Use What You Have (Material is Everywhere)

[Provincial]

Similar here . We throw out hundreds of grade 8 bolts out daily . Every die change requires new bolts . Some dies require 80 - 100 1/2"-13s . I saved them for a while and just got tired of it . What do you do with 5000 bolts ?

The Grade 8 bolts I have machined seemed not to be "free-machining" and were hard to get a good finish on.

 

[Rex Walters]

I've no idea what you all are on about (said while tripping over the truck leaf springs I acquired from Jeff, the big brake rotors I glommed onto after helping a friend replace his, and the various piles of miscellaneous cast iron, extruded aluminum, and steel scraps).

I do seem to go through a lot of cut-off wheels for my angle grinder and blades for my portaband ...

 

[ChazzC]

The head bolts are not special. They are the standard Cat bolt for that length. All the Cat high-strength (Gr. 8 equivalent) bolts seem to be made from the same material.

I believe that Cat issues a performance specification for hardware. There are many types of Cat hardware, so the one for this series of bolts is probably different from many others.

Edit to add:
I once tried to repurpose some one-time-use head bolts from a Ford 7.5L engine. They were very hard to machine. Hard, tough, poor finish, and abrasive. It seems that there are various theories on what material to make head bolts from!

MotorTrend TV just re-ran episode 16-4 of Wheeler Dealers: 2001 Saab 9-3 Viggen had a head leak that was addressed by replacing the original head bolts (hardened) with torque-to-yield bolts that were specified by Saab to correct an issue where the hardened bolts would loosed since they didn't stretch when torqued. If the Cat bolts are torque-to-yield they would have a lower tensile strength than hardened bolts and in order to be torqued reliably would only be used once (not a bad idea for head bolts in general):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torque-to-yield_fastener

 

[Provincial]

This discussion has made me do some research, and I found that the bolts I have been using are from 3406B and 3406C engines. They have hex heads. The 3406E and later (C15) engines use a different, cryogenic-treated head bolt that has a 12-point head. I don't know how well the later bolts machine.

 

[Janderso]

Cat does not {edit] manufacture their hardware, they provide detailed specifications to vendors who source the hardware for them. I spent 5+ years consulting for Raymark/Universal Friction/FDL-USA, who manufactured a range of items for Cat, including sole-sourced friction disks for D-7 steering clutch packs. Cat required them to include the necessary rivets for rebuild kits and the rivets were purchased from a third party.

Cat & Deere fabricate and assemble the frames for their equipment, and build engines and other assemblies from purchased components, just like car manufacturers.

That te 3/4" NC are required to be replaced after one use would be an indication that they are designed to stretch during torquing, so they could be a type of free-machining steel.

I hope Caterpillar has a strong business plan moving forward, I just bought a significant amount of shares.
Cat and Target when the stock was down.

 

[Janderso]

I've no idea what you all are on about (said while tripping over the truck leaf springs I acquired from Jeff, the big brake rotors I glommed onto after helping a friend replace his, and the various piles of miscellaneous cast iron, extruded aluminum, and steel scraps).

I do seem to go through a lot of cut-off wheels for my angle grinder and blades for my portaband ...

I have made a few things out of tie rod material from Ford trucks.
Doesn’t machine well but it’s great for lots of stuff. Free is the best price.
If you can go through the scrap bins of tractor repair places there is some good stuff to be had.

 

[epanzella]

I love to make things out of brass but the brass stock often costs more than than just buying the completed item.

 

[MrWhoopee]

Similar here . We throw out hundreds of grade 8 bolts out daily . Every die change requires new bolts . Some dies require 80 - 100 1/2"-13s . I saved them for a while and just got tired of it . What do you do with 5000 bolts ?

Sell 'em in small lots on eBay.

 

[markba633csi]

I salvage material all the time and everywhere- it's gotten almost to an obsession. Pipe, tubing, plastic sheets (I dragged home a portion of a laminar flow hood; 1/4" white vinyl, very useful) wire, fasteners, the list is endless. Better to have it than not. Right? LOL
I really need a better way to organize it though, but how do you organize all these different sizes and shapes? It always looks like a mess, which it is
-M

 

[DavidR8]

I wish I had room to store salvaged materials!