Fastener Assortments

A fastener assortment is a pre-sorted box of the screws, bolts, nuts, washers, and anchors you reach for most — organized so you’re not digging through coffee cans or making a parts run for one screw. These are pre-organized, color-coded kits that let you stock an array of fasteners — drywall screws, bolt fasteners, nuts and bolts, anchors — in a much smaller space. For a contractor, rancher, or serious DIY builder, the value is dead simple: keep the right hardware on hand, and the job keeps moving.

For broader project planning, explore WBC’s building materials resources.

The smart buy isn’t the biggest box. It’s matching the grade, material, and thread to the work in front of you. Get that wrong and you’ve either over-bought expensive Grade 8 for a job that needed nothing special, or — worse — put a mild-steel bolt where corrosion or load is going to find it.

Why Builders Keep Assortments On Hand

The whole point is staying stocked. Buying a fastener assortment minimizes shutdowns, repair costs and maintenance delays in the event of a malfunction or breakdown. On a job site or in a shop, the time you save not hunting for the right screw adds up fast.

The kits come in a few formats. All the assortments come pre-sorted in durable, branded drawers. Beyond single drawers and bins, there are full shop setups. These are pre-selected groups of fastener assortments designed to capture the essential products you need for a variety of tasks — and they come with racks, stands and bin toppers, everything you need in one setup. The larger style includes 80-hole bins, eight drawers and related storage equipment, while the smaller bolt-on style includes 40-hole bins, four drawers and racks and stands.

Grades and Materials — Match the Kit to the Load

This is where buyers make or break the purchase. Strength and corrosion resistance are the two questions to answer before anything else.

For heavy stuff — equipment, machinery, anything under real stress — you want high-tensile steel. The most popular shop setup is the Grade 8, best for high-stress applications such as heavy machinery, with a minimum tensile strength of 150,000 PSI. The metric equivalent runs right alongside it. Metric 10.9 setups are best used for high-stress applications using metric fasteners, with a minimum tensile strength of 150,800 PSI.

Step down a notch for general work. The Grade 5 setup is best used for machinery and automotive applications, with a minimum tensile strength of 120,000 PSI.

Then there’s corrosion — and in Montana, this is the column that matters for a lot of rural work. Stainless steel fastener applications are best for high corrosion environments such as marine, agriculture and food production. That covers a lot of ground here: livestock operations, ag buildings, anything seeing moisture or wet exposure. The stainless setup offers a bin of both 18-8 and 316 stainless steel hex head cap screws, nuts, flats and locks. Between the two, 316 carries the higher corrosion resistance — worth the bump where moisture is relentless.

Finishes matter too. The catalog runs everything from Armor Coat Grade 8, standard plain finish, and yellow zinc options, and masonry screws come in a Blue Ruspert finish — a corrosion-resistant coating that earns its keep on outdoor and below-grade fastening that sees freeze-thaw moisture.

Grade / Material	Min. Tensile Strength	Best For
Grade 8 (USS/SAE)	150,000 PSI	High-stress — heavy machinery
Metric 10.9	150,800 PSI	High-stress metric applications
Grade 5	120,000 PSI	General machinery, automotive
18-8 Stainless	—	Corrosive: marine, agriculture, food
316 Stainless	—	Higher corrosion resistance

Kit Types by Application

Most folks shop by the task in front of them, so here’s the breakdown.

Sheet metal and self-drilling. Self-drilling screw assortments handle metal-to-metal fastening and eliminate the pre-drilling step. Stainless versions exist too — 410 stainless steel self-drilling screw assortments for metal work that’ll see weather.

Masonry and concrete. These kits earn their place anywhere you’re anchoring into concrete or block. The 3/16 hex and Phillips masonry screws come as Phillips flat and hex washer head, packaged with a carbide drill bit. The Blue Ruspert finish on these is what makes them suited to below-grade, freeze-thaw exposure.

Anchors and toggle bolts. A deep category for mounting into hollow wall, drywall, and wood. The anchor assortments run plastic, lead, and steel wood screw anchors, machine screw anchors, and lag expansion shields in assorted sizes. Toggle bolts cover zinc toggle bolts from 6-32 thru 1/4. There are also yellow zinc hollow wall anchors and aluminum truss pin drive anchors for lighter mounting.

Drywall and light assembly. Drywall screw assortments, machine screw assortments, and nuts & washers assortments round out the light-duty side for finish and assembly work.

Sizing, Thread, and Standards — Check Before You Buy

A kit only helps if the fasteners actually fit. Two things trip people up: the measurement system and thread pitch.

First, inch versus metric. Assortments split across USS, SAE, and Metric measurement types — and a lot of lines offer both, so confirm which system your project runs on. Hex head cap screw assortments commonly span 1/4” to 3/4” on the SAE side, or M6 to M20 in metric.

Second, thread pitch. Coarse and fine aren’t interchangeable. Metric Class 10.9 comes in both coarse thread and fine thread variants, and the same split runs through other grades. Grab the wrong pitch and the bolt won’t mate.

Bottom line on retail kits: verify dimensions and material specifications to ensure they meet your project requirements before you commit. The organization is the easy part — the spec match is where the thinking goes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between Grade 5 and Grade 8? It comes down to tensile strength and the job. Grade 5 has a minimum tensile strength of 120,000 PSI and suits machinery and automotive work. Grade 8 runs a minimum of 150,000 PSI and is built for high-stress applications such as heavy machinery. If it’s carrying serious load, go Grade 8.

Which assortment holds up in wet or corrosive conditions? Stainless steel. Stainless fasteners are best for high corrosion environments such as marine, agriculture and food production. For Montana ag buildings, livestock setups, and exterior exposure, that’s the column to shop. Both 18-8 and 316 stainless are available, with 316 offering the higher corrosion resistance.

Do I need to pre-drill for self-drilling screws? No — that’s the point of them. Self-drilling screw assortments are made for metal-to-metal fastening and skip the pre-drilling step.

What’s included in a masonry screw kit? The 3/16 masonry assortments come in Phillips flat and hex washer head styles, packaged with a carbide drill bit. The Blue Ruspert finish handles outdoor and below-grade moisture.

SAE or metric — how do I know which kit to buy? Check the fasteners your project already uses. Assortments come in USS, SAE, and Metric measurement types, and many lines offer both. When in doubt, match the existing hardware and confirm coarse versus fine thread before buying.

Is a full shop setup worth it over individual bins? For a working shop, yes. Shop setups provide the best value for the product you’re getting and come with racks, stands and bin toppers — everything in one setup. For a smaller operation or a single task, individual drawer and bin assortments do the job.