Atlas Bolts review

Roger Bisby says Atlas Bolts are opening up a whole new world of fixings.

Atlas Bolts have been producing fixings since 1896 and are used in many of America’s skyscrapers so they better be good.

There are plenty of good quality fixings out there and the price difference is not the deal breaker that people might imagine it to be. Ohio based Atlas Bolts (distributed in the U.K by Samac) is a brand of world renown. They have been producing fixings since 1896 and are used in many of America’s skyscrapers so they better be good.

 

Atlas self-tapping boron steel bolts come in all popular sizes with a choice of torx or hexagon. Self tapping masonry fixings are now commonplace but it is not commonly appreciated that as well as working in brick and concrete these fixings are also suitable for timber, slate, natural stone and even marble. This means you can provide a threaded fixing through the timber into the substrate so the whole fixing acts as one. These fixings are now favoured by window fitters because the fixing is often close to the edge of the bring. They also don’t suffer from the line up problems you get with a screw and plug. If you use a multi-construction drill bit you can go straight through the frame into the masonry in one hit and not have to knock plugs through the frame.

The self tapping thread produces a secure fixing without placing any expansion stress (bulb pressure) on the material and the load is distributed deeper into the material than an expanding plug.

This means they can be used a lot closer to the edge than tapered fixings or wall plugs. The fact that these are resin free fixings means that you can use one at a time and keep a few on the van for all the times when a screw won’t do.

The pilot holes size is indicated on the side of the pack and you should drill very slightly deeper than the length of the bolt.