bencrush Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Yesterday I bought some Grade 2s at the hardware store and brought them home to bend. I wrapped one up-and it just melted in my hands. Huh, I thought...that was a LOT easier than usual. So I wrapped another and the same thing happened. I then went on to bend 12 in a row. The only rest time was for the rewrapping part. I've never bent more than 1 in a row before. Bent 26 of the "easy" Grade 2s in a little over 20 minutes. The bolts I bent had a strange "triple teardrop?" marking on the head. Last week I bought a box of 100 Grade 2s from the same hardware store. They were a completely different brand. The dreaded HKT Grade 2s. They are much harder than any other Grade 2 I've ever tried. The only good thing is I guess I have something a bit harder than the Timber Ties to work with on building volume on the road to the Grade 5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Edgin Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 (edited) I think this was brought up before, but as I understand it (as was told to me by my father, the maintenance man for 20+ years) the term "grade 2" is not an exact standard of hardness for a bolt. You find very little variance with G5 and G8 bolts, but the G2's do vary. My dad said, and I don't know how much truth there is to it, that it is because the G2 bolts can range in strength from G0 to G4* and still fall under the heading of G2 because they aren't used for structural work. That is, they aren't used by people looking for a G2 bolt to handle specific load requirements. I have found some G2 bolts that are really easy, and some that are just easy so I guess there is some merit to the story. *shrug* *G0, G1, G3, and G4 are not actual strength standards as far as I know. I'm just using it as an example. Edited June 8, 2004 by ClayEdgin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarytheDino Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 I posted this on another forum this morning. I found a clearance section of grade 2 bolts. I got 100 6" and 100 5" for 14 bucks. 7 cents each if I figured right, I paid 28 cents before. I'll try them out tomorrow. I hope the 5" is equal to a blue. Do you think it may be close? The 6" I tried before were about the same as timber ties. (just under Yellow). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarytheDino Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 I just could not stand it. I had to try the bolts. The 6" felt the same as others I tried. I also bent a 5" then went to 1/4x5 3/4 crs then missed on the new 60's. I wasn't supposed to bend for several more days. I just could not stand all that new stuff sitting there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foggymountainmuscle Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 I was curious after looking at some G2 in a hardware store. Now I've always thought, from the information I remember, when we're talking bolts we mean carriage bolts. Correct that if I'm wrong. Now I was wondering is there a great deal in strength between different grade 2 bolts, same width, same length, same company, but diffrent types of bolts? I could not locate any in my bending range at the time but just by feel and look, they're seemed to be a great deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Edgin Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 I just could not stand it. I had to try the bolts. The 6" felt the same as others I tried. I also bent a 5" then went to 1/4x5 3/4 crs then missed on the new 60's. I wasn't supposed to bend for several more days. I just could not stand all that new stuff sitting there. I am learning that it's best to plan my workouts so that I have several days of rest by the time my payday rolls around. I always end up going to the hardware store to buy something and trying it out. Might as well make my obsession work for me. Of course, I lack the discipline to do this yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r_p_h Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 Clay's close with his explanation of the G2's. The way that the grading system works is that they rate the bolt with a minimum strength. Say for example, and these are made-up numbers just for explanation, a G2 may have a minimum strength of 250 lbs, a G5 is a minimum of 300 lbs and a G8 is a minimum of 350 lbs. A G8 is manufactured to much tighter tolerances to make sure it meets the minimum standard of 350 lbs, whereas the G2 standards are much looser because it only has to hit 250 lbs. However, because the standard is so loose for a G2, it can vary a great deal in strength as long as it doesn't dip below 250. Theoretically, you could have a G2 that's harder than a G5 or even G8, although that's highly unlikely. Think of it like this: you've got a big pile of bolts and you're going to test and grade them. You start pulling them out and loading them to 250 lbs. If they hold, you label it a G2. You then take more from the pile and test at 300 lbs. If they hold, it's a G5. And then repeat at 350 lbs for a G8. You end up with 3 piles of graded bolts. Again, in theory, they could all exceed 400 lbs, but you can only guarantee them for their respective ratings. They are manufactured differently in the real world, so that doesn't give you the whole story, but it's the jist of it. Sorry for the long-winded explanation. Hope it helps you understand what you're dealing with with the different grades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricMilfeld Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 Thanks for the insight, r p h. This would help to explain the crazy differences in strength I've found among the grd 2's. Some were a breeze, others a full-blown hurricane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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