I need 1. Hardware and home stores have it in 20 and 25 mm, too short and too long. Mail-order places sell packs of 10; 1 should last the rest of my life. I asked AutoZone. Would any auto place have this? It’s for my bicycle, so I don’t expect anything. The local bicycle store doesn’t have any.
Take the 25 mm long screw, thread a nut on, cut the 3 mm’s off the end of the screw, thread the nut off to remove any burrs from cutting, install the screw.
Not rocket science.
Tester
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Agree with tester but I’ve had good luck with fastenall if they are around. Needed a left hand 5 mm nut and got it from them. Needed one but ordered two for a couple bucks.
I’ve done this. I always have a nut on to clean the threads, but it doesn’t end well for precise applications, which this is. The tip isn’t tapered, which makes it hard to start. It screws into a blind hole: I have no access. The head goes into a recessed hole so I can’t start it by hand; it’s too easy to cross-thread. I cut by hand, so the saw blade gets in a thread and I get a non-straight cut. And these are hardened steel, not the SAE 2 stuff for carpentry. And I don’t have a vise to hold it while cutting.
How do you hold a 25 mm screw so as to cut 3 mm off? You can’t hold it by the head: it moves around. There’s not enough space to clamp on the remanent part with a vise; even if you did you’d have to hold it so tight you’d damage the threads. I can imagine buying a much-longer screw, clamping on the part I’m going to discard - if I had a vise. I should be able to buy one. A Chinese vendor on eBay will sell me 2 for $4. (2 for the screws, 2 for shipping) I’ll just have to wait a month, then pay another $2 tariff.
On another thread Ace Hardware came up, they usually have a good variety, have you tried them? If they do not have them, and bike shops near you do not have them, seems you are going to have to bite the bullet and buy online. The sooner the better.
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+1. I’ve had good success finding hardware at Ace. If you have them nearby, give it a shot.
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Put some washers under hex head. Ur only talking 3mm.
Seems to me that you have 3 choices…
- Buy the tools to do the job correctly
- Pay a pro to make one or have a custom one made for you
- Don’t be so damn cheap and just buy a pack of them, use what you need and do whatever with the left over, maybe sell them…
Maybe 4) Buy another bike to ride…
Capital City Bolt & Screw.
BTW, vise grips and a grinder and I can make one for you pretty fast… Like Tester said, not rocket science…
In a matter of seconds Mr. Google showed several online places that seem to have almost any size Cap Screw a person could ever need.
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I like the longer screw approach. Put the to-be-discarded portion into a electric drill collet. Then turn on the drill and spin the screw against a fixed saw blade or grinder.and a hacksaw or grinder.
Using a washer as a spacer also seems viable.
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Go online to McMaster-Carr.
I’ve used Bolt Depot for things like this before. (I have no financial interest in this company.)
If you do end up with a full bag, you could just donate the others to your bicycle shop and get on their good side.
Since we appear to be talking about 2-3mm, is there not enough clearance for you to use a 25mm long bolt and use a washer to shorten the working length?
But think of all that excess weight! 
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Normally you just grind it shorter but if a man hath no vice, he is unlikely to hath a grinder. As a kid, my neighbor had a hand crank grinder.
The question remains though is she a he or a she? I pity the folks having to date these days.
I tried them first. When I wrote ‘hardware stores’ in my original message that included Ace and True Value. They have 20 and 25, not 22.
So have I, but not this.
It seats into a recessed hole barely wider than the head of the screw.
I didn’t say it was impossible. I thought it would be easy. I bought one at Home Depot years ago.
You have a steadier hand than I do - and a grinder. It’s important to get it flat and taper the tip. This isn’t carpentry.
I already did that, packs of 10 + shipping. And a lot of those places that seem to have everything don’t have 22; 5mm increments is the standard. Both specialty fastener shops in Albuquerque don’t have 22.
I asked whether I could expect one of the auto stores to have them. I don’t think anyone makes them just for bicycles.
This is a good idea I hadn’t thought of. Thanks.
Pack of 10 plus hefty shipping. I looked before I asked.
Best price so far: $1.03, but $5 shipping.
The head seats into a recess barely wider than the head of the screw, too narrow for washers.
Yes: you’re a real man and I’m not. Can you really get it flat by hand?
We’re talking about a $6 problem?
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You can. If you have a file and patience.
Tester
I have a couple big “grinders”; one inside and one in the garage. But I also have grinding stones with shafts that fit into a drill chuck. Used them many times on the fly where it was not possible to bring the work to the grinder or just being lazy. You can buy these stones in various shapes and materials to suit the job. They are very inexpensive.