Wedding Clamps

There is a great article over at Design Milk on clamp rings designed by Lu-Wei Chen of Taiwan, from the Drilling Lab.

These rings are awesome! 

One of those screws looks like it's gold!

The screws in these clamps have a head on them instead of being countersunk.

Am I crazy for thinking they look sophisticated?

Combinding the tough metal with the soft metal is the perfect harmony. 

Awesome.

The article is awesome too. Be sure to go over to Design Milk and read all about them.

Great Rack

Someone is making coat racks out of clamps! The clamps don't actually move but they look great.

Buy your rack here!

Esty Clamp Coat Rack

Clamping Down on Books!

Thanks to Bob Vila's website you can hold your books upright with clamps.

These look like GREAT bookshelves - thanks Bob!

Bob also has an informative page that explains all the different types of clamps - Click here for CLAMP INFO.

Let's go Clamping!

I'm a  huge fan of the clamp. 
I get a huge kick out of seeing screws at work. Fasteners are generally hidden, but with clamps they are out in the open. And I like seeing them do their thing. Now check out these tables!

These tables were all made using The Floyd Leg.

Special legs that have clamps.

So you're able to create a table using these legs with almost anything that fits within the clamps.

And they look great!

That adjustable screw on display is so fantastic!

Buy The Floyd Legs here and make your own table.

200

This is our 200th post!

Hooray!!!

In honor of our 200th post we're posting lots of 200's, starting with some information about Nickel 200.

Have you heard of Nickel 200?

When something is made of Nickel 200 it means it is made of 99% pure commercial nickel. This alloy is highly electrically and thermally conductive. It is magnetic and very resistant to corrosion. And of course you can get fasteners made out of it. Nickel 200 is great for:

• Food processing equipment
• Marine and offshore engineering
• Salt production
• Caustic handling equipment
• Manufacture and handling of sodium hydroxide, particularly at temperatures above 300° F
• Reactors and vessels in which fluorine is generated and reacted with hydrocarbons

I personally have never been asked to quote Nickel 200 so I'm thinking it is not very common. If you've ever used it, let me know!

Next, we're posting a poster of what 200 calories of your favorite nuts look like. It's awesome and informative (like us!) and it's about nuts so we're sharing it. Found it at the DailyBurn.com.

Have you seen the Bicentennial Quarter? Also known as the Drummer Quarter, it was minted to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the US.

And LASTLY, check out how to hang a 200 lbs picture or mirror on the wall without a stud!

You actually don't need any fasteners for this one but we thought it was cool, although I have no idea if it actually works.

Anyways, Happy 200th to us!

Screwccessories...yah, it's a word

This is my friend Greg.

He makes really cool things. For example, he welded rings on to the gate behind him and put pots of succulents in them to make the coolest gate ever. That's the thing about Greg - everything he makes is cool. 

Like this cool table. He made it.

A few days ago I ran into him while he was working on this...

I saw him with a tool in one hand and a handy tool on the other!

Do you see what I see on his wrist?! 

He wears a velcro, dare I say, bracelet, that is magnetic and holds on to spare screws for him. That way he doesn't have to set them down or look for them when he needs them. 

How come I've never seen that before?! Greg is so clever... and well accessorized.

And that wall he was working on, here is the finished product...pretty cool.

Click here to check out Greg's Instagram page.

Must We Wave Good-bye?

Look how sad... this washer is bent...

I guess I have to throw it away, right?

WRONG!

Allow me to introduce the Wave Washer!

These washers are purposely shaped this way. 

The wave washer is a spring washer like Bellevilles, which look conical. Wave washers, all spring washers actually, are disks of metal that form an irregular shape, so that when the washer is loaded it acts like a spring and deflects, providing a preload between the two surfaces. Who invented this?!  Whoever came up with this idea is so clever. In fact, everytime I learn about fasteners I am reminded about how much potential we humans have. 

Although my very favorite washers are the Nord-lock washers - they're super smart! I'll do a post on those one day. Where the wave washer is simple, the Nord-lock is complex. But both equally brilliant!

Where can I get fasteners?!

Hahaha - they need a fastener, fast!

This funny photo can be found all over the internet but we got ours from Buzzfeed.com. They did an article on the Most Ironic Things That Have Ever Happened.

Stamping with Nuts & Bolts

Here's a fun thing to try...

Found a website called Picklebums that teaches a tutorial about 

printing with nuts & bolts, although I would call it stamping.

(All of the photos and info are from Picklebums.)

She has lots of these tutorials that show how to make easy art for kids.

You can use your old fasteners or grab one of something.

This little guy is doing a fabulous job!

Not a hex shape?!

Still not a hex shape?!

At least the drives show up.

So pretty!

I think this looks so messy and fun.

Thanks Picklebums!

The Pink Eye

A customer dropped by to ask for our help - he brought this to show us:

A VRS Starpoint Rotating Eye Bolt. Ever seen one of these before?

They are commonly used for lifting.

Would you believe that the pink is standard? It is!

It's a pink powder coating. It can change color too, to indicate temperature.

Anyways, our customer needed more of the bolts that go through the center - no problem.

Here is another photo showing the head of the bolt and it's entrance.*

*We want give a special thanks to the super models who posed with our beauty...so pretty in pink.