Top 5 Best Home Uses For Carriage Bolts

What Is A Carriage Bolt?

A carriage bolt comes with a domed head and a square shank that protrudes from its flat side. Carriage bolts are also known as coach bolts or round head square neck bolts.
When using carriage bolts, they must be countersunk to perform as they're supposed to. Furthermore, the flat end specific to the carriage bolt demands you use a nut and a washer in order to fasten it correctly.
Available in a wide variety of sizes, materials and plating, carriage bolts are commonly used in numerous applications ranging from railroad construction to the military industry. Still, this doesn't imply that you cannot use the carriage bolts for smaller home projects, especially when you want to add that finished, smooth look to a surface. Let's review the top five best home uses for these bolts.

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1. Wood Frames

Even though you can use a carriage bolt instead of any other regular screw, there are some advantages in terms of utilizing them in wood-to-wood constructions. In case of wood frames, the unique construction makes them ideal fasteners that will simplify your job a great deal. The square shape of the shank is pulled down into the wood and holds it place, which means you don't need anything else for tightening a nut into the carriage bolt.

2. Wood Beams

If you're into woodworking, then you know that you can't build a strong beam without having the appropriate heavy-duty fastener to provide the necessary support. Since carriage bolts are usually threaded all the way to the top, they make the ideal screws for the snug fit required in this task. Unlike lag bolts, they have the square just under the top to guarantee more support and no movement. On a side note, the latter feature also makes them an excellent choice for metal-to-wood joining.

3. Pergola Construction

In the event that you are thinking of building a pergola in the near future, then carriage bolts would surely save you a lot of time and effort when working on the joints. To be more precise, you could just drill through two pieces of wood all the way, simply insert the carriage bolt in the newly create hole, and fasten it using a washer and a nut.

4. Swing Sets

Because they can be used whenever you need extra support and strength, carriage bolts make the perfect fasteners for children's swing sets. Given the smooth surface of the bolt's top, you can be sure your kids will not cut or scratch themselves while playing on the swing set.

5. Docks

There are plenty of areas where a dock could use some extra support, as well as a tighter snug around the joining, both of which could be easily provided by carriage bolts.