Great Deal On Boltsnaps!!

[JT2]

I was at the local Lowe's Home Improvement store today walking down the hardware aisle looking for some poly rope when I noticed a sign that read "50% off all stainless steel hardware in stock". When I asked the guy working in that department what the deal was he told me that they were getting a new supplier for their stainless steel so they were marking down the remaining stuff from their old supplier. I bought 1/2"& 3/4" SS boltsnaps for $2.33 and I bought several 4" SS double-enders for $3.23, well, actually I bought all of the boltsnaps and double-enders they had, 10 of each size boltsnaps, and 12 double-enders as well as some SS screws for the boat hardware and a couple of other SS odds and ends. I don't know if this is something all of the Lowe's stores are doing or not, but I thought I would let everybody know about it so y'all could check out your local store.:D

[WJL]

Thanks for the info JT, I'm going to check out my local Lowe's and see what's up. I wonder if their ss boltsnap hardware is marine rated, i.e. are the little springs going to rust or are they stainless as well?

[GearHead]

I took advantage of that offer too, JT. I don't know if you got the same type of boltsnaps that I did, but I'm concerned they won't be lasting that long. When I compared them at home to my "marine grade" SS snaps, they look distinctly different. The real ones are smooth all over, whereas these have a line down all of the edges that I presume is from a different forging process, and they look "plated" somehow. I don't know enough about metallurgy to know for sure if they're lame, but I do know they're different. They've been in the Salt a few times and still work. I'll report back if the springs fall apart.

Cheers,

Rick

[JT2]

GearHead once bubbled...
I took advantage of that offer too, JT. I don't know if you got the same type of boltsnaps that I did, but I'm concerned they won't be lasting that long. When I compared them at home to my "marine grade" SS snaps, they look distinctly different. The real ones are smooth all over, whereas these have a line down all of the edges that I presume is from a different forging process, and they look "plated" somehow. I don't know enough about metallurgy to know for sure if they're lame, but I do know they're different. They've been in the Salt a few times and still work. I'll report back if the springs fall apart. The ones I bought were marine grade ss boltsnaps and are smooth all over with no lines, and they are not plated. Also, a magnet will not stick to them, and I am told that this is one way to tell if something is truly stainless. I do not know for sure if the magnet test always applies, but the headers on my dads boat are stainless steel and a magnet will not stick to them either. The magnet does stick to the plated boltsnaps that I have. HTH

[Waterborne]

WJL once bubbled...
Thanks for the info JT, I'm going to check out my local Lowe's and see what's up. I wonder if their ss boltsnap hardware is marine rated, i.e. are the little springs going to rust or are they stainless as well?
Hey WJL, I hope it's not the same Lowes that I'll be going to.;)
I have bought a bunch of the SS bolt snaps from Lowes before and they have been marine grade with SS springs as well. I haven't had any problems with the ones I have now rusting or the like.

First one there gets all the bolt snaps!:D