Caution! Treestuff Lag Bolt Breaks!

PCTREE

Treehouser
Joined
Nov 3, 2007
Messages
6,033
Location
Charlottesville VA
Just a heads up, was installing a cable yesterday which I rarely do and as Robby was screwing in this 5/8" lag it snapped from the torque of screwing it. Lags were purchased from Treestuff right before the merge with Sherrill so don't know if they had already got some of the Chinese crap that Sherrill is famous for but be careful. I almost feel like going back and replacing all the lags we've installed with quality sourced ones as lags failing and leads breaking out could be a huge liability.
2.jpg
 
Same exact thing happened to me about 4 years ago, no sure where I bought it
 
I stopped using J lags years ago. They are all crap, soft metal. Forged eyes, thimbles, grip wraps and EHS cable gives long lasting cables and much better piece of mind.
 
Paul, this is a totally baseless accusation not at all rooted in fact. We continue to sell the same bolts we always have.

I'm sorry you feel so slighted for no reason, I really am, but this is neither truthful nor stated in good faith.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7
Baseless Acusation that the bolt broke or Sherrill sells Chinese crap?

If you want me to list the reasons I feel slighted by Sherrill just ask and I will find the time to put them all down
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8
Funny I would expect an apology would be more appropriate from a retailer selling defective products no an attack

Guess the stress of trying to show Sherrill in a good light is getting to you?
 
A lag bolt can generate tons of friction when being installed. I've seen large lag bolts broken off due to improper installation. The wood must be drilled out to about 3/4 of the diameter of the lag screw. Only the bolt's threads should make contact with the wood. Bolts should be lubricated with wax or soap prior to being installed. Lag bolts should be allowed to cool while installing them. Using a drill or an air gun will generate tremendous amounts of heat, causing the metal to weaken during installation.

All lag bolts will break if installed improperly.

Please refer to the following chart when installing lag bolts...and lubricate your lags.

http://www.portlandbolt.com/technical/lag-bolt-pilot-hole-diameters/

Joel
 
August,

You're very welcome, my friend.

Years ago I was employed as a medical equipment repairman. Needless to say, installing an x-ray unit onto a wood-framed wall was something of a concern. Years of use can cause the lag screws to loosen in the wood. Proper installation is critical for patient and hospital staff safety. I've received many hours of classroom time on the proper use and installation of lag screws. I'm passing along the most important aspects of this information because nobody wants to sit through hours of classes discussing fastening / hardware failures.

Joel
 
Excellent. I've never broken one but I have been fighting them for years. Never knew this info. Soap in a fresh drilled tree ...sounds like I'd go with parafin maybe??
Or olive oil perhaps.
 
Paraffin is good.
That I what I use when I set fresh wood blanks up on a face plate for turning.
Without lubrication the screws break when I try to screw them out of the turning blank again.

That is never a problem when working dry blanks.
 
All of the termination hardware I've installed comes from Chicago, drop forged n galvanized stuff, pricey but worth every penny.

Lags are only appropriate for use in hardwoods, never softwoods like conifers.

Jomo
 
I would think that would be overkill. Good quality galvanized gets it done afaik.
 
August,

In a wall stud, either bar soap or wax works well. In a live tree, I would probably go with natural bees wax.

I have tried to find my old literature on lag bolts, but I was not able to find it today. Using a 1" lag bolt for ease of math, let's do this......

For every inch of diameter, there are 3.14" of circumference. This means that there is about 3" of inclined plane (Thread) being forced into the wood for every turn on the bolt. If there are two threads per inch of length, that comes out to about 6" of thread being forced into the wood for every inch of insertion. If the lag bolt is threaded 6" of its length, the length of inclined plane being inserted into the wood will be 3 times 2 times 6....or 36" of thread being forced into the wood. The friction on 36" of steel rubbing on the wood fibers can be very difficult to overcome, but it can also be very destructive to the wood.

If not done properly....not using lubricants and going too fast......the wood itself can be torn, ripped, shredded, burned, or otherwise compromised. There is a whole lot of heat being generated as the lag is being turned in. This heat can be excessive. As the heat is being generated, the length and diameter of the lag screw increases. As the bolt cools, it will shrink in length, tearing the wood fibers even further.

When installing multiple lags, alternate between them, making only a turn or two on each one before moving to another. This gives each lag bolt time to cool between operations. If wax is used as a lubricant, this will also keep the wax from thinning too much.

Hope this helps.

Joel
 
Good call, Joel.

Lube helps most everything.8)
 
When working for the phone company we used lags quite a bit, but only for customer service drops. Never for full cable support. For that we used through-bolt hardware... 6 and 10M. With that you'd break the pole before you'd break the hardware.
 
Mr. Beranek,

You make a good point. A lag screw is nothing more than a round splitting wedge, if not installed properly.

I sat through several classes in which videos were presented showing why medical equipment had fallen off of a wall and killed a patient. In many cases, lag bolts were used to secure the equipment to the studs in the wall. A forensic scientist was involved with these cases and his findings were very alarming.

In a typical case, a steel plate was fastened to the wall with 6 lag screws. Three lag screws were placed in each stud, all in a line, one above the other, and about 6" apart. Improper installation techniques resulted in the studs splitting lengthwise for several feet. It didn't matter that the wall was constructed out of 2x8s. The problem was that the lag screws had been inserted into pilot holes that hadn't been drilled deep enough. The technician had used the proper diameter drill bit, but his bit was too SHORT for the job.

It is important to drill the pilot hole to a depth that is deeper than the lag screw will travel.

Joel
 
Back
Top