Newest FAQs
What Separates Portland Bolt From Other Suppliers?
Contact Us With Any Questions!What Separates Portland Bolt from Other Bolt Suppliers? With Portland Bolt and Manufacturing Company located in the Northwestern part of the United States, you may ask yourself why Portland Bolt would be the best source for your fastener requirement versus a multitude of companies that deal in the fastener industry. Although geographic location is... Read more
What to Know About Lag Screws Before Ordering
Contact Us With Any Questions!Lag screws are used in wood and are installed by rotating the head to screw the lag screw into the wood. Since lag screws are designed to drive into the wood instead of being secured with a nut they have deeper and sharper threads than your average hex-headed bolt which typically uses UNC (national course)... Read more
What is the Difference Between 304 and 316 Stainless Steel?
Contact Us With Any Questions!Type 304 Stainless Steel Vs. Type 316 Stainless Steel When stainless steel fasteners are specified in the construction industry, 304 and 316 stainless steel are by far the most common. Although 304 and 316 are simply the type of stainless raw materials used to produce a finished fastener to an ASTM specification, it is also... Read more
Do Anchor Bolts Need to be Galvanized?
Contact Us With Any Questions!The short answer is no, they don’t need to be galvanized but they can be. In some cases, they should be. You’ll want to consider galvanized anchor bolts if they are going to be in a corrosive environment or exposed to the weather. Galvanizing anchor bolts provide corrosion resistance to the bolt. Instances where it... Read more
How are Threaded Anchor Rods Used in Concrete?
Contact Us With Any Questions!There are a variety of configurations of anchor bolts and anchor rods, such as headed anchor bolts, bent anchor bolts, thread each-end rods, and fully threaded rods. When an anchor rod is specified, it is most likely a rod with threads on each end or a fully threaded rod. If the rod has threads on... Read more
What is the Difference Between Type 1 and Type 3 Structural Bolts?
Contact Us With Any Questions!How are Type 1 and Type 3 structural bolts different? The ASTM F3125 specification covers heavy hex structural bolts including Grades A325 and A490. Both grades include Type 1 and Type 3 options. Tension control bolts in Grades F1852 and F2280 are also available in both Type 1 and Type 3. What is the difference? Type... Read more
Light Pole Anchor Bolts
What Sized Anchor Bolts are Used for Light Poles?Anchor bolts for light poles are configured in several ways. Ordering them can often be confusing and this FAQ will attempt to simplify that process. Light poles each have specific designs and the anchor bolts are designed to the exact specifications of each light pole to match the strength properties and pullout resistance needed to... Read more
What Makes Marine Fasteners Different From Other Fasteners?
What are Marine Fasteners?The purpose of using a marine fastener versus other fasteners is to withstand corrosive saltwater and other harsh marine environments. Marine fasteners are commonly made from stainless steel or carbon steel which has a corrosion-resistant coating applied to it. The reason that these materials would be preferred over other common fasteners is that they offer... Read more
How is All Thread Rod Cut?
How Do You Cut All Thread Rod?Fully threaded rods can be supplied by several different manufacturing methods depending on the job’s requirements. What is all thread rod? All thread rod is a piece of steel round bar that is threaded across its entire length. They are used for a wide variety of purposes, from through bolts to concrete anchors. It might... Read more
What is the Difference Between ASTM A490 and ASTM A325 Bolts?
Is There a Difference Between ASTM A490 and ASTM A325 Bolts?The short answer is that A490 heavy hex structural bolts have higher strength requirements than A325 heavy hex structural bolts. A325 bolts have a minimum tensile strength of 120ksi while A490 bolts have a tensile strength range of 150-173ksi. In addition, there are a few other differences shown below. Coatings A325 structural bolts can be... Read more