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Past Time BearsY'all may have already discovered this handy tip, but I just recently had to quickly create a "plan B" in order to get enough jointing supplies to finish some bears. I went to my neighborhood hardware store to get my usual machine screws and stop nuts and they didn't have the nuts . . . panic! I spent about 30 minutes trying to find what was obviously NOT there. What I ended up getting was wing nuts (they had plenty of those). Because they didn't have the nylon stop thing-y, I thought I would need some little washers to add security to the joint. Wing nuts are really, really easy to use . . . I didn't even have to use my nut drivers to hold anything. I put the washer on, then tightened the wing nut with my fingers and it was done much faster than my old method. The only disadvantage is that they probably won't work very well with really small bears. Anyhoo, thought I would pass this info on to you TTers in case you can't find any nuts. :crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup:
Jare Hares & BearsSue Ann -
No nuts!?!?!? Wow in a hardware store no nuts! 
Maybe you should have asked the squirrel in the little red vest... I am sure he could have found them for you... :crackup:
Mom usually goes into the local ACE hardware and orders them 1,000 at a time. There is an older gentleman that helps her and knows what we do. The last time she went in the gentleman was training a teenage boy and the kid couldn't believe that she wanted that many nuts and bolts.
If you get in a pinch and need discs, you can go to the local hardware store and get what are called fender washers, just make sure to get a smaller inner diameter and to use #6 or #8 washers with them. They come in several sizes, 3/4", 7/8", 1", 1 1/4", 1 1/2", 1 5/8", & 2". It will all depend upon what your local hardware store stocks, but those are the sizes that we use the most of and they do add some weight to the bears and hares.
BrisbaneGreat tips I am always running out of nuts and bolts....and especially discs, I must check out those 'fender washer' thingy's!!!
Past Time BearsYep - I've used those fender washers, too. I love hardware stores . . . they have tons of interesting stuff.
Great tip Sue Ann ... I would never have thought of it, but it makes perfect sense! (of which I am in little supply, so no wonder I would never have thought of it!! :crackup: )
wow, I thought about buying these at a hardware store but I was scarred that they are just not right! haha, so now I can buy them with no worries. Thanks! 
What a fabulous tip - thank you Sue-Ann. At our local Hardware store, I am just referred to as "the Bear Lady", and they give me a lot of time and patience, as I think they think I am quite odd in buying my little stash of nuts and bolts and pins!
BrisbaneOhh those are great tips! Luckily for me I live reasonably close to Gerry's in Brisbane. Just a quick trip on the bus (or even quicker if I can manage to con someone into driving me!) and im in teddy bear making heaven. At the moment I just buy the joint sets, but im planning to buy myself some larger quantities of bolts ect. So maybe a trip to the local hardware store is on order.
Waggle BearsGreat tip, Sue Ann. My hands get so sore when jointing so I'll give that a try.
Ania...love Goldie and your avatar.
Matilda Huggington-beareSue ann??? with the wing nuts , do they lock in a similar way to the lock nuts? I mean if I turned the limb in the opposite direction would I be winding it off the bolt thread? or does the wing nut stay put?
I was once told by someone in the hardware department that using two nuts would do the trick with what I wanted. But they were wrong. I found by accident that if the limb was turned in the opposite direction I could wind the little begger right of the bolt and out of the body. Now I didnt find this out until I had sent several bears off with this hardware. :redface: aarrggghhhh...
Now if these wingnuts work like lock nuts? ....WOW what a find!!! 
Seamore Collectibles
Hello,
You may also want to add a touch of super glue to the screw as it does have a habit of loosening up.
That was my husbands tip for the "day"!!
Past Time BearsAaaacccckkkkk . . . Wendy, sorry about your experience with the limbs coming off! Hmmmm - well, since I've just started using the wing nuts, I haven't had any incidents like that - yet. I did use the little washers so that I could twist the nuts very tightly. But I really hope anyone who buys these bears doesn't want to spend any time turning their limbs the opposite direction. 
Maybe Penney's hubby has a good idea with the glue.
BrisbaneWell I'm still on the hunt for Fender washers...no one I ask seems to know what I am talking about....how do they differ from 'normal' washers?
Perhaps they are called something different over here and I am better off going to the hardware and looking through all their stff, although it would help if I knew what I was looking for!!!
Past Time BearsSarah, fender washers differ from most flat washers in that they have a larger outside diameter. They can range up to 2" and more, so are a useful subsitute for hardboard discs. Just tell the hardware person that you want large sized washers with a small diameter hole.
BrisbaneExcellent thank you Sue Ann....I was wondering if that was what I needed but wasn't sure!!!
Matilda Huggington-beareI love this wing nut idea though. Maybe nuts with a dab of glue should fix all possible calamities.
Worth a try since wing nuts will make jointing so much easier.
Its a good idea Sueann. Definitely a winner!
Wendy
Can I use the same jointing method for the head as I would the limbs?
Past Time BearsYes, indeedy, you can.
Ruby Mountain Bearsactually there is a product called lock nut that you can use, that keeps the nuts from coming off. I suppose that it is possibly the same as crazy glue.
actually there is a product called lock nut that you can use, that keeps the nuts from coming off. I suppose that it is possibly the same as crazy glue.
But I wouldn't use that if I went the cotter pin and disk route, right? Do y'all do cotter pin and disk on all five joints?
q.D.paToOtieSYou know, the frustrating thing Sue Ann is going to your local hardware store and then getting one of their sales associates who looks like you like your crazy when you tell them what you're looking for and what you plan to do with it! I wanted some cotter pins for my smaller bears and some washers. Of course, every cotter pin that I had in my bag went straight through the washer head with no problem. So I asked the young sales associate if he had a washer with a 1/8" opening instead of a 1/4." He stood looking dumbfounded and after 10 minutes said, "I don't think so." So, I looked around a little more and found them almost immediately after he left isn't that the way it always happens!
q.D.paToOtieSOH, and P.S. Thanks for the tip! BTW, in our hardware store they don't call them "lock nuts" anymore. They call them "stop nuts" or something like that!
Ruby Mountain BearsJennifer,
No not for cotter pin, the lock nut is just for screw and nut or bolt and nut joints. I use cotter pins and disc on all my mini's.
