Every bolt on a crane sits above someone. When one backs out and drops, the fastener does not fail quietly. CraneBolts builds patent-pending tethered fasteners for overhead crane parts, mobile crane assemblies and below-the-hook gear. An engineered tether anchored to the structure keeps a backed-out fastener captive at height instead of in free fall.
Why crane hardware gets replaced
Cranes shake. Travel vibration, shock loading and duty cycles work fasteners loose over time. Standard hardware gives no warning. It holds, then it does not, and the first sign of a problem is a bolt on the floor or a near miss called in after shift.
Roughly 250 U.S. workers are killed by falling objects each year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. More than 48,000 nonfatal falling-object injuries are reported annually. Small hardware is a large share of what falls from a crane, and it is the part of the machine most often replaced with whatever is in the bin.
Product series
Tethered Bolt Series
Tethered replacements for the structural and cover bolts already on your crane. Matched to existing OEM hardware and installed in the same holes.
Tethered Nut Series
For joints where the nut is the loose end. Keeps the nut captive on the structure if it backs off the stud.
Large Lip Washer Series
Washer hardware built for tether attachment where the joint geometry favors capturing at the washer.
Magnet Attachments
Attachment hardware for anchoring a tether to steel where drilling or welding a new anchor point is not practical.
The same four series cover every application, not just cranes. See the full range on the product categories page.
Where the hardware works overhead
Runways
Long spans, high above everything. Hardware here is the hardest to reach and the least often looked at.
End Trucks and Trolleys
Travel vibration loosens rail clips and cover bolts. These move every hour the crane runs.
Festoon, Panels and Guards
Sheave guards, junction boxes and light fixtures shed small hardware first. Small does not mean harmless at height.
Boom Lacing and Counterweight Pins
Mobile crane hardware cycles through shock loads every lift. Retention pins and lacing fasteners take the worst of it.
Hook Blocks and Below-the-Hook Gear
The hardware closest to the crew on the ground. Below-the-hook attachments travel with the load and over the people rigging it.
Pedestal and Offshore Cranes
Marine-service crane hardware in salt air, lifting over deck crews and over the side. See offshore and oil & gas.
Built to your specification
CraneBolts hardware is made to order in the USA. Thread sizes, lengths, grades and finishes are matched to the OEM hardware already installed, so a tethered bolt is a direct substitution rather than a redesign. Minimum order quantities apply per size and finish. Lead time is quoted with the order. If your application needs something outside the standard series, see custom fastener manufacturing.
Installation uses standard tools and standard torque procedures. Nothing about the fastening method changes. Crews torque to the same spec on new builds or retrofits. Tether retention is rated to the mass of the fastener assembly it secures.
What this changes for overhead crane maintenance
A visible tether makes inspection fast. A hanging tether means a loose fastener was found before it fell. That turns a hidden condition into something a technician can see from a walkway or from the floor, and it folds into existing crane inspection routines without adding a separate procedure.
Maintenance teams building or revising their walk-down should read our crane inspection checklist covering daily, frequent and periodic intervals. For the wider program view, see dropped object prevention.
Ordering as a crane parts supplier or end user
CraneBolts hardware is ordered through authorized distributors. Crane service companies specifying replacement hardware for a fleet, and plant maintenance managers restocking a single crane, both order the same way. Bring the existing part: thread size, length, grade and finish. That is what the order is built from.
Beyond cranes
If your site runs more than lifting equipment, the same hardware covers the rest of it: wind turbines, offshore and oil & gas, elevated structures and platforms, and conveyors and material handling.
Get a quote on crane hardware
Send your hardware list and the crane locations you need covered. We will match it to a series, confirm minimum order quantity for the size and finish, and quote lead time with the order.