Official Luthiers Forum!

Would you consider a Stainless steel bolt good or do you think it would not be strong enough?

I've been utilizing two 1/4-20 for Acoustic guitar necks and two 8-32 or one 1/4 x 20 for ukulele necks.

Thoughts?

I don't like the look of the dull black hardened steel bolts. hmmmm

_________________
https://www.instagram.com/fostinoguitars/
https://www.facebook.com/PuraVidaUkuleles/

Stainless is fine. I’ve been using them for years with brass inserts or barrel nuts. Stainless bolts with stainless nuts can gall but not likely to be an issue with the low torques used on guitars.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I have used one 10-32 bolt on a few guitars. It is much stronger than the wood.

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

_________________
John

There’s really not that much pressure on the bolts. I think it’s a good idea to use bolts that are softer than the inserts. I just use Home Depot ones.

I agree. You don’t need great strength in this joint.

Use a lube like SWAK on stainless steel to prevent galling.

'Stainless' or 'hardened steel'....either alloy will work just fine. Folks mistakenly assume that stainless, not being prone to rust, is stronger than non-stainless. Very not so. Stainless can be quite weak, it gets hard to cut because of its property of work hardening when you cut it. That does not make it strong. Just about any 1/4-20 steel bolt is serious overkill, you could tow your car with two of these. I think guitar factories latched onto them because they were plentiful and cheap.

_________________
Peter Havriluk

I don’t know about factories, but for individual builders, I think the wide availability and low cost of 1/4-20 hardware are two large reasons why we use it. And they do work great, of course. Smaller bolts and inserts work great, too, but they are not as readily available. If weight or size are concerns, and you can get the smaller hardware, that’s the way to go.

A lot of folks worry about threaded inserts pulling out of the neck. Smaller inserts would likely pull out of end grain more easily than larger ones. Fastener strength really isn't an issue in the application. The large head diameter of the 1/4-20 furniture bolts make them pretty close to perfect for me.

_________________
Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED