Source for rack screws and hardware

I'm in need of a good source for rack screws and other misc hardware. I've Googled for numerous search strings and have practically come up empty-handed. I need 10-24 and 10-32 rack screws that are 3/4" in length. I also need self-centering screws. Self-tapping, a combination of self-tapping and self-centering, or plain threaded screws will not work. Self-tapping variants screw up rack threads something awful (especially when dealing with people who don't understand how to start screws straight). Simple threaded screws work but are hard to start straight for most people. Self-centering screws are the best to use. Does anyone have any sources?

Thanks J

Reply to
J
Loading thread data ...

Try Home Depot, Lowes, or your local hardware store, they will have much of what you need.

The problem is not the screws you are using, but the rack itself. Most inexpensive racks use aluminum or steal that is tapped directly for the screws. Once the threads are damaged, you are pretty much screwed, or not screwed depending on how you look at it. The better racks use square notches in which special nuts that clip into the square notches. With this type of rack, if you strip the nut, you replace it with another one.

Scott

Reply to
thrill5

Thanks for the input. However I absolutely can not stand the square-holed racks and their crazy cage nuts. Talk about a PITA. IMHO the large square holes in the rails greatly diminish the strength of the rails in general. When you're mounting a couple hundred pound piece of equipment (and we all know that weight almost always directly relates to expense) the last thing you want are weak rails. I think there's probably other good reasons why you don't see telcos using these racks either. None of our 9' racks use square holes. I can however see the point in them, especially since I have coworkers with cordless drills that don't understand how to properly use a clutch. These same people don't know the difference between 10-24 and 10-32 either as is demonstrated by the rails I've had to tap out to 12-24. However I've never had any good experiences with square-holed rails.

Lowes, Home Depot, Atwoods, and Orscheln's are good places for nuts and bolts but none of them stock the right hardware. We need to find a source of actual rack screws.

Anyone else have a source for rack screws? Philips, truss head, 10-24 and 10-32, 3/4", self-centering (also known as dogpoint) NON-tapping rack screws.

Thanks J

Reply to
J
Reply to
Randal T. Rioux

Thanks for the pointer, Randal. I hadn't considered eBay but that makes sense. I've bought all sort of weird stuff off of there before. The screw I'm looking for is actually written about here:

formatting link
That's right. A whole page dedicated to a screw. :-) I think I may have found another source too if eBay doesn't pan out. Thanks again for everyone's suggestions.

J
Reply to
J

Cabling-Design.com Forums website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.