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Dot Bolts

G

George Rausch

Member
Speaking of dot bolts, what are they? i used to throw the rounded-off dot bolts into the scrap pile and put in Grade 5, but I'm beginning to rethink.
Did IH mnake them? Is the dot just a manufacturer mark, like they were rolled out like that, or does the dot designate something special?
 
If George doesn't mind I would like to hijack a little bit.
- Were the dot head bolts used on EVERY SINGLE thing on the tractor or just most?
- What grade were they? Gr3, Gr 5, Gr 8???
 

The boys on the cow board had a thread on the dot bolts and came up with early 36 I believe as to when IH started using them. None of the square head bolts have dot heads, Many square bolts on the F series. Bolts holding on the drop boxes although hex heads were special shoulder bolts and not dot headed and I have found the bolts holding the bellhousing to the block don't have dots. Later tractors seem to have them scattered randomly around. The bolts were made by IH before the SAE grading system was adopted. I CAN ONLY ASSUME the engineers at IH set the standards on the capacity or grade of the bolts. I do know that many of these fasteners come out very easily after being in place for 75 to 80 years so they must be very well made.
 
(quoted from post at 10:06:33 03/01/11) Speaking of dot bolts, what are they? i used to throw the rounded-off dot bolts into the scrap pile and put in Grade 5, but I'm beginning to rethink.
Did IH mnake them? Is the dot just a manufacturer mark, like they were rolled out like that, or does the dot designate something special?
Click to expand...

I don't throw them away, but I don't re-use them either. I just don't like doing all that work of rebuilding and repairing and then depend on a 60 to 70 year old bolt to keep everything in place.
 
IH didn't use all dot head bolts on every tractor. I use them if they look good, never found to many broke unless they got loose or on a wheel clamp. Figure I can trust the old IH bolts as much as the new ones the overseas bolt handlers sell.
Some heads I can remember they used. plain head, C on the head, Dot head, W/P on the head. Sometime in 1954 bolts with a kind of circle in the middle and grade mark lines started showing up on the heads. Around sometime in 1956 bolts with IH and grade marks on the head started showing up. All bolts on the tractors didn't change to the same type all at once.
 
When you get real hardcore you can take all your new grade 5/8 bolts, chuck them up in the lathe and turn them into dot heads! I have heard of guys doing it, but WOW!
 
I am not an originalty nut (pun intended), but the aftermarket dot heads and probably the ones people do themselves have sharper edges on the the dot and do not look like the original ones. I even ordered some once, and have since decided that it isn't worth the effort or expense, so my tractors have a mixture of hardware store, dot head and IH head bolts -- the correct police can go jump off of something. I also use unpainted cadmium head bolts on rim and hubs, etc, where they seem to fit in, but not all over the tractor. I don't toss the dot heads I don't use either, but I doubt if I ever get rich selling them.
 
I have noticed they are extra sharp, too. I wonder if you would take some 220 and round the corners off if that would help them out.
 
The original dot head were thicker so if you take a new one and turn it in a lathe it will be realy thin and easy to spot just get some from a salvage tractor. I save them when parting out an old tractor they come in handy.
 
(quoted from post at 21:22:17 03/01/11) I should know this...But WHAT is a dot bolt?
Click to expand...

This thread was started from another originality thread so don't feel bad.
They are the bolts that are original to IH tractors. They look like a regular bolt, but instead of having grade lines or casting marks they have a dot on the top. Check out your tractor and you will see them everywhere.

It almost seems like the dot heads have bigger heads than modern bolts to start with. Then you take .020 off a modern bolt and you get really short.
 
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