DIY Washer Wreath Ornament

Over at InspiredWhims.com they teach you had to make this cute little washer wreath ornament

I LOVE IT!

DIY Fastener Snowman Ornament

Go to HowWeeLearn.com to see a tutorial on how to help your kids make their own snowman ornament out of fasteners - I love the carrot/screw nose!

DIY Fastener Christmas Trees

Go to LeftBrainCraftBrain.com to learn how to make, what they call, Tinkering Trees!

They look like super cute little Christmas Trees to me - adorable.

DIY Fastener Snowflake Coasters!

Go to ilovetocreate.com and learn to make these!

Fastener Snowflake Coasters...I think they are beautiful.

#4 Thankful for YOU

Did you know the first screw factory was a failure? Sadly, it's true. 

In 1760, two English brothers from Burton on Trent, Job & William Wyatt, patented a screw-cutting machine (Patent No. 751) which appears to be the first major advancement capable of true mass-production. Their machine could cut 10 screws per minute and was considered one of the precursors to mass production machinery. The Wyatt’s machine made a labor of several minutes into one of six or seven seconds while producing a much higher quality product. It took the brothers 16 years to raise the capital to open a factory but for some reason, the Wyatt brothers’ business was not successful. 

Poor Job and William.

So this week we're thankful for our customers that keep our doors open.

Thanks to all of you!

Here is an advertisement from an old nut & bolt company back in 1884 from Darlaston, England.

Click here to read more about the history of nuts & bolts in Darlaston, England, dating back to 1800.

#3 Thankful for Olives & Grapes

The first screws go back to the Ancient Greeks (or Ancient Romans, depending on where you look for information.) Both Ancient Civilizations would press olives and grapes to make olive oil and wine (still loved today by both the Greeks, Italians and many others) and they used screw presses, a type of machine press in which the ram is driven up and down by a screw...like this.

From Wikipedia's Screw Press Page: the screw shaft can be driven by a handle or a wheel. It works by using a coarse screw to convert the rotation of the handle or drive-wheel into a small downward movement of greater force.

Basically the screw press creates a strong force to be exerted on an object with minimal effort from rotating the handle or wheel - the screw makes it possible. 

Thanks to the deliciousness of olive oil and wine, the screw was invented - so thanks grapes & olives! 

#2 Thankful to the Screw - Helix Vs Spiral

Our month of gratitude continues with us showing the difference between a spiral and a helix - we're thankful someone figured this out as all of our screws and bolts depend on it:

The words spiral and helix can be confusing as both are used to reference curves that "wind around". I have heard people refer to the length below the head, including the threads, of a screw as a spiral but that's wrong - it is a helix! A spiral is a curve that winds around a fixed point with a continuously increasing radius and a helix is a three -dimensional curve that twists around a cylinder at a constant inclined angle. If anything, sometimes a screw starts as a spiral and then turn into a helix...meaning the the point is a spiral but the shaft is a helix. Have a look at the helix on a bolt and screw:

#1 Thankful for Fasteners

Fasteners are an integral part of infrastructure - our buildings, our objects, our cars. We can find fasteners in just about everything. All the things that facilitate our productivity, our happiness, our safety, all being held together with these sometimes little and sometimes large things that clamp parts together called fasteners.

And since it's November, we're going to show a little gratitude by sharing some interesting fastener facts, starting with this one:

The difference between a 'bolt' & a 'screw': bolt refers to a male fastener that requires a nut to function, whereas screw refers to a male fastener that is mated into a matching female thread in a work piece. The bolt and nut assembly requires two tools to tighten or loosen, whereas a screw only requires one as the part with the female threaded hole is typically stationary. 

Freeway Fasteners' Monster

And last but not least, for the month, your humble author as...drum rolll please - Frankenstein's Monster!

Joined by her friends Dracula, Wolfman and a Zombie.

(I got a really good price on my bolts.. hee hee)

From your friends at Freeway Fasteners
Have a Happy Halloween!

DIY Bolts for Frankenstein's Monster

Over at a website called Life PreKARIous.com there is a tutorial on how to make your own neck bolts. You must click over to learn how but here's a sneak peak...she uses ear plugs!!! I'm not telling how (click over!) but look how good they turn out!

Our Friend, Frankenstein's Monster

Our favorite costume every year is Frankenstein's Monster. Why? Because he's got bolts coming out of his neck! We love seeing how different people attempt this. Here's a collection of our some of our favorites from all over the web. It's fun to see how different people do the bolts in the neck.

This photo from a make-up kit you can buy on Amazon.com

Found these guys at Coolest-Homemade-Costumes.com

And look at these cuties - his bolts almost look real!

Photo from Costume-Works.com

This one is incredible! I guess the other one fell out.

Click over and you can see him with his bride - photo from whatiwore.tumblr.com

And for those of you who don't have a costume yet, did you know you could download a prinatable mask from someone on Etsy? You can. They range from $1-$5. Bolts included.

You can color this one - buy it here.

This one is great for photo booths - buy it here.

Another photo booth option that even works on your dog! So cute!!!!

Buy it here.

Pumpkin Learning

Found a newsletter online about a bunch of kids in Shanghai learning to use one-handed tools by applying fasteners to pumpkins!

The parents brought in a bunch of pumpkins and nuts, bolts, screws and washers and the kids learned to how put them in to action. In the true Halloween spirit, the kids attempted to make a scary face.

Read more at the Dulwich-Shanghia Newsletter.

It's Pumpkin Time!

We're starting off October with a
Steam Punk Pumpkin Tutorial.

Our favorite thing is using nuts & bolts to decorate pumpkins!
Click over to Live Laugh Rowe.com to learn how to make your own.

Big Bolts and a Hammer

More from our warehouse:

How huge are these?!

We used our hand to show you perspective because I can't remember how long or thick these bolts were.

Maybe a hammer will show you a better perspective - how's that look? 

Huge, right?!

Hey Squirt!

Do you know about Squirting Washers?

They exist, and they are a very smart invention.

Once the washers have been given adequate tension, orange silicon that is embedded in the depressions under the bumps squirts out! So you know exactly when you have tightened them enough. Pretty brilliant!

Underneath those bumps...

ORANGE! 

When inspectors see the orange squirts, they know that they have been tightened appropriately.

Pretty clever.

We're in Style, People!

The September 2015 issue of People's Style Watch (this one)...

 Has put together an "On the Edge" hodgepodge of cool accessories and clothes, and we are currently in style - SEE!

They are earrings that, when you wear them, look like they have gone through your whole earlobe.

In case you can't read it, it says they are $23 and from a website called www.myjewelcandy.com

I have to say they got this one right - my sister has a pair and she does look cool in them.

Did You Ask How You Can Organize and Store Your Drill Bits?

How about make a Drill Bit Organizer with a CNC Machine?

Then watch this video to see the final product - it is awesome!
(He also explains the whole process of designing and making it.)

I WANT ONE!

Found the videos over at Core77 - an Industrial Design Magazine + Resource

Phillip and His New Hat

This is Phillip.

And this is his hat!

We're all green (like his hat) with envy.

Gigantic Drill Bits

I hope you are able to see the scope of these with my not-so-great photo, and I only used my hand as a reference so that might not help either...

but can you see how ENORMOUS these drill bits are?! 

I wish it were silver and not black so you see it clearer, like the one next to it. Actually, even the second largest one is pretty huge!

If you need one, or have any questions, let us know.

We carry them.

Fasteners, Helping to Cool the Earth

We found another assembly diagram that shows lots of fasteners - and it is very creative -  so we love it.

This diagram was made by Doug Chayka for Fast Co. Exist's feature on "World Changing Ideas of 2015", The title is: GEOENGINEERING. I think the diagram, in reference to the article, is suggesting that maybe one day someone will come up with a plan for humans to cool our planet...clever way of expressing it. There are a bunch of fasteners in the diagram, which is also awesome, but at this size they are hard to see so be sure to click over to the artist's website to see a big version of it - to see all the fasteners in all their glory: http://www.dougchayka.com/. Perhaps fasteners will help save the planet.

How to Loosen Nuts from Bolts

Typically we don't like to talk about nuts coming loose from bolts but sometimes it is necessary when you need to remove something, and often quite difficult. So we found a pretty decent tutorial on the Do It Yourself Network that gives you 5 ways to loosen them yourself.

Of course sometimes it is easy to separate a nut from a bolt, like in this video:

And other times, you may need a tip from the tutorial: 
How to loosen nuts from bolts

Fast Fasteners

As I was out and about on Sunday, I came across some motorcycles that took my breath away! 

First off, they are nice bikes...I guess. I don't really know but they looked fancy & expensive. But what filled me with joy was seeing all the fasteners in place, holding each bike together - this bike was my favorite!

Fasteners Galore

Look at all those - nice one, Yamaha!

Then there was this one...it isn't as impressive, fastener-wise.

Lucite VS. Acrylic

So what is the difference between Lucite and acrylic?

It's simple: Lucite is a brand of acrylic, that's it. Just like Plexiglas, Perspex, Policril, Gavrieli, Vitroflex, Limacryl, R-Cast, Per-Clax, Plazcryl, Acrylex, Acrylite, Acrylplast, Altuglas, Polycast, Oroglass, Optix - they are all brands of acrylic.

Bulletproof glass however is something different, it's polycarbonate.

Anyways, the real reason I love seeing things made of acrylic (even polycarbonate, like at banks) is, in general, they are being held with fasteners and I like that you can see right through the material to see exactly how the fasteners are assembled.

Cracking Nuts

People are putting those Lucite/Acrylic fasteners to good use! We found a Lucite/acrylic nut cracker that utilizes a large screw which goes up and down to put pressure on that tough nut that needs cracking...I feel like a proud parent watching their kid play ball that says, "That's my boy." because when I look at it I feel like saying, "That's my product."

Buy it on ETSY for $20.

Acrylic Fasteners

Did you know you can buy acrylic fasteners? YOU CAN!

The ones in the photo come from a place in Singapore.

You can buy this online.

Does anyone know the difference between lucite, acrylic & plexiglass? 

I do but I'm going to wait to tell you next time!

Vintage Lucite Paperweights

I'm not really sure why but Lucite or acrylic paperweights filled with fasteners became very popular in the 60's & 70's...I wish I could have found some historical context but I didn't. Despite that acrylic or Lucite is clear many of them have turned yellow from age - have a look.

Here are a few we found online and then of course, last but not least, our very own at the bottom.

For Sale at Ebay.com

For Sale at Mecox.com

Another one for Sale at Ebay.com

For Sale at BigAshtry.com

Even toilets seats! 

For sale at the Unfinished Man

And this one is ours!

Ours has been moved around and fondled over the years so there are a lot of scratch marks and scuffs on it BUT WE LOVE IT.

Summer Boat Rides

We saw a Groupon for a boat ride in Newport Beach and it made me laugh! I took a photo of it so you can see why (hopefully you'll be able to see it.)

Can you see the name of the boat?!!!

It is called 'KNOTS n VOLTS' - we love it!

Nut & Bolt Candles

Found these over in Oregon.

I love that it says they are perfect for engineers and tinkerers. 

Buy your own at HONEYSTONE CANDLES