scwirral Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 Hi, guys. Have finally got the head bearings swapped in my Blade. Biggest ballache was that the shitty monkey metal fixings Honda used to hold the front mudguard on chewed up and had to be drilled out (and you wont believe how hard the fuckers seemed to be once your trying to drill them out!), despite me soaking it all in WD40 the night before lift-off. Anyway, some of the captives are knackered, so I'm planning to ditch all the Honda fixings and replace the lot with stainless. My question is, will I be able to cut the stainless screws to length using a hacksaw, or will they be too hard? I'd rather just buy 100 the same from screwfix and trim them down, rather than have to buy small quantities of different length screws (call me tight / careful). Will I be OK if I buy a pack of saw blades when I get the screws? Cheers, all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark/Foggy Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 You can work Ti with hand tools, but I'd invest in an angle grinder if you've not already got one, my favourite tool by far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
originalracingsnake Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 You can work Ti with hand tools, but I'd invest in an angle grinder if you've not already got one, my favourite tool by far How about s/s though, and what grades can be easily cut by hand? Linesman cutters are awesome BTW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cagimaha Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 Yeah you can cut stainless bolts no problems with a hacksaw. Make sure you put a nut on first then cut them then when you take the nut off it helps to clean the threads up. Make sure it is a stainless nut too though or itll just get chewed up. If you've got loads of em to do the angle grinder is a lot quicker and has the added bonus of pissing the old bag next door off. Hope this helps, Ben. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scwirral Posted July 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 Yeah you can cut stainless bolts no problems with a hacksaw. Make sure you put a nut on first then cut them then when you take the nut off it helps to clean the threads up. Make sure it is a stainless nut too though or itll just get chewed up. If you've got loads of em to do the angle grinder is a lot quicker and has the added bonus of pissing the old bag next door off. Hope this helps, Ben. Thanks for the replies. I do have an angle grinder, but sadly we live on a country lane and the nearest neighbours are 1/4 mile away. Have always done the using a nut to tidy the threads technique on mild steel. I've got a vice on the bench, so should make angle grinder waving just a bit less dangerous! screwfix do good prices on their stainless nuts and bolts. Anyone know what the difference is between A2 and A4 grade ss? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark/Foggy Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 A4 generally better for high loads, not sure that your gonna have much of a problem with a mudgaurd/bodywork. More likely to have a problem with the heads popping off/rounding if you over torque them as A2 is likely to be cold worked and lower tolerances will have been used in manufacture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendo Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 Hacksaw will cut it no problem. We use a lot of it at work and you want a blade with 32teeth per inch (our blades are yellow). Basically its a fine blade and it breezes through it. Any less than 32teeth per inch will still cut it, but it may be more of a pain in the arse (blade jumps about until it gets started) and not be as tidy. HTH Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will#224 Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 I'm not convinced screwfix is cheapest place for stainless. Usually fastener specialists are cheaper and would be able to advice on applications etc. Last place i used was Bapps http://www.bapp.co.uk/products/general-bolting i think it was £5 per kilo of whatever i wanted with A2 stainless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porter_jamie Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 had the same issue at the weekend with the R1 mudguard fixings - had to chisel them off - i just got some probolt stainless bolts instead - had to buy a whole fairing kit though. putting a nut on first is a top tip btw. have you considered a probolt set - they aint particularly cheap, but saves you a bit of hassle. let us know how much the proscrewfix version costs Jam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scwirral Posted July 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 Have you considered a probolt set - they aint particularly cheap, but saves you a bit of hassle. Yup, considered it. Then saw the price let us know how much the proscrewfix version costs 50 off M5x25 pan heads in stainless @ screwfix = £3.71 Will have to buy washers and nuts, but will have a few spares for future use. And there's a screwfix nearby. Just wish they did stainless allen head screws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porter_jamie Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 Yup, considered it. Then saw the price 50 off M5x25 pan heads in stainless @ screwfix = £3.71 Will have to buy washers and nuts, but will have a few spares for future use. And there's a screwfix nearby. Just wish they did stainless allen head screws. http://www.screwfix.com/prods/19472/Bolts/...20mm-Pack-of-50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorenzo Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 As an aside to all of this, your chewed up bolts that got hard to drill were probably aluminium, because A: they got chewed up and B: aluminium has a property known as 'work hardening', which in essence means the more you fuck about with it, the harder it gets. A nice slow drilling action rather than some high speed twizzling is the way forward. Either that or you've got a cheapo drill bit that goes blunt really easily. One or the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scwirral Posted July 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 Good link jp, many thanks. Lorenzo, you could well be right. The galvanic reaction between bolts and steel captives on the guard would also explain why the feckers got so tough to undo in the first place. When you think of all the crud that could reasonably be expected to be sprayed all over these parts, you'd think they'd find a better solution. Are they still using the same crap design on modern bikes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bezzer Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 A2 can be cut and machined easily and will polish up well to a mirror finish. Forget A4 unless you get the right size/length to start with, you won't cut it past the 2nd-3rd hacksaw stroke as it hardens straight away with heat and an angle grinder is overkill on M6 or smaller. A4 isn't stronger it's just "brighter" more corrosion resistant and mainly used in plate form, A2 has the better properties preferred for bolts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexp5 Posted July 15, 2009 Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 Cobalt hacksaw blades will cut stainless. Use tallow or drilling/tapping fluid (not WD40). A4 stainless is recommended for use in marine applications (i.e. salt water)... guess what I use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scwirral Posted July 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 Probably get myself a kit of fasteners from boltmeup.com, £21.99 posted for an assortment of button head bolts, washers and nuts (stainless) aimed at my bike. Maybe not as comprehensive as probolt, but good VFM I think. Will of course be waiting until the end of the month...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.