What goes wrong

The definition was assumed to reach everything

On this page15

The Act was assumed to cover all hardware So the unthreaded articles were included And ordinary washers were included The diameter floor was overlooked And the two figures were treated as identical Length was used instead of diameter The hardening condition was skipped And the two representation routes were missed Which makes catalogue copy part of the analysis The consensus standards were expected here And the obligations were expected too Check the four conditions against your own article And the load-indicating washer exception was read as general And the container discipline applies either way References

A brad, a rivet and a flat washer are not in it.

The Act was assumed to cover all hardware

The definition names a metallic screw, nut, bolt or stud having threads, or a load-indicating washer. Five kinds and nothing else.

So the unthreaded articles were included

Cotter pins, rivets, staples, brads and finish nails have no thread and are outside the first clause.

And ordinary washers were included

The definition names a load-indicating washer specifically, which puts flat, fender and lock washers outside it.

The diameter floor was overlooked

6 millimetres or a quarter inch or greater, measured as a nominal diameter. Machine screws, set screws and drywall screws are routinely under it.

And the two figures were treated as identical

6 millimetres is about 0.236 inches and a quarter inch is 0.25, and which applies turns on how the item is described.

Length was used instead of diameter

The definition says nominal diameter. Length appears nowhere in it.

The hardening condition was skipped

Through-hardened, or represented as meeting a consensus standard that calls for through-hardening. A soft screw is outside.

And the two representation routes were missed

Two of the four conditions can be met by a representation about a standard rather than by the physical fact, which means what is said about an article matters.

Which makes catalogue copy part of the analysis

The same shape as the adjacent botanicals property, where a label is an element of a definition.

The consensus standards were expected here

The definitions refer to a specific consensus standard and do not enumerate them, and neither does this property.

And the obligations were expected too

What the Act requires, the inspection and certification scheme and the exemptions are all outside these pages.

Check the four conditions against your own article

Type, diameter, hardening and marking. All four have to hold.

And the load-indicating washer exception was read as general

It names one kind of washer into the definition rather than exempting the others from something. Three of this group's named washers sit outside it.

And the container discipline applies either way

Sorted, dry and one lot per jar. Only the last of those depends on the Act.

References

15 U.S.C. 5402(6) defines a fastener as "a metallic screw, nut, bolt, or stud having internal or external threads, with a nominal diameter of 6 millimeters or greater, in the case of such items described in metric terms, or 1/4 inch or greater, in the case of such items described in terms of the English system of measurement, or a load-indicating washer, that is through-hardened or represented as meeting a consensus standard that calls for through-hardening, and that is grade identification marked or represented as meeting a consensus standard that requires grade identification marking". These are definitions from the Fastener Quality Act; nothing on these pages describes what the Act requires of anyone or determines whether any article falls within the definition. law.cornell.edu

15 U.S.C. 5402(8) defines a grade identification marking as "any grade-mark or property class symbol appearing on a fastener purporting to indicate that the lot of fasteners conforms to a specific consensus standard, but such term does not include a manufacturer's insignia or part number". law.cornell.edu

Written from 15 U.S.C. 5402 and from the catalog as it stood on 19 October 2026. These are definitions from the Fastener Quality Act and nothing here describes what the Act requires of anyone, the inspection or certification scheme, the exemptions, or which consensus standards are involved. Nothing determines whether any article is a fastener within the definition or whether any quantity is a lot. We publish no lot number, heat number, coil reference or production date anywhere in our data. This shelf is shared identically by nine groups and the sewing notions property enumerates the inventory.