Nuts, Bolts and Washers

Can anyone recommend a "kit" or set of SAE hardware and/or a supplier that would be most common on tractors. I guess I could look through my parts manual on my MF 175 and come up with something. I always find myself missing/losing something and running to the hardware store.. I just dont have the experience to identify the most common grades/threads/pitches/sizes etc to keep my shop well stocked. Thanks for any help y'all can offer.

There are VERY FEW fine thread bolts used on antique tractors. They are standard thread. The most common threads used are 3/8-16, 1/2-13, 5/8-11, and 3/4-10. Maybe a few 7/8-9. I never use anything less than a grade 5 bolt. 5/16-18 are also common threads. A lot of the bolt lengths are in 1/4 inch increments, 1and 1/4, 2and 1/4, etc. Most hardware stores that carry bolts in bulk only carry them in 1/2 inch increments.

My experience with those kits is that out of a dozen slots in the box, two or three will empty quickly and the rest will stay full forever.

You're far better off to stock up on the most common, and if you do need to run off occasionally for something, it's still better than having money tied up in something you probably will never use.

the farm stores by me, (farm and fleet, big r's ect) sell bolts nuts and washers by the pound. whenever i'm in there a pick up a couple bags of each size i think i need then stock em in the tool shed. at the body shop we have a nut and bolt guy that stops out once a month and refills all our bolts clips and body fasteners. i buy either grade 5 or grade 8 bolts for the farm.

Having worked on both farm and construction equipment most of my life I"ve got to say I agree with the reply saying the bolts in the kits will usually stay there while the empty slots will fill up with stuff you actually need. Well, may be it"s not quite that bad but even though the actual bolt sizes and thread pitches used on most machines are common they also use alot of lengths that are not included in the standard kits. By that I mean is most kits break their lengths down in 1/2 inch increments and for the most part these bolts can be used as long as there is clearance. On the other hand alot of the bolts used are needed in 1/4 increments (ie 1 1/4 long vs 1 1/2 long). If your putting a bracket on a block, etc where there is a blind hole and it"s not deep enough, your out of luck unless you can cut the end off of the longer bolt. Then you"ve got to worry that the grip length (unthreaded part) isn"t so long that it hits the threads before the bolt gets tight. You"ll usualy find this problem more prevelant in the smaller sizes, say 1/2 down but it can come into play with the larger stuff too on occasion. As far as finding the 1/4 inch increments assortments I"ve never seen it in anything off the shelf. Short of going through an industrial supplier that lets you make up the mix of fasteners offered in one of their large shop sized setups I don"t know where you"d get anything with that mix without making it up yourself.

Once you get past the standard stuff then you get into the metric and it"s even worse. With that mess you"ve got not just the lengths and thread pitches to worry about but also the head size of the bolt. For instance the same thread and pitch from one mfg might have a 14 MM head on it and from another it might have a 17 MM head on it. Then thrown in the fact they also like flange head bolts, which are often the same way, and it becomes a real nightmare.

In the end all I can say is get on the boards specific to the brand tractors you have and ask if any mechanics can tell you the most common sizes they encounter on that particular brand. For instance I know IH like"s 7/16, Detroit Diesel loves 3/8 fine thread bolts in odd lenghts, etc, etc. Figure out the most common sizes and set up something on your own as ultimately you"ll save money over buying an off the shelf kit with parts you"ll never use.

When I have the $$ to spend I buy a few pounds of the common size bolts so I have them on hand. 1/4, 5/16. 3/8 and 1/2 inch and I buy say a number of them in 1/2 inch long up to around 4 or 5 inches long plus the nuts and washer for them. I have seen times where I spend $50 doing that but in the long run it is worth it

I would make sure you get grade 5 fasteners. They aren't always the ones in the bulk bins--hardware stores around here usually have grade 2 in the bins. There are a few uses for softer bolts, but usually tractors need something with a little more strength. Typical repairs of non critical parts usually are done without a torque wrench, so it's easier to snap off a new bolt if you have strong fingers or a long handled driver when using soft materials.
If you don't know about fastener strength and the markings, ask.
Someone always buys bags of soft bolts at home, and that makes more problems than the few cents a pound in savings when replacing grade 5 or 8 that were factory installed
karl f
ps if metric, at least get fasteners rated 8.8

Around here our local John Deere dealer is pretty good to work with. They can order a bin and get you set up with a pretty good selection of what you want. Ours sets up a schedule that they come out the first month after set up and the base the rest of the schedule on your useage. Pretty sure they give a discount on the hardware when you set this deal up.

Go to the dealer and buy 1 of every item listed in the parts book. Then go to the local hardware store and just buy about $1,000 worth of whatever you think you might need. Then put this all in a trailer and pull it behind the tractor.

Next time you break down, it might be in there, but you just wont be able to find it.

That would be my luck.

Gene

I buy common sizes and put them in large coffee cans,Write the contents on the lid with a sharpie marker.Looking at my suppliers stock tells me I cant have everything on hand.Buy your hardware by the pound.Lowes get 54 cents for a 3 1/2 x3/8 carriage bolt, I buy them for 23 cents by the pound.TSC dosent stock that size.I used 400 this summer.

23 cents per puond sounds awful i pay at least a dollar a pound more than your peice

I said 23 cents by the pound.Read it again.2.00 per pound is a common price but washers go for 1.50 a pound.I can buy mixed hardware for 75 cent a pound.16p galvanized common nails sell 1.69 to 4 bucks a pound here.You have to shop around now.

im going to have to do that too, i used to have a good supply of bolts nuts ect but in the last several years and tractors i seem to have used them, you cant have all the bolts you'll find on tractors and machinery withought investing thousands in stuff you may need one of in 10 years, but if you buy 1/4 up through 9/16 and from 3/4 inch to 1 1/2 long course thread you'll have the most common ones,

Let me start by saying that one advntage of being old is that you have had time to accumulate "stuff".
I have "parted out" so many cars, tractors and other equipment in the last 50 years that I have a supply of just about every bolt, nut, washer, screw and nail I can ever use.I still buy more assorted bolts and nuts at garage sales and such when they are cheap. A friend of mine has a couple of the bolt, nut and washer sets in the comparmentized boxes and when I'm over at his place, we can "sometimes" find exactly what we need. I guess if I had to start out from scratch, I would buy a selection of NC Gr 5 bolts in 1/4, 5/16, 3/8 1/2, and 3/4" sizes in 1", 1-1/2", 2", 2-1/2" and 3" lengths with enuf nuts, flat and lock washers to go with them. In farm equipment, there is not as much call for NF stuff but I guess I would by a smaller qty. of all of the above sizes in NF as well. Of course, when you get to working on something, you'll find you need a 7/16", 9/16" or some metric bolt to get the job done. LOL

Every time I buy fasteners I always buy a few extras. The dollar or two I spend will save me gas money and time later.

Go to farm sales, their is generaly alot of old bolts and nuts in a bucket, that can be bought at a fraction of what it would cost up town.

I go to the bolt store and by "Floor Sweepings" there cheap and take them home and seperate them out. I usually get about a box of about 150 lbs. with everything you need ,washers, cotter pins,etc....Jim in New Mexico

If you are dealing with the Green variety of tractors, don't skip the 5/8 x 11 size in various lengths. You will use more of those than the 3/4 x 10 NC. My .02$

I'm with most of the folks posted below. There really isn't such a kit,in either the sizes or grades you'll find yourself needing.

Most of what you'll find will be coarse threaded, most from 3/8" to 5/8".

Never mind experience, you can pick up a set of thread gauges for not many shekels. Very compact, looks like a small version of a set of feeler or spark plug gauges, all hinged in a a couple of blates to make a handle for them, one for each thread pitch. Very simple, a blade with a sawtooth edge that you take a try fit until you find the one that fits nicely into the threads of the bolt, nut or hole. They come English and metric threads, sometimes in the same set. That and a cheap plastic dial caliper to measure diameter and length will help you identify anything.

I had the same problem, and my solution was to just pick up a couple extra of something I found myself running out to buy too often.

The advice about those quarter-inch lengths is good, too, especially when it comes to blind holes. On that score, two thoughts. First is that even the cheap dial calipers usually have a rod or bar that extends out the butt end as you open the caliper that will measure the depth of a blind hole, so you can figure out whether a hole that calls for a 1-1/4" long bolt will take one that is 1-1/2". If it won't, buy the next length, then do your best to make a square cut to length.

BUT, before you do that, get a Grade 8 nut and thread onto the bolt before you cut it. After the cut, you can take a file and carefully put just a touch of taper on the end of the bolt, then back the nut off to chase out the thread. That's the cheap way out. A proper thread chase (same idea, but less aggressive than a thread die, and a closer fit than the nut, and meant to cut) will do a better job. Again, usually come in sets. And there's a technique to filing that bevel -- best I can describe it is to rake the file mebbe 35* off the center line of the bolt, filing only in the direction that would be counter-clockwise as you look at the threaded end of the bolt. File toward the head, or against the thread, and you can jim the thread to where it won't start.