What is a shoulder screw used for?

What are shoulder screws used for? Much like all other screws, shoulder screws are meant to hold objects together and in a particular position. However, these screws are designed for use in parts which requires a mounting pin, joint, shaft, dowel, pivot, or sliding motion.

What are characteristics of a shoulder screw?

A shoulder screw is a mechanical fastener that screws into one part and provides a freely rotating pin joint connection to another part. A shoulder screw, also called a shoulder bolt, has a shank with a larger diameter immediately below the head that “steps down” to a smaller diameter for the threaded length.

Why do some bolts have shoulders?

This is called the shoulder neck. It allows the head of the bolt to seat flush against its mating surface. Most manufacturers add a radius between the shoulder and the head of the bolt to reduce the notch effect. If the bolt has a radius, make sure that any washer or mating surface clears the protrusion.

How do you screw in a socket set screw?

The first step when installing a socket set screw into a tapped hole is to start threading it. With bigger sizes this can simply be done with your hands. Take the set screw and begin spinning it into the hole until the threading grips and begins pulling the screw into the hole.

What tool do you use for a set screw?

The head of the set screw comes with a hex recess and requires a special hex wrench or Allen key to be used on it. It is often tamper-resistance and can be used with more complex requirements.

How do you measure a shoulder screw socket?

Size is the shoulder diameter and length is the length of the shoulder—measure length from under the head to the end of the shoulder. An additional dimension is thread size, which is always smaller in diameter than the shoulder, and ranges from 10-24 to 5/8-11 for the common sizes.

How do set screws work?

The set screw passes through a threaded hole in the outer object and is tightened against the inner object to prevent it from moving relative to the outer object. It exerts clamping force through the bottom tip that projects through the hole. Set screws, though, do not come in one shape or size.