Phillips screws with damaged heads, it truly is a lifesaver in the rust belt.

Another little tip on trying to remove parts is put the driver in the head and as your turning the part out slowly , be tapping the base of the screwdriver with a hammer at the same time your turning the part,,it's amazing how this will help remove or also make a few extra turns of the part to go deeper.

 

[realkingcobra]

Hi guys,

I need six (6) of the original Gold Crown I rail bolts. They are 3/8-16 x 2" slotted head hex bolts. Yes, they are probably rusty, that's the way I like them!

Willing to pay a reasonable price plus shipping.

Regards,

jv

p.s. Trent, I sent a PM to you on this, I guess you're busy, or on the road!

What's so special about them that you can't buy them from Home Depot or Lowes??

 

[realkingcobra]

I wasn't aware that screws came in hardened variety. Typically, there's not enough carbon in a steel screw to harden it. You might have luck case-hardening it, though. I assume you want hardened so there's less chance of messing up the head?

I actually prefer a slotted screw head for this kind of thing. With a properly sized screwdriver, you need nearly zero axial force when turning the screw, and if the bit fits, it's not going to slip out. If you need a bit for a power driver that fits these, you're probably going to have to have it made for you by a machinist, though.

All you need to do is predrilled the hole first, they work fine then..

 

[realkingcobra]

I LOVE YOU CHIP. I been lookin for these for ever!! i have found some local "niche" suppliers that have gotten me stuff that is close to the size and thickness i want, but they all are cheap and BREAK! These look solid. I am going to order some. This is how forums are supposed to work! INPUT= OUTPUT> LOVE IT! Hope you are all having a great day!

TFT

Have none of you ever heard of pre-drilling the slate screw hole first

 

[vardelda]

@jviss, or whoever wants them, I realize I'm a couple years late but I have a complete set (12). I just rehabbed my GC1 and replaced most all the original screws and bolts. And sorry, they're only a little rusty as I already ran them through the wash - although it's coming back pretty fast on those bolts!

 

[snookered_again]

if you want to cut slots in the bolt heads I'd just use a zip disk, you can get different thicknesses.
I like this place, mail order seems flawless. If you order there ask for the catalog,its the size of a big city phone book, If you can remember what a phone book look like ;-)

they have some really odd things you cant' get elsewhere.. I don't doubt they have screws with slots like that.

Spaenaur Inc - Fasteners Right Now

Spaenaur is recognized throughout North America as a leading distributor for industrial fasteners, hardware components and tools. We operate out of a 115,000 Sq. foot warehouse in Kitchener, Ontario and specialize in stocking hard-to-find parts that can be shipped same-day.

www.spaenaur.com

 

[realkingcobra]

I totally fail to understand the value of the original rail bolts, am I missing something here? NO ONE uses a flat tip screw driver to put in or take out rail bolts, and they have absolutely no collection value, so why is there so much discussion about rail bolts???

 

[Lawnboy77]

I totally fail to understand the value of the original rail bolts, am I missing something here? NO ONE uses a flat tip screw driver to put in or take out rail bolts, and they have absolutely no collection value, so why is there so much discussion about rail bolts???

It’s a collector’s thing. I have dealt with that in some repair work on old 2 stroke mowers. Those guys want everything to be 100% original, down to every nut, washer bolt, etc etc. I agree with you though that if we have a chance to install new hardware with the same specs, or better, then that would be much better.

 

[snookered_again]

I've been trained to judge vintage show cars and we'd deduct points for non OEM bolts. If stuff like that keeps one up at night I'd say it must be nice to have your worries ;-)

 

[realkingcobra]

It’s a collector’s thing. I have dealt with that in some repair work on old 2 stroke mowers. Those guys want everything to be 100% original, down to every nut, washer bolt, etc etc. I agree with you though that if we have a chance to install new hardware with the same specs, or better, then that would be much better.

Then THOSE table owners should leave the tables in their ORIGINAL condition upon purchase, bad rubber, stapled out rails and all, because that's ORIGINAL!!!

 

[Lawnboy77]

Then THOSE table owners should leave the tables in their ORIGINAL condition upon purchase, bad rubber, stapled out rails and all, because that's ORIGINAL!!!

In some cases I have ran across dudes who would rather have a piece of machinery unserviceable and all original as opposed to very functional with non OEM parts. Crazy I know!

 

[fastone371]

I've been trained to judge vintage show cars and we'd deduct points for non OEM bolts. If stuff like that keeps one up at night I'd say it must be nice to have your worries ;-)

What's crazy about that is the OEM manufacturers don't choose fasteners because of their high quality, instead they use low cost and availability to make purchase decisions then the guy that restores a car get penalized for using superior fasteners. That's no different then the guy that has his front suspension chemically stripped and painted then has to put over spray on the nice parts because "that's the way it came from the factory". I don't at what point in time one can actually say something is exactly the way it was built because at least in the model T and A days if they ran out of paint or hardware they might go to the hardware store to finish up the days or weeks jobs. The cars were not all exactly the same.

 

[snookered_again]

If you entered the model T in a restored car event then you would loose brownie points for using Nyloc nuts.
Although they work fine, other competing restorers might go to painstaking efforts to use correct to the era nuts. If its a museum piece, or may be one day, that's valid reasoning. If the owner wishes to take his Brunswick restoration to such levels I guess it's his call where he wishes to draw the lines. Many may see it as unimportant, as they are taking the perspective of functionality and not true restoration.

I have a early Brunswick Balke Collender , maybe 1915 or so, the bolts for the pocket irons were missing and a unusual but not impossible thread between fine and coarse. Also square heads. I helicoiled the pocket irons to take modern bolts rather than seeking out or making the correct ones.

I had one slate bolt missing. I left it alone, maybe I'll make or find one. I stuck an expanding type of fastener in there for now and cant' tell which rail has the missing one.
its a special bolt with threads in the center, and some BBC's attach an ornate bit there, on mine they are hidden by wooden rails that cover the bolts.

I could see revisiting that one day but it's not important or time sensitive and I dont really care so much that two pocket iron bolts have hex heads.
I dont think it would be wrong to fuss over such details, just a decision not to.. I gave it thought and came to the conclusion that I can choose to just play pool and be happy enough with it all instead. ;-)