Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners and Plumbing Handbook (Motorbooks Workshop) [Illustrated] [Paperback]

We're all familiar with nuts and bolts; after all, our bikes are held together by the things in one way or another, and during a restoration they're often replaced. But how do you know you're getting the right ones? It's not just a case of whether you need metric or imperial, but what thread form do you need? Will the bolt stand up to the stress involved? Actually, this last one is the reason the book landed on my desk, as the B40 needed an ounce or two shaved of it and I was looking at all sorts of fastner sites and getting more and more confused. Them Mathew Archer at Grantham Book Services mentioned that the excellent Motorbooks Workshop series still had the Nuts, Bolts, Fastners and Plumbing book by Caroll Smith as a current title, and it explains the whole subject from the point of view of a racecar engineer, but includes enough references for it to be of use to those of us who ride motorcycles. In the book, Smith covers every aspect of the fastner world and explains the stresses and strains involved in the life of a fastner. This is no dull, theoretical book, but a readable account of the nuts and bolt world. Smith has an entertaining writing style, and an informative way of putting across information.What you won't get is a list of which bolts you need to fit your 1847 Flying Albartross, but what you will get is an insight into deciding which bolts you need. If you work on bikes then I'd say this should be in your workshop. --Classic Bike Guide

This book is VERY good, it's informative, comprehensive, fun to read and goes a long way to improving your understanding of the "whys" rather than just the "hows". It's an excelent resource for someone looking to build their own race car. Anyone looking to attach something to something else or move a fluid from one place to another will get something out of this book. As an added bonus in the years since it was first written most of the fasteners that the author found hard to find have become available easily online. --GoClick

...This book is indispensible. It's written for the race car driver who does at least a little bit of their own fabrication. And that's almost any club driver, and many entry-level pro drivers. Making sure additions to the car stay put, supsension bits adequately bear their loads and stresses, and repairing these things in a pinch, is no small part of winning races.This book doesn't explain everything ther is to know about fasteners. And it isn't dripping with technical detail; But this book does provide something more valuable: explanations. It looks at a couple dozen of the most popular fasteners in each category and explains why a fabricator or mechanic would or would not want to use them. Carroll uses his incredible experience and approachable, conversational writing type to discusses their strengths and weaknesses, applications, and design.I think the book isn't limited to racing applications; it's useful for anyone who works metal, and will offer something of value to anyone who's ever tried to replace a fastener in an emergency. Were you overwhelmed when you went through the fastener aisles in your local hardware store or home supply center? This book can help.The book is a little weak in two areas. First, there's few pages devoted to plumbing. Of course, this is about real plumbing: laying lines and connecting them with pressure-tight fasteners. It explains Army-Navy fasteners and their applications, and discusses all the subtleties of pipe flange fitting. The book isn't about stopping a leak behind your toilet. Next, the book is showinng its age. It doesn't treat some of the materials that were not exactly commonplace ten or more years ago, but are quite common now. For instance, I can buy titanium lug bolts for my car. (Well, I could, if I had a spare $500 lying around.) Carroll doesn't make much mention of the more interesting alloys being used more commonly in fasteners these days. He also doesn't spend much time discussing the material to be fastened: holding down a carbon fiber body panel is different than getting the same bit fabricated from fiberglass to hold. Some of the illustrations look like they were drawn by a plotter 20 years ago: terrible resolution, confusing lines, poor perspective. Freshening some of the illustrations would be a real shot in the arm for the book.Those shortcomings withstanding, I can't give this book less than five stars. Mr. Smith's incredible reputation and outstanding experience hold up a dry subject, and give the reader more background than a broader (or deeper) technical reference ever could. --Mike Blaszczak