Friction between the threads of the nut and bolt, along with the nut grinding on the flat washer is most likely your problem. While galvanized fasteners come with “waxed” nuts (barely better than nothing at all), and black bolts come with left over quenching fluid (water soluble oil, yes it evaporates). You are fighting friction so use a stick wax on the washer face of the nut and the threads of your bolt, this will cut down the friction of the assembly pieces allowing you to achieve bolt tension before bolts twist in two. Here are some popular waxes we have used and where you can get them:

• Fastenal - #0343078 - Hougen Slick Stik
• Fastenal - #0603954 - CRC TruTap
• Grainger – 4KK73 – Tapmatic

By adding stickwax to your bolt assembly(bolt threads and washer face of the nut) you can decrease the amount of friction. By doing this is takes less torque, or power, to properly tension the bolt assembly. Potentially making the same wrench that didn’t work all of the sudden have the capacity to do the job. Wondering if you have the correct wrench selected for the job at hand? Check out our handy chart for suggested wrench capacity.

First thing, DTIs, Squirter® DTIs and DuraSquirt® DTIs are single use mechanical load cells that measure bolt tension independently of the torque applied. With that being said, you need to figure out what capacity of wrench you will need for the job. See our handy guide to figure out if the wrench you have is adequate for the job.

How is your bolt storage? Hopefully it's dry storage such as a conex or out building. The worse the condition of your bolt, the more torque you will need to install it. Red rust on bolts creates more friction which means more torque is needed to advance the nut. Similarly with galvanized bolts the white rust (no they are not waterproof, the rust is white, mind blown...yep) also increases friction making it harder to advance the nut. See Lube it section for more helpful tips.

DTIs, Squirter® DTIs and DuraSquirt® DTIs are designed around standard sized holes. DTIs can be used in conjunction with oversized, short-slotted and long slotted holes, you just need to be sure you put the proper hardened flat washer under the DTI so that it works as intended. When in doubt, measure the hole to make sure you are not only using the correct sized DTI, but also if an extra flat washer is required.

Easy rule to remember… Bumps of the DTI must always face away from the structural steel, and you should never have a turning element directly against the bumps. Check out this handy diagram to see all the ways you can use DTIs in an assembly.