Alloy Steel: The Alloy Steel contains additional elements other than iron and carbon such as manganese, nickel, chromium etc.

They are generally expensive than other bolt materials and as a result they are often used in arts and decorative pieces.

Brass / Bronze: These types of bolts have a natural resistance to corrosion as they are alloys of copper.

Even the nuts and washers must be of the galvanized type for proper coupling.

Hot-dipped Galvanized Steel: In this type, the steel is coated with even thicker layer of Zinc for increased corrosion resistance and thus making them suitable for outdoor use.

The other benefit of this plating is the surface of the bolt looks very shiny, smooth and polished.

Chrome / Nickel Plated Steel: Although stainless steel already consists of chromium, additional Chrome and Nickel plating of steel further increases the corrosion resistance.

They are slightly expensive than the Zinc plated counterparts. As a result, stainless steel bolts are often used in industries, automobiles, ships (and other marine equipment) and outdoor objects in general.

Stainless Steel: One of the toughest bolt materials with very good corrosion resistance.

They are very cheap to manufacture as well. It is a low carbon steel with a Zinc coating that provides moderate corrosion resistance. Depending on the type of manufacturing, the color of the bolt may be bluish or yellowish tint.

Zinc-Plated Steel: It is one of the popular and commonly used bolt materials for general purpose applications, usually indoor.

There are several materials of Bolts and some of the popular ones are: The material used in the manufacturing of the bolts will determine its strength, applications, corrosion resistance etc. If it is a normal hole, then you have to use a washer and nut to properly secure the bolt.Īn important point about the dimension of the hole to be drilled is it must of the same diameter as the diameter of the bolt or slightly larger than that.

If the hole is a tapped hole, then the bolt can be simply threaded into the hole (provided the pitch of the hole and the bolt is the same) without the need for a nut to secure the bolt. If two parts must be joined together, then the first step is to drill a hole in the objects. The combination of a bolt, a nut and a washer can be used to secure two objects and the best part is the joint is temporary in the sense you can remove it anytime just by loosening the nut. It also protects the surface from damage due to tightening of the nut. It is used to increase the contact area between the nut and the surface, which in turn reduces the stress of the surface. The pitch of the threads on the bolt and nut should be the same for securing them properly.Īnother important object is the washer.

A Nut is the counterpart of the Bolt and it is hexagonal (sometimes square) object with threads on the inside. Introduction to Bolts, Nuts and WashersĪ Bolt is a cylindrical object with a hexagonal (sometimes square) head on one end and threads (fully or partially) on the other end.

18 inch actual size