Small washers

[steamedlou]

I am often looking for small washers to protect the paint surface under screws. The locations seem to always be where there is very little clearance around the screw head.
McMaster Carr under their flat washer heading carries a line of military spec. washers identified as NAS620. Thes are SS washers with a very small outside diameter and are perfect. You are forced to buy a bunch, but im already finding many uses. The size shown in the attached photo cost about $13 for 500.
The picture shows the washers under 7 BA screws. Teh OD is barely larger than the dimension across the points of the screw head. Many of these washers are available in a choice of thickness.

 

[stevehuckss396]

Good to know. I buy all my fasteners from McMaster but have not looked for washers.

 

[abby]

Couldn't you get washers with the correct sized hole ?

 

[steamedlou]

abby. These are as close as it gets in small OD. In fact these are the only "small OD" washers Ive ever run into. I actually purchased these to use on an engine that was done with No 4 UNC screws. OD of a No 4 screw is .11". ID of these washers is .11". Its actually a No 3 washer that gives a Perfect fit on a No 4 with no clearance. OD of a 7 BA is .o98" so there is a .o12" slop. I have never found any washers that would fit closer or have a smaller ODs than these.

 

[abby]

Try this link http://maccmodels.co.uk/ba-fastners-washers/ba-washers/7ba-brass-washers-pack-of-50.html , I knocked my fastner box off the bench and several hundred stainless 2 and 2.5mm washers got scattered across the floor , being non magnetic I could not be bothered to pick them up by hand .
If you are stuck for small sized bolts , nuts or washers drop me an email , most are readily available in the UK.

 

[steamedlou]

Abby, Yes it's often frustrating looking for BA stuff in the USA. And sometimes the postage is ridiculous from the UK, often with a company charging way more for postage than the value of the item shipped. I have looked at maccmodels but I think I found a better source at least for those of us in the USA. This is ba-bolts.co.uk. I haven't put in an order yet but their selection is way better than Maccmodels and their shipping is very reasonable. I ran through a test purchase and the shipping was little more than that charged to ship within the UK. In fact it seems cheaper then shipping from within the US if purchased here. Looks like a great place.

 

[abby]

Yes the variation in postal charges is crazy , I bought a flex hone from a shop in New York that came to me cheaper including postage than I could buy here in UK. US post seems very reasonable but the danger is putting a value on the goods as tax is charged over a certain value , the tax is collected by UK post office who charge not only the tax but a fee for collecting it too.
This can ruin what started life as a bargain.
I have used the company you mentioned and got good service , for large quantities there are some other cheaper places .
My gripe is the poor quality of small socket head screws , they all seem to come from the far east now and cannot stand being tightened more than 2 or 3 times before the sockets wear.

 

[kvom]

There's a good choice of scale model washers here: http://www.americanmodeleng.com/id42.html

 

[Mainer]

This place https://www.jimorrisco.com/ sells top-quality small washers in s/s or brass, as well as small pattern (i.e. proper scale( nuts and bolts....but their largest size is #2. For washers, that translates to an o.d. of 3/16" (0.1875") and an i.d. of 0.089".