HELP - Gold bolt with an "8" on it?

[SMJ0104]

I found a bucket of these in my warehouse. They seem to be copper but I'm not sure. They are 5 1/2" long and have a "8" on the hex head. 1/2" threads. Any ideas what these are and/or what they are for? Value? Thanks!

 

[davesnothere]

Those are bolts! They hold things together!

 

[SMJ0104]

Nice!! Haha! Thanks for the insight!!

 

[EOC_Jason]

I've never seen a copper bolt before, I would think it would be too soft... They do make BRONZE screws / bolts...

It's probably a regular bolt with a zinc coating.

It's probably just a grade 2 bolt, if it were a real grade 8 it would have 6 radial lines on the top, that is the standard.

If it's metric, they will stamp 8.8 on top for its grade... But with just the single 8 I'm kind of at a loss.

 

[jakemac]

My WAG is that they're grade 8 (hardness) bolts made before the current marking standard, or by a manufacturer that decided to use their own marking instead of the standard.

 

[4xdog]

There have been a lotta bits made in beryllium-copper (Be-Cu) alloys over the years for nonmagnetic and non-sparking properties.

These bolts could easily be Be-Cu. Are they mangnetic? That's a quick test for surface treatments on steel or monolithic construction using a nonferrous alloy.

 

[1982fxr]

been many other marking over the years other than the basic ones we always think of...

 

[SASORacing]

go to a home depot or lowes, there are dozens of "grade 8" hardened bolts!

the better ones are the 10+ with the better head that looks like it has a integrated washer.

 

[franzdom]

Perhaps they are grade 8 steel bolts that are copper plated?

 

[gtermini]

Odds are they are bronze. They used to be common for marine use. They are a reasonably tough alloy. I'd use them exactly as you would in place of any grade 5 steel or stainless bolt.

As for value, probably about worthless for resale, but you'd have to take out a 2nd mortgage to buy new replacements.

Greyson

 

[PBCampbell]

Turn that bolt 90 degrees in that second picture and you'll see it's an "infinite" grade.

 

[kd3pc]

In the 1970's I used similar ones to bolt high voltage switch gear and buss bar together...they may be copper?

I would use them, but not count on them being grade 8

 

[shanny19]

If I had a bucket of those, I'd get them to the recycle yard and get them converted to tool-buying cash.

 

[monomach]

Copper bolts just tossed in a bucket for who knows how long would have at least a little verdigris on them, probably.

In any case, a lot of old grade 8 bolts did have an 8 on the head. I've never sen an 8 on the head for anything else. Those are just zinc-plated grade 8 bolts. Not going to be worth the crazy money copper would have gotten you from the scrapper, but at least they're good for using.

 

[Nick.Watson]

Probably grade 8 bronze!