The Bolts Thread

[Eggie Vedder]

I used to ride philips but then got a set of Allen and I’ve had them for over a decade. After a few years the lock tight wore out so I went to Home Depot and got generic nuts with this purple lock tight and they seriously never slip or loosen. Regardless of your bolt preference I recommend just getting some nicer nuts and never worrying about the trucks getting loose. Sounds trivial but it’s actually super nice.

[munchbox]

when you gotta pull out that nut

make sure its bronze

[mbam003]

Not a speck of silver on the Element bolts after weeks of riding. Might unironically consider an Element deck because of this. Element 4 life.

[DaleSr]

Any weirdos use randoms like me?

[antarctica]

bronze allen 1 inch always

[DaleSr]

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are they good or are they a pain?

[close]

From my instagram post, sums it up best I think:

Randoms Hardware, otherwise known as "hammer ins"
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Cleaning up and sorting out some things and a few people had been talking about them, so I decided to get out the ones I still had floating around, some with Black Label heads, some from Hardcore Dist and others from who knows where.
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Look like these guys went out of business a few years ago now, last Instagram post early 2019, but had been around since about 2000 or earlier. I know these were pretty hot in the early 00s and people loved to swap and mix them with heads from certain brands or pro riders like Heddings with the pentagrams or the alien or skull, etc.
.
The way they worked was you put them in the board, sat the trucks on and just did up the nuts, not needing to hold the deck bolts from the top, but as the nickname suggested, often a hammer was needed to get them into the board to get far enough through so you could get the nuts on.
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I can recall a few people having issues not being able to get them far enough through or hammering them in on angles so the trucks didn't go on and all sorts of stupid things, but when installed correctly they worked well and never had loose bolt issues.


30ramp
Looking back I’ve wondered if randoms contributed to pressure cracks at the base plate area when I always used them as a kid.

mbrimson88
@30ramp There was actually a post on their Instagram account showing no difference in stress between hammer ins and regular bolts and I remember seeing something like that in a video once too. Funny though, cause the way some people were beating the things in, I could easily see them doing damage to the board. I always found it interesting too when looking at old boards, to see the star pattern the bolts left in the decks. @randomshardware

I've got the heddings, alien, skull and blank randoms. I bulked up on them five or six years ago when he was still producing new sets. I used to have the Tony Hawk and label ones but i left the board that had the black label bolts at a skatepark on accident and it grew legs and walked away. I'm mostly a transition dude, but I've never snapped a board at the trucks because of randoms and I've been skating them exclusively since 2014

[mynameisnotjeff]

Got some Thunder 1 1/8 bolts. They suck. I had a nut that wouldn’t go on and they’re painted not anodized.

[CaptainBushwacker]

Got some Thunder 1 1/8 bolts. They suck. I had a nut that wouldn’t go on and they’re painted not anodized.

I can definitely vouch for Thunder bolts sucking big time

[Mbrimson88]

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Got some Thunder 1 1/8 bolts. They suck. I had a nut that wouldn’t go on and they’re painted not anodized.

[close]

I can definitely vouch for Thunder bolts sucking big time

All the sets I have had come through, either set up the board for the customer or seen them set them up in the shop had no issues.

And not doubting you, but anything in particular about them you don't like, besides as said the one nut?

The coloured ones are chrome foil coated I think more than anything else, but I still have some of the green ones that have kept their coating after a few years.

I always liked that they came with 8 black and 2 coloured bolts, so you could choose what you wanted.

[CaptainBushwacker]

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Expand Quote

Got some Thunder 1 1/8 bolts. They suck. I had a nut that wouldn’t go on and they’re painted not anodized.

[close]

I can definitely vouch for Thunder bolts sucking big time

[close]

All the sets I have had come through, either set up the board for the customer or seen them set them up in the shop had no issues.

And not doubting you, but anything in particular about them you don't like, besides as said the one nut?

The coloured ones are chrome foil coated I think more than anything else, but I still have some of the green ones that have kept their coating after a few years.

I always liked that they came with 8 black and 2 coloured bolts, so you could choose what you wanted.

What irked me most was the allen key not sticking inside the bolt when tightening it, like something was in the way and wouldn't allow the key to go all the way in. And that was a problem with different allen keys.

[mynameisnotjeff]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Got some Thunder 1 1/8 bolts. They suck. I had a nut that wouldn’t go on and they’re painted not anodized.

[close]

I can definitely vouch for Thunder bolts sucking big time

[close]

All the sets I have had come through, either set up the board for the customer or seen them set them up in the shop had no issues.

And not doubting you, but anything in particular about them you don't like, besides as said the one nut?

The coloured ones are chrome foil coated I think more than anything else, but I still have some of the green ones that have kept their coating after a few years.

I always liked that they came with 8 black and 2 coloured bolts, so you could choose what you wanted.

Apart of struggling to get that on. My screw driver would slip out and they were harder than most bolts to screw. I understood it would take longer to screw but, they were harder to turn and the plastic/rubber stuff that keeps it secure was shredded by the time I was done putting a bolt in.

[Giza Butler]

Don't do wrong, get some TORX bolts. 

waldskateboards.com

[MaXX_I-D]

My local doesn't have 7/8 Allen. Is there a consensus on where the best place to get them online is? I don't care about brand just preferably all black but indicators will work too.

[backinaction]

My local doesn't have 7/8 Allen. Is there a consensus on where the best place to get them online is? I don't care about brand just preferably all black but indicators will work too.

https://www.tactics.com/skateboard-hardware/allen/rs-7~8in/sort-3

[GBLange]

i use both allen & phillips. 7/8" for forged baseplates and 1" for cast baseplates.

[Fat Tony]

I’ve been using the colored, supposedly anodized, Indy crossbolts. The color rubbed off the top within a week of use, but the main part and nut are still colored fine, assuming because they aren’t touched much.

Anyone else have this problem? Any way to restore that? I got the blue set but they’re all just chrome looking now. Could always paint them, but it wouldn’t look the same.

[chris.]

My local doesn't have 7/8 Allen. Is there a consensus on where the best place to get them online is? I don't care about brand just preferably all black but indicators will work too.

https://orchardshop.com/collections/skate-hardgoods/products/orchard-hardware-allen-head?variant=40056622514341

[fs1/2cab]

That's probably been asked before, but I am lazy and don't feel like searching.

I am looking for 7/8 black allen bolts with a bigger head and silver nuts. Like the indy ones, but just silver nuts.

Thanks in advance pals.

[whale]

That's probably been asked before, but I am lazy and don't feel like searching.

I am looking for 7/8 black allen bolts with a bigger head and silver nuts. Like the indy ones, but just silver nuts.

Thanks in advance pals.

I got a set of Diamonds like that, maybe Yuto’s?
Also Shorty’s, but they have a smaller head iirc

[gsosa]

Used 7/8 Phillips forever  now that I got risers Im using 1 inch Phillips. Its just easier for me to find a screwdriver than an Allen key.

[ish_wav]

I used to ride philips but then got a set of Allen and I’ve had them for over a decade. After a few years the lock tight wore out so I went to Home Depot and got generic nuts with this purple lock tight and they seriously never slip or loosen. Regardless of your bolt preference I recommend just getting some nicer nuts and never worrying about the trucks getting loose. Sounds trivial but it’s actually super nice.

Did the nuts already come with the purple lock tight or did you buy that separate?

[GBLange]

[Firebert]

That's probably been asked before, but I am lazy and don't feel like searching.

I am looking for 7/8 black allen bolts with a bigger head and silver nuts. Like the indy ones, but just silver nuts.

Thanks in advance pals.

Shake Junt Andrew Reynolds

[Kneesles]

That's probably been asked before, but I am lazy and don't feel like searching.

I am looking for 7/8 black allen bolts with a bigger head and silver nuts. Like the indy ones, but just silver nuts.

Thanks in advance pals.

Pig hardware has the larger heads and silver nuts too.

[Eggie Vedder]

Expand Quote

I used to ride philips but then got a set of Allen and I’ve had them for over a decade. After a few years the lock tight wore out so I went to Home Depot and got generic nuts with this purple lock tight and they seriously never slip or loosen. Regardless of your bolt preference I recommend just getting some nicer nuts and never worrying about the trucks getting loose. Sounds trivial but it’s actually super nice.

[close]

Did the nuts already come with the purple lock tight or did you buy that separate?

I actually meant the nylon locking insert. The inserts in the nuts that come in typical skate hardware is super cheap in comparison to what is used in other industries.

My brother an I started buying the really nice stuff in bulk then packaging it in sets and selling it at a local shop for the same price as regular hardware. We don’t make any money off because we have regular jobs so that doesn’t matter. 

It’s weird that it makes such a difference but having your trucks so firmly adhered to your board really makes your board feel stiffer longer. Maybe I’ve just convinced myself and it’s just a placebo but Frank Gerwer said he rides hardware he got from a friend in a stop and chat that sounds like what we get and noticed the same thing. If people are interested, maybe we will sell it online.

[Roger__Kook]

This might be a dumb idea, but has anyone tried putting helicoils/timeserts into baseplates and getting rid of nuts all together? Save a bit of weight, run shorter hardware and it wouldn't wear down the nuts.

[PuffinMuffin]

This might be a dumb idea, but has anyone tried putting helicoils/timeserts into baseplates and getting rid of nuts all together? Save a bit of weight, run shorter hardware and it wouldn't wear down the nuts.

Haven't tried helicoils, but I have tried countersunk Chicago screws/sex bolts. They were going into the trash at work, so I brought them home. Red Loctite was used on the threads.

They held for about 30 mins of skating until I ate shit really bad. The front truck was nearly falling off, two of the bolts were missing  Evidently, the Loctite wasn't enough to hold the screws in place. I feel like the maple veneers shifting, compressing, and expanding in microscopic amounts caused the Loctite to break the bond between the screws and sex nuts. That's just my experience though, maybe I was unlucky or fucked something up. Either way, if you do decide to try helicoils, I'd love to know your results!

[fs1/2cab]

I got these for 3€ at a car workshop. And they are perfect.



Thanks for the help with the size @Mbrimson88

[dustyassrocketswitchv]

Fuck bolts, grow up and super glue your trucks on

[superleftswipebby]

Fuck bolts, grow up and super glue your trucks on

fuck that dawg. paperclips r the shit