Albany County Fasteners, Author at Albany County Fasteners

We’ve been busy…

Here at Albany County Fasteners our commitment is to providing the best possible fastener shopping experience to our great customers. Part of that experience of course, is convenience. As you may know our product catalog grows almost daily, and we are proud to launch new lines that help make Albany County Fasteners your one-stop-shop for all things fastener.

Shop Forged Industrial Hardware

Forged Industrial Hardware

Eyebolts, Turnbuckles, Pad Eyes and more all forged in the USA for top quality industrial and lifting hardware.

Tri Groove Security Nuts

Shop Tri Groove Security Nuts

Tri Groove security nuts feature a tapered diameter, making the nuts resistant to gripping devices.
Security nuts are installed using a special Tri Groove socket, which grips the indentations along the outside of the fastener to turn the nut along a thread. Tri Groove nuts are also referred to as T Groove, Trident Drive and Coned Trident Drive Nuts. Tri Groove Security Nuts are available in Zamak 5 Zinc Alloy and corrosion resistant 316 Stainless Steel. UNC Coarse thread sizes available in diameters up to 5/8 inch.

New Rivet Assortment Kits

Shop Rivet Kits

304 Stainless Steel and Aluminum Rivet Kits in a durable plastic compartment box. These fastener assortment kits include popular size runs of pop rivets in domed head, countersunk, closed end and large flange varieties. Pop Rivets included in Rivet Kits are either corrosion resistant Stainless Steel, or lightweight Aluminum as described in each kit title. New kits include Aluminum Rivets, Closed End (Sealed) Rivets and more!

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Albany County Fasteners is committed to providing a better user experience. Please share your issues and suggestions in the comments below! We would love to hear feedback from you!

New Product Lines

We have been very busy here at Albany County Fasteners expanding our ever-growing products line in order to better outfit our great customers! A big part of the line expansions include hand tools, Taps and Dies, Specialty Rivets and more to help make AlbanyCountyFasteners.com your one stop online shop for all things fasteners! See below for just a few of our new product highlights:

Torx Screwdrivers – Now available in a variety of different styles including Standard, Flag Handle and T Handle in both standard 6 lobe and tamper proof.

Standard – T Handle – Flag Handle

Strut Parts & Fittings

Strut parts and strut fittings in a variety of styles and finishes including 304 and 316 Stainless Steel.

Pipe Clamps, Post Bases, Channel Nuts, Spring nuts, U Bolts & more, all available in durable stainless steel. Fasteners in this selection are used to secure and create a strut assembly.

Shop Stainless Steel Strut Parts

Massive Rivet Expansion

We are proud to announce our complete launch of Blind Pop Rivets in a variety of materials. New Additions include Colored Rivets, Closed End Rivets, Structural Rivets, Multi Grip Rivets, and a material expansion of Standard, Countersunk and Large Flange to include Aluminum and All Steel.

Check Out Our New Rivets

Spanner Screws

Our Tamper Proof line has expanded to include Spanner, or “Snake Eye” screws. Tamper Proof Spanner or “Snake Eye” security screws are installed using a spanner bit. Spanner Screws are commonly referred to as “Snake Eye” because of the two dot drive system. Spanner security screws are used for securing materials from being tampered with, such as gutters, license plates, grills in jails, schools, boats and cars. They are also used in food prep and processing areas. You will often see security screws used in bathroom stalls and other public locations. Spanner screws can only be installed or removed with a spanner bit, which fits a pin into each of the screw’s two drive holes. Since Spanner screws can only be installed or removed through spanner bits, they are very resistant to tampering.
Shop Tamper Proof Spanner Screws & Bits

Taps & Dies

Taps and dies are metal threading tools, tap and die sets are used to cut and restore internal and external threads precisely. A tap is used to form the female component of the assembly, as in the case of a nut or socket, a die is used on the male component, as in a screw or bolt. In other words, a Tap is used to create the internal threads in a hole and a die is used to make or repair external threading on a round rod, screw, or bolt. T handle wrenches are used with a tap to create or repair an internal thread. T Handles hold the end of a tap to provide extra leverage for hand tapping.

Taps and Dies Available Now

Albany County Fasteners is committed to providing a better user experience. Please share your issues and suggestions in the comments below! We would love to hear feedback from you!

Fasteners 101

Looking for more information on Fastener Nomenclature, Standards, Finishes and more?

We are proud to announce the launch of Fasteners 101 – The Official Fastener Information Page of Albany County Fasteners.

Check it out today for information on fastener varieties, drives and materials with more content added regularly.

Check out Fasteners 101 Today

Black Oxide Fasteners

Albany County Fasteners is proud to announce our expanding black oxide fasteners line, as well as offering custom black oxide fastener orders. With this announcement, we would also like to share some information with our customers and subscribers about the process, and what exactly makes a black oxide fastener.

On stainless steel (particularly for us in stainless steel fasteners), black oxide fasteners are 18-8 or

Black Oxide Socket Cap Screws

304 grade stainless steel fasteners that have undergone a conversion coating process to alter certain qualities of the material, most notably the color. The chemical treatment process has a greater effect than this coloring however, in that it also adds a mild corrosion and abrasion resistance to the fastener.

The Black oxidation process for stainless steel consists of a series of chemical baths in a mixture of caustic, oxidizing and sulfur salts. Before the part is dipped into a hot bath of a solution of these materials, it is first dipped in an alkaline cleaner, and then water to ensure a surface free of debris. After the piece is treated in this manner, the fastener has porous qualities. This is then finished by infusing the material with oil or wax to add the corrosion and abrasion resistant qualities.

To achieve maximum corrosion and abrasion resistance, the black oxide is infused with wax during the process and complies with military specifications as a Class 4 finish. The enhanced protection, as well as the sleek black finish are why these fasteners are used. Our Stainless Steel Black Oxide Fasteners undergo this chemical process in order to achieve the black oxide properties.

Black Oxide Lock Washers

The benefits of this process are that the fastener becomes more durable, with an insignificant altering of the fastener’s dimensions.

Black Oxide fasteners are used commonly in the jewelry industry, the automotive industry on both cars and motorcycles, as well as in knife builds, firearm builds and in small machines. This process can be applied to any stainless steel fastener available on our website making the possibilities virtually endless.

Black Oxide Machine Screw Nuts

Snap Rings

We are proud to announce our new line of Snap Rings available online at AlbanyCountyFasteners.com.

Bowed ‘E’ Style Retaining Ring

What is a Retaining Ring?

A Retaining Ring is a circular fastener that holds an assembly to a shaft, or in a housing installed in a groove. After installation, the exposed portion of the ring acts as a shoulder to retain the assembly.

Types of Retaining Rings:

Internal Snap / Housing Rings

At the most basic level, Snap rings can be differentiated by the manner in which they are installed. Axially assembled Circlip rings are installed on shafts externally, or into grooves internally. External circlip rings have lug holes that extend beyond the circumference of the ring, whereas internal snap rings (also called housing rings) have lug holes within the circle. These holes are used in application with pliers designed for installation and removal of the parts.

External Snap Ring

Radially assembled retaining rings include the popular ‘E’ style and are installed externally into grooves on a shaft. They do not have lug holes, so they must be installed using an applicator.

Material and Finish:

At Albany County Fasteners we specialize in stainless steel fasteners, so we offer a full size run in stainless steel retaining clips. These corrosion resistant fasteners are made in grades PH 15-7, PH 17-7 stainless steel and have a passivated protective finish.

Applications:

Retaining rings can be used in any shaft assembly, and take the place of traditional fasteners creating less effort and less waste. When machining a shoulder they can replace a washer and nut. For a housing, they can replace bolts to retain a bearing. Additionally, they can also be used to replace the cotter pin and washer fastening method, as well as act as collars for any socket set screw. Ultimately these fasteners save time, space and money in any shaft or housing assembly making them extremely popular in the automotive, manufacturing and hydraulics industries, but the possibilities are virtually endless.