spring washers - good 'nuff??

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Respectfully, I'm gonna have to see the actual process of a bolt and nut loosening before I quit using lock washers.
Maybe I'm just hard headed that way :rolleyes:
 
This video shows the lock washer to be only slightly better than with no washer. https://youtu.be/IKwWu2w1gGk

Logically, since tension (non-permanent stretch) in the bolt is what keeps it tight, it's not that much of a reach to imagine how the spring washer really does little in keeping the tension in the bolt.

Regardless of the fastening method you use, the article and video really give a case for occasionally checking the tightness of all your bolts. I do that on mine.
 
Thanks for the video.
A friend of mine used to say that cross threading was the best loctite on the market :D
 
Thanks for the video.
A friend of mine used to say that cross threading was the best loctite on the market :D

I found scientific research too, and read through it. It agrees. A flat washer or spring washer don't do a whole lot. A nylock or serrated washer or nut are a little better. A Nylock mostly saves you from losing the nut but that's its main benefit. Wiring or using a castle nut is the most secure, but still requires periodic checking.
 
There's also a nut called a Stover that works real good

Stover-Lock-Nuts-Zinc-Solo-1(RESIZE).jpg
 
There's also a nut called a Stover that works real good

Stover-Lock-Nuts-Zinc-Solo-1(RESIZE).jpg

I hate those darn things, especially if the bolt is sticking through so that you need a deepwell socket, but don't have one so you have to pop a standard socket off the ratchet about half way and get the socket on the top corners. Standard flat nut it works fine, those rounded off things are a pain in the rear to get a grip on like that.

I need more tools.....:rolleyes:
 
I tried to use a 5/8" nut like that yesterday. It was an awkward position and I couldn't muster up enough strength to turn it all the way.
 
Bill, I just inherited a tub full of nuts, bolts and washers, from my cousin, a millwright. In that tub is a gallon can partly full of those Nordic washers. I've started using them and liking them. This thread has made me rethink about ordinary lock washers. Although spring lock washers are of some value, they aren't the end-all beat-all.
 

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