Where do Fasteners get used? – Matt

As stated in my previous article I’m new to the fastener world. I couldn’t even imagine all the different uses fasteners have. I used to think, very naively, that nuts and bolts weren’t used that frequently. Now, I understand nuts and bolts are everywhere. Thinking back about my previous job, I’ve realized how many nuts and bolts we used to use without even thinking about it, and that was working in retail. So, if you’re interested in the weird and wonderful areas our fasteners get used you’ve come to the right place.

Construction

Right let’s get the obvious out of the way. Fasteners are used in construction. Here at Thomas Smith Fasteners in Hindley Green our outside wall is lined with steel attached by Fasteners. It’s taken me three weeks to notice it but once you start seeing Fasteners you see them everywhere. It’s the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon, once you see or hear something for the first time you see it everywhere. Now when I’m out and about I feel like all I see is fasteners. Walking down the street and see a road sign, how’s it secured? With a fastener, above it there’s a team working on scaffolding, how’s it held together? Fasteners. I’ve started to realize how much work our products do and it’s amazing.

Classic Cars

Okay, we’ve spoken about construction now lets have some fun. Be it a Bentley or Beamer, a Rolls Royce or a Rover, they’re absolutely filled to the brim with Fasteners. All the fancy upholstery is held together with fasteners, the engine is held together by fasteners, fly wheel bolts without them you’re in trouble and yet again they’re made with fasteners. Using fasteners from Thomas Smith Fasteners, our director Tim restored a Classic Ferrari 365-GTC4 and plenty of other Classic Car enthusiasts continue do the same. To illustrate this point I have linked a YouTube video below by Powernation whereby they built a car with a drill, pop rivets and black spray paint. Fasteners helping Lewis Hamilton to 7 formula one titles and helping me to pass my MOT.

Powernation – Drill, Pop Rivets and Paint
Ferrari Restoration

Heritage Rail

So as a child my favourite toys were part of my train set, probably until being around 4 years old. I was obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine as a little kid and Thomas used to fly round those tracks but how did he do it?

You guessed it, Fasteners. Fasteners are a key component in Heritage Rail keeping our steam engines going in the modern day. Each summer a massive tourist attraction for the family can be found on Britain’s railways. And here at Thomas Smith Fasteners we provide the specials that keep those trains going. Whether their used to reattach a buffer or a smokebox, fasteners hold them together. Thomas gets his restoration from Thomas Smith Fasteners, I suppose that’s how he looks younger in 2023 than he did in the 80’s.

Thomas’s New Look

Aerospace

Do you feel the need, the need for speed? Well your going to need plenty of fasteners if you want to beat Goose in a race. Yes, fasteners yet again help get your aircrafts into the sky. Next time you get a flight have a look down the wing of the plane it’s fasteners galore. They basically hold the entire aircraft together, from doors to wings, without your fasteners your flight to Alicante won’t be going very far. Without the fasteners holding everything together it’d all just be parts, like a guitar without strings. You’ve got your bolts, nuts, screws and rivets that are responsible for your safety and also to make sure you can enjoy your holidays. What’s the alternative take a boat?

Highway to the Fastener Zone

Maritime

You think you don’t need fasteners on a boat, think again. Boats are held together by Fasteners as well. From the port to the starboard, your fasteners keep you afloat as you sail the seven seas. You tend to find a lot of stainless steel fasteners are use in the Maritime industry due to their corrosion resistance. As seen previously on our blog we recently helped to renovate the anti-aircraft mount on the HMS Belfast, using 1/2 BSW x 3/4 Slot Raised. Now permanently docked on the Thames as part of the Imperial War Museum, our fasteners have given the HMS Belfast a new lease of life, and stopped it’s anti-aircraft mount from falling off. This also only scratches the surface of the fasteners that can be found on all 9 floors of the HMS Belfast.

HMS Belfast Restoration

Conclusion

So what have we learned today? Well, fasteners are absolutely everywhere and I’ve not even scratched the surface here. We’ve covered almost every mode of transport aside from Shanks’s pony and found they all use fasteners in some way, shape or form. And the best bit of all, here at Thomas Smith Fasteners we have the capability to make specials meaning if you’re struggling to find an imperial bolt we’ve more chance of finding it than most high-street options. So if you’re looking to give your classic car a new lease of life or going away on a long-haul flight, you can thank your fasteners and shop at Thomas Smith Fasteners.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

BSF Bolts and Nuts for Heritage Rail

heritage rail fasteners

We were delighted to receive an order from Fairbourne Railway for BSF bolts and nuts.

The fasteners are being used on their locomotive “Tony”.

The Fairbourne Railway has been running from Fairbourne village to the mouth of the Mawddach Estuary, connecting with the ferry to Barmouth for over 100 years. It started as a two foot gauge horse-drawn tramway which was then converted to a 15 inch gauge railway in 1916. The line in 1984 was completely re built to a 12.25 inch gauge.

A visit to Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway

Manager Gary Stevens recently visited Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway whilst on holiday in Wales. Thomas Smith Fasteners supply many vintage and heritage railways with imperial bolts, including the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway.

welsh highland railway fasteners

They operate two unique narrow gauge railways with completely different personalities.

Together, they offer the chance to explore the beauty of Snowdonia from over 40 miles of narrow-gauge railway.

beddgelert railway heritage

Gary chose to take his family on the Caernarfon line but got off at the lovely village of Beddgelert. His daughter Annabel got her picture taken on the footplate of the train.

ffestiniog heritage railway

A great day out for all the family which is highly recommended.

For more information, visit the Ffestiniog railway website: http://www.festrail.co.uk/

BSW Fasteners for Heritage Rail – Great Western’s 4079 restoration

Thomas Smith Fasteners supply many private & heritage railways throughout the UK.

We recently supplied the Great Western Society at Didcot Railway Centre in Oxfordshire, with BSW (Whitworth) bolts and nuts for a fantastic project to restore a member of the iconic Castle Class 4-6-0, the 4079 ‘Pendennis Castle’.

No.4079 ‘Pendennis Castle’ was the seventh of 171 Castles built and was completed at Swindon in February 1924.

4079 heritage rail fasteners

 

After a long and distinguished service in which she outperformed many larger competitors, ‘Pendennis Castle’ was withdrawn in 1964, and sold for preservation. In 1977 the locomotive was sold to Hamersley Iron in Western Australia for use on excursion trains on the company’s ore-carrying railway.

In Australia, she was looked after by the Pilbara Railways Historical Society and worked many excursion trains, with her final steaming in Australia taking place in October 1994.

With an operational future in Australia looking uncertain, in early 2000 the Great Western Society agreed to arrange and pay for the repatriation of ‘Pendennis Castle’ and to restore her to full operational condition.

The Great Western Society have very kindly provided us with this photographs of the rebuild featuring our bolts, nuts and fasteners.

Here is a front view of the locomotive, the boiler & smokebox have yet to be fitted.

4079 great western front fasteners heritage rail bolts

Below is a buffer assembly attached to the buffer beam.

buffer assembly bolts fasteners heritage rail

The below photo shows where the smokebox is attached to the saddle.

bolts smokebox saddle rail

Great Western also use our fasteners for bolting pipe flanges together and general engineering purposes.

For more information on this iconic restoration, visit Didcot Railway Centre’s 4079 page. Many thanks to the Society for providing us with these photographs and information.

Thomas Smith Fasteners supply a wide range of standard and special imperial fasteners in BSW, BSF, UNC and UNF threadforms, along with a full range of metric. Contact sales on 01942 520260 or email at sales@thomassmithfasteners.com.