Price of Shoulder Bolts?

[extrudedfeature]

Im currently spec'ing a project and I need what is essentially a shoulder bolt. How come these things are so damn expensive? is there a tolerance spec that I'm missing?

 

[Ron]

Can you use a standard bolt and a shoulder washer? Would likely be less expensive than a specialty shoulder bolt.


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[extrudedfeature]

Yeah I will probably end up using a washer/bolt combo. I see now that the should shaft is generally ground for accepting motion components, hence the spec and price. I'm surprised a lower quality alternative doesn't exist.

 

[Metalfixer]

Not a great selection of sizes, but caster axles might work.

https://www.mcmaster.com/axles

Larry

 

[TheTick]

Why do you need a shoulder bolt? If you are using a fastener for positioning or pivoting there's probably a better way (e.g. doweld or hardened pins).

 

[drawoh]

extrudedfeature,

Unlike regular screws, nuts and washers, shoulder bolts have an accurate shoulder. Presumably, these must be machined or ground to specification. Do you need this accuracy?

--
JHG

 

[EdStainless]

There are shoulder bolts and there are stripper bolts.
The latter are hardened and ground to tight tolerances for use in stamping dies. They are meant to retain the stripper plates.

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[drawoh]

EdStainless,

Are stripper bolts something separate from shoulder bolts, or just alternate terminology?

--
JHG

 

[JohnRBaker]

From the work that I did, they were the same. The term 'Shoulder Bolt' described their appearance while 'Stripper Bolt' described one of it most common usages.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
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[Jboggs]

If you just put a standard bolt thru a cylindrical spacer you will have the same overall shape as a shoulder bolt without the cost or the accuracy. Another plus is that this configuration should actually be stronger in bending than a standard shoulder bolt. They tend to fracture right at the root of the shoulder if overloaded.

 

[EdStainless]

The shoulder bolts that we had did not have ground shanks, were not heat treated high strength steel, and the threaded portion was just slightly smaller than the shank. We used them in high shear joints that didn't need precise location (usually dowel pins took care of that).
I don't know what the correct name for these is...


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