Looking for oddly sized barrel bolts
Looking for oddly sized barrel bolts
I'm trying to find replacement barrel bolts to hold the scales on a fixed blade knife.
The dimensions, as best I can measure, are:
Barrel Section: 6mm diameter and 8mm long Screw Thread: 4mm diameter and 6mm long Heads: 8mm diameter and 3mm thick with 2.5mm hex sockets
I have done a fair amount of web searching and I have looked at several of the large online tool and fastener companies. Almost everything I can find has a much thinner barrel and wider head.
Can anyone suggest where I should look for these?
May be a dumb question, but since you're measuring in metric, have you checked to see if they are possibly imperial?
If you haven't already may be worth reaching out to the manufacturer, they may be able to provide you new hardware or at least confirm the specs or point you in the right direction to find replacements.
Failing that, like someone else said, you could try getting a machine shop to make them for you, or if you can track down a local hobbyist machinist that could be another option.
Failing that, you could of course try to modify the knife a bit to work with whatever hardware you can actually get your hands on, enlarging a hole a little or some strategically placed washers can sometimes go a long way.
If it's a dumb question, I asked it too. :-}
I checked to see whether the measurements lined up with any common fractions in Imperial measurements. Some worked pretty well, but others really didn't. I did look for versions that matched the Imperial specs, but couldn't find any of those either.
I will write to the manufacturer. Even specs would help, and they may well be able to get me spare parts. Thank you!
If I can't find anything, my plan is to cut off the barrels on the bolts I have to match the thinner grip. A Dremel should do the job well enough for my purposes.
You might be best served with a machine shop. Knives, especially higher end ones, tend to make their own hardware or use a custom order size that the manufacturer doesn't offer publicly.
Have you looked for the size you need under the name "Chicago screw" or "screw rivet"?
I have looked under those terms. I've also discovered that they are often called sex bolts.
I will check with a local machine shop. It would probably cost more than it's worth to have something like that made, but it can't hurt to ask.
Thanks for the help!
McMaster
I did try them, but no luck.
You know what they say about that... if McMaster doesn't have it, it doesn't exist.
Consider a standard part that you can cut to fit your needs.
Also consider Imperial sizes. 4 mm is almost exactly 5/32", 6 mm is almost 1/4" (roughly 1/2 mm smaller). You can much more easily change the length than any other dimension so find one that is longer than you need and cut to fit your needs.