Like a lot of established aftermarket companies, Stage 8 was founded in a garage. Founder, Bruce Bennett regularly worked on his own Harley so things like replacing a new exhaust pipe were a cinch—until the pipe fell off on the first day out of the box. Surveying the bolt, he realized there was nothing to prevent it from working loose again—and again. As much as he loved his bike, he wasn’t interested in replacing the same bolt every month for the rest of his life. With the companionship of his dog, Eightball, Bennett started with a simple concept: a bolt that wouldn’t work its way loose, even under extreme temperature and vibration. How hard could that be? Working two days straight on the new idea—with seven initial designs that didn’t work—and an eighth that did, the solution turned out to be simple; lay a locking wrench on to the grooved head of a bolt. It locks down and doesn’t start to work loose when the machine vibrates or when metal expands, then contracts and shrinks with cooling. As Bennett finished testing his creation he noticed that his beloved Eightball lying on her bench in the workshop, had left this world. In her honor he named his new company Stage 8 Locking Fasteners. And, to come full circle, in order to raise funds for the patent and the first product tooling, he sold the Harley. Since then he’s had plenty of experience, not only supplying his locking header bolts to frustrated backyard mechanics, but in making them work for big industrial purposes. Everyone has something they want to stay put, and Stage 8 discovers more uses every day. The company has supplied their locking bolts for locomotives, automobiles and earthmovers; from racecars to eyeglasses, bolts are working themselves loose even as you read this! You may even think of a few yourself so talk to them if you need a prototype.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 14:26:50 +0000