Thread: Bunnings discontinuing imperial nuts and bolts

Good move by Bunnings I reckon. We’ve been metric for nearly fifty years and the zinc plated bolts rust very quickly in my experience.

Originally Posted by John G

Don't know if this is old news or not...

I needed to get some 5/16 bolts for a repair at home, and discovered bunnings has swapped all their boxes of loose Zenith nuts and bolts for metric.
Luckily there were still a few old buckets of imperial bolts on "clearance" I was able to dig through and get what I needed.
But I was a bit annoyed.
I know the galvanised and SS bolts have been metric for ages, but the bright zinc plated bolts have been imperial as long as I remember.
Now the only imperial hardware is small packets in the "specialty fastener" section, and that only goes up as far as 1/4" or so. And apparently also available as special order, if you can wait a few weeks.

No question... just a rant...

Thanks for the info . That's not good news. Since when has this happened ?

Local fastener store (Searles) carries all things (including SS) in imperial; BSW, BSF, UNF and UNC, plus left-handers as well.
The common stuff all comes from China and is dirt cheap, the less common ones can be exxxyyy!
A couple of years ago I bought one LH 1" UNF - cost me about $25!

Bunnings are not into specialised items, and as said above we have been metric for 50 odd years, which makes imperil a specialised item, most imperial nuts and bolt can be replaced with metric.
(Zenith are rubbish)

I don't know why anybody would think this is good. Sometimes it's not possible, or at the very least easy, to exchange metric for imperial. Even if you're dealing with metric, the crap galvanised bolts Bunnings supplies aren't standard metric threads. Try putting an aftermarket 10mm threaded knob on one of their 10mm bolts, it won't fit until you remove all the galvanising with the appropriate die.

Fortunately we have a fastener specialist in Albury, because if we didn't Bunnings would be the only choice as they've driven every other hardware operation out of business. I hate Bunnings!

If you remove the galvanising and a standard metric nut fits, then the bolt thread must be standard. The gal doesn’t magically make the thread non-standard. Bunnings gal bolts are construction bolts. They aren’t designed for fitting knobs to.

Originally Posted by China

most imperial nuts and bolt can be replaced with metric.

As a matched pair, but not when you need an imperial nut to fit an imperial bolt or vice versa, or a bolt to fit an imperial thread in a fitting.

Which is why I have accumulated a large collection of random nuts, bolts, allen screws, and washers etc (not to mention circlips, springs and other odds and ends) over many years and which has almost never failed me when I need the odd BSF, BSW, UNF, UNC, etc bolt or nut. EDIT: Not to mention the sense of triumph after sifting with increasing despair through hundreds of pieces and then finding one that fits!

For stuff I don't have I've found that AB Bolts in Melbourne's north usually has or can get what I want. A.B. Bolts & Saftey

Originally Posted by jack620

If you remove the galvanising and a standard metric nut fits, then the bolt thread must be standard. The gal doesn’t magically make the thread non-standard. Bunnings gal bolts are construction bolts. They aren’t designed for fitting knobs to.

You are correct. It's not magic.

Originally Posted by jack620

If you remove the galvanising and a standard metric nut fits, then the bolt thread must be standard. The gal doesn’t magically make the thread non-standard. Bunnings gal bolts are construction bolts. They aren’t designed for fitting knobs to.

NOPE! well yes and no - there are standards for bolts including corrosion protection tolerance specifications in specific application. The green shed's offerings may meet some of those standards.

Australian Standards for bolting - After Fabrication – Hot Dip Galvanizing Manual

save you the look,

"The design provisions for structural bolts are contained in four major Standards. While the design provisions are usually consistent across the Standards, the specifier should check against the provisions in the relevant Standard.

• AS/NZS 2327, Composite structures — Composite steel-concrete construction in buildings, which covers the design, detailing and construction of composite steel-concrete members (beams, columns, slabs, joints) in buildings
• AS 4100, Steel structures, which covers the design of buildings, structures and cranes constructed of steel
• AS/NZS 4600, Cold-formed steel structures, which is used for the design of structural members cold-formed to shape from carbon or low-alloy steel sheet, strip, plate or bar not more than 25 mm in thickness and used for load-carrying purposes in buildings (bolting procedures in this guide relevant for steel thicknesses ≥ 3mm)
• AS/NZS 5100.6, Bridge design, Part 6: Steel and composite construction, which is used for the design of road, railway and pedestrian bridges, including the design of box and longitudinally stiffened girders

The construction requirements of structural steelwork involving fabrication, corrosion protection, erection, and modification of steelwork, including detailed provisions for bolted assemblies is covered in a single Standard.

AS/NZS 5131, Structural steelwork – fabrication and erection"

Originally Posted by 419

not when you need an imperial nut to fit an imperial bolt or vice versa, or a bolt to fit an imperial thread in a fitting.

Exactly this.
Needed when you are trying to fit to an existing fitting, and heaps of what we buy and use (including bunnings) is still imperial.
e.g. I also needed a swivel caster with an M8 threaded stem, and the choices they had were M10, 5/16 or 3/8.

If you are making something from scratch, no big deal to use metric.
Also why I never throw out old nuts and bolts.

This drawer contains my Metrics, M12+ are in behind the plastic boxes
IMG_Metrics.jpg
This one Imperials
Imperials.jpg

In Australia, galvanised bolts are standard size & the nuts are tapped oversize, whereas some overseas countries use standard nuts & make the bolts undersize. The advantage of the overseas ones is that you can put stainless nuts onto galvanised bolts. When I was working I had problems with people installing some of our imported products, would drop a nut & then grab an Australian standard one instead. When they torqued up any high tensile ones they would strip the threads.

Just returned from the UK. After the experience I've had of DIY stores and builders merchants over there I will never again moan about Bunnings, for a few months at least anyway...

Originally Posted by 62woollybugger

The advantage of the overseas ones is that you can put stainless nuts onto galvanised bolts.

Why would you want to do that? Zinc and SS are incompatible metals.