World's smallest bolts and rivets!

[mmagliaro]

Well, I suppose SOMEWHERE in the world there is something smaller, but check these out,
from Scale Hardware (http://www.scalehardware.com).

The "giant" brass one is a 00-90 !!



These are a 0.8mm with nut, and then a plain hex-head 0.7mm rivet.  Note, for the rivet sizes, they refer to the HEAD size,
not the shaft size.  So as you can see, that rivet shaft is TINY.
And these are stainless steel so they are strong.
Prices are about $12 - $14 for 100 or for 25, depending on the item.  That isn't cheap, I know.  But these things are,
wow.

And it gets better.  They make these rivets down to 0.4.  (For once, I think that would be something that would
actually be "too small" for N Scale!)
  They also have some in brass.

SO.... I started using them to build the rest of my 4-4-2 Atlantic valve gear.  I used a coupler lift lever and a brass
handrail stanchion from the GMM steam loco kit.  The stanchion is soldered to the bottom of the crosshead.
Push a 0.7mm hex-bolt-head rivet through the two holes, push a washer on the back
(oh yeah, they have micro washers for these things, too!), clip off the back, and bada boom.  Just cutting it
flares/mashes out the end enough that you cannot get that washer off the backside and the rivet won't come out.
(I put a micro-drop of ACC on there just for good measure)

Once again, for scale, that "giant" crankpin in the picture is from a Kato Mikado, and those ain't exactly big!

This is one of those moments that changes things, at least for me.  It means it is possible to build things
that I never thought could be built that well or that much to scale, before.

[up1950s]

I've bought some rivets and metric screws from them before , I didn't get the .8mm set you got , but I will . Thanks for the tip .

[Andrew Hutchinson]

Hello max,

What was the shipping like? 
 
"This is one of those moments that changes things, at least for me.  It means it is possible to build things
that I never thought could be built that well or that much to scale, before."

Fasteners are one of those items for me too...

I've seen that site before , but living in Canada  never pulled the trigger on account of shipping and the expense of quality taps and dies. The thought of being midway through a project and snapping a tap and then snapping a second tap has also had an effect... In any event it really does make a difference to the valve gear displayed.

For small threads check out the work of Jerry Kieffer. He had an article in the Jan/ Feb 2008 Home shop Machinist describing how he altered a Sherline threading kit to produce miniature taps and dies.  I happened upon an old Sherline lathe several weeks back at Oregon GEARS and started in on modifying it according to the article and subsequent updates. The modification allows for 4-1 and 5-1 reduction. 125-250 TPI would seem ideal for N scale applications where  very short bolts w/special heads can be advantageous. In the meantime the machine cuts 101+TPI without modification. The smallest major diameter I've made at this TPI is .03". Smaller and the threads really start to get too coarse in relation to the minor diameter.  I've yet to complete a tap  for such a bolt so don't know much more. 

[Lemosteam]

And there they are.  Sold!!!  That hex rivet looks great on there Max.  How soft is the stainless steel?  Do you think one could peen it over with a few taps?  Realy nice find and thanks for the heads-up.  Did you get somoe brass rivets too?

[mmagliaro]

Hi all.
Shipping, at least here in the US, was only $3.
I did get some brass rivets.  I haven't tried them.  I bought larger sizes of those, 1.0mm and 1.2mm (again, that is the
head size). 

The stainless rivets are virtually impossible to squeeze or hammer.  I tried that idea.  Stainless is so hard that
no way could I peen it over like a normal rivet.   However, slipping the micro-washer over the back, and then
clipping off the rivet very close, worked great.   I asked the guy who runs Scale Hardware about any special
tools to squeezing or hammering or otherwise fastening the rivets and he says he has none, but some of the guys
who use his rivets have settled on cut-off pliers that seem to leave a big enough distortion on the cut-off end that
the rivet stays in.

I bought a 1.0mm tap too.  Always needed one of those.  It looks very nice.  That was 12 bucks.

Let's face it, this stuff ain't cheap.  But for what it is, and how well it's made, I think the price is fair.
Can you imagine doing a bridge model, and using those steel hex-headed rivets to do all the nut/bolt/washer detail?
That would be awesome (and awesomely expensive).

[Mike C]

 Nice !!!!!. I see a trip to you're eye Dr. in the near future .. ....Mike

[peteski]

Nice find Max!
I have been using 000-120 and 0000-160 screws in the past but the small rivets are a great new find.  The hex-head rivets also look very useful for detailing model car engines in 1:24 or 1:43 scales (my other hobby).

Here are 00-90, 000-120 nad 0000-160 screws I use.

[engineshop]

Thanks for the link. I ordered the hex-head nuts and the Simulated Corrugated Duct that could look great as reinforced air hoses.

[havingfuntoo]

Me too, thank you for the heads up.

[peteski]

Well, I suppose SOMEWHERE in the world there is something smaller, but check these out,
from Scale Hardware (http://www.scalehardware.com).

The "giant" brass one is a 00-90 !!



These are a 0.8mm with nut, and then a plain hex-head 0.7mm rivet.  Note, for the rivet sizes, they refer to the HEAD size,
not the shaft size.  So as you can see, that rivet shaft is TINY.
And these are stainless steel so they are strong.

Max,
the hex-head rivet you show has a round base (it looks like a washer). I looked over that website and none of the rivets shown have that feature. Well, the miniature rivet section shows all the rivets with round (domed) heads. Then there is a simulated hex bolts section but none of those seem to have rounded base like the one in your photo. Where did you find that one?

[mmagliaro]

Look under the section called "Tuner Model Factory", and then look for
0.7 mm Simulated Hex Bolt Drilled w/Flange

[pnolan48]

Thanks for that link! I was wondering where I could get them in bulk (relative) after buying a few many years ago. I'd snip them with a wire cutter dedicated to snipping piano wire. I buy wire cutters at the Dollar store just for that purpose, as every cut leaves notches on both blades--but flares the cut ends enough to hold a washer. Just put the washer on before cutting.

[Lemosteam]

BOOO! looks like this company is gone?  @mmagliaro any idea what happened?

[MK]

Looks like they went out of business in Fall of last year.  Here's maybe an alternative but it looks like they sell stuff by the gross.  Maybe team up with a few friends.

https://jimorrisco.com/

[ednadolski]

I had heard that SHW had been sold last fall but supposedly is re-opening in a few months:

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/p48_modeler/conversations/topics/18157

(Not sure if you need membership to see that.)

Ed