Decorative effect on steel nut

Can't say I've seen this before, but doesn't anyone know how this decorative effect was created on this nut?

Looks as if it's been shot peened,

John.

Or left in the bottom of a toolbox in a vehicle for years, and has bounced into everything hard in the box.

Regards,

Richard.

If it is a decorative finish and not clened up after corrosion, it was likely tumbled in a mill with some hard, heavy, spiky tumbling media.

Whatever it is, it looks like a great way to make something look as though it had been cast.

Michael W

Edited By Michael-w on 14/09/2017 12:50:04

Without an idea of scale its hard to say if its is actually decoration. It looks like a well corroded part that has been cleaned and made shiny.

The nut seems a combination of processes. Has a tap been put through it after the surface was 'decorated'?

I cannot imagine what sort of product would benefit from this so called decoration, it does not look very engineering like are pretty in any sense of the word (but I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder)

Ian P

The top surface is smooth as if fitted to something, How about heavy corrosion followed by electrolysis de-rusting to get into all the crevices in a way that wire brushing doesn't.

It's a 3/8 BSF nut. Sorry should've chucked a rule next to it.

The look has kinda grown on me. My original thought was a clean up after corrosion but not really sure. Have five of them, all the same.

Edited By mrbuilder on 14/09/2017 13:23:49

Might be meant to look that way because the nuts held a cast object in place

Decorative Continuity

I used to make plastic tools for a plastic gas pipe fitting manufacturer and some had the same surface texture on the cavity done by chilled cast iron shot blasting on the moulding faces. We had to make a mask to protect the shut out faces as was likely done to the end and thread of the nut.

David

It seems to me that my favourite method of cleaning up rusty nuts and bolts - using a steel wire wheel on the buffer has been used here - witnessed by the rounding off of all sharp edges T. O..

. This is quite a common object,found in boot sales all over the place. It,s called JUNK.! usually found in boxes full of rusty water and offered for sale at mad money.

Believe it or not,some people actually buy it !.

When I replaced some missing nuts on some olf farm machinery the new nuts looled out of place. I have a bucket set up for electroliticly removing rust so I reversed the polarity and set it going for an hour or so, pulled the nuts out and wire brushed them and they looked just like the one in the photo, and just like the remaining old nuts on the machine.

Ian S C

I have to agree with that, the alternative new bright zinc plated nuts didn't look right in my application either...

Thanks everyone for all of the thoughts

Edited By mrbuilder on 15/09/2017 04:23:35

I think the likely scenario is that they've been tumbled with stainless steel shot, in a basket, maybe with a little bit of water to keep it cool and keep the dust down.

Michael W