As some of you know I work on private yachts.
My biggest gripe is the quality of so called stainless steel.
It's not just nuts and bolts. Anything stainless is just junk anymore.
I went to bolt something together last week with new nuts, bolts and washers. It was an
electric motor on a water maker that slides to adjust the belt, gently tighten the bolts, loosen
to readjust for proper belt tension, and realize the bolts were galled. Couldn't tighten them or loosen
them. Had to grind of the heads to get it apart and replace the new nuts and bolts.
I grew up working on cars, mostly foreign brands, so yes I am very aware of torque specs and have
always been leery of over tightening things. I remember seeing a book years ago on MG'S that had
a line that said " these cars are not made for heavy handed mechanics". Lesson learned.
Anyway, yes the quality has gone to crap. I've said for years I would gladly pay more.for quality.
It's a sad state we are in.
Don't get me started on battery's. That's another sore spot.
Gary
Y'know down here at the Bottom of the World we had a big earthquake a few years back killed a couple of hundred people when some buildings fell down; and that has, inevitably, made us ask a bunch of questions around design, component certification, "test certificates" from China wherein we have found that the paper they're printed on has the same structural integrity as the steel they are "certifying" etc etc (we had a batch of "earthquake certified" structural steel reinforcing mesh recently which, when independently tested, failed at 7% of the load it was supposed to withstand) and so on and so on - a familiar story to any engineer
BUT - several prominent structural engineers have commented that the elephant in the room is the fasteners. What good is excellent, locally-produced, well-designed steel structural work when the "Grade 8" bolts holding it all together are made of cheese?
Next time we have another big earthquake those Chinese bolts may well kill a bunch more folks who had taken care to live and work in new, "post-quake-standard" "safe" buildings . . .
I have a big stash here of M14 bolts and nuts - an odd, Italian size which we have inherited with "Caprari" Italian made pumps, and i have been using them where otherwise I would previously have used an M12 fastener - no failures at all.
Just my $0.02
Cheers, Mike