Tufnut Security Nuts have four sloped sides, and are made of case hardened steel, which makes them impossible to grasp with hand tools. Installed with standard wrenches.
Breakaway Security Nuts have a round cone-shaped body that also can't be grasped. They have a smaller footprint then the Tufnut, and can be installed with a socket wrench.
Tri-Groove Security Nuts are also round and cone-shaped, but have three grooves that a custom socket fits so you can install and remove them.
Since we provide specialty security fasteners, our prices may be high compared to regular nuts & bolts. Our value to you is in what we can do for you out there on the road. We think if you try our stuff you'll find that it doesn't cost much to keep your problem signs where they belong, compared to the cost of having them missing.
You can often cut the cost of securing your signs by using just one security nut per sign post, which prevents removing the reachable fastening.
Online orders can be paid using Paypal or a credit card.
It's easy to place orders by phone,
and we also accept purchase orders by mail, fax, or email.
Our customers say . . .
"Prior to using your Tufnut products, we were replacing anywhere from one to three signs a day due to vandalism in our parks. Since switching to your product, we have lost only one sign, and that was due to the fact that the entire sign was pulled from the ground. We were still able to retrieve the sign since it could not be removed from the post."
Tufnut Security Nuts
Tufnut Steel Security Nuts are fastened with a 7/8" open-end wrench. They can be installed as tightly as desired but are removable for maintenance, and are REUSABLE. Tufnut tamper proof nuts are fully adjustable, to give you complete control over how tightly your property is secured.
Tufnut Metric Tamperproof Nuts
Tufnut Metric Tamper Proof Nuts work on regular metric bolts using standard tools. All Tufnut security nuts are case-hardened steel and plated with zinc & yellow chromate for long life. Cadmium chromate plating is available for corrosion resistance similar to stainless steel.
Breakaway Nuts
Break away nuts feature a hexagonal head that breaks off when the nut is tightened, leaving the cone shaped base to protect your property. Fastened with a socket wrench or open end wrench, they are single use security fasteners with a relatively small footprint. Aluminum, zinc, steel.
Tri-Groove Security Nuts
Tri-Groove nuts are reusable, made of steel, and can be easily fastened and removed using special sockets that mate with the grooves of the nut and fit standard drivers. Their small footprint allows them to be used in restricted spaces. Sloped sides prevent grasping with hand tools. Zinc & clear chromate plated.
Tufnut Security Nuts
The Tufnut Security Nut was developed to prevent sign theft of US Forest Service signs that were being burned by campers for firewood. It later turned out that these tamper proof nuts were useful in college towns, and near schools where signs are often at higher risk of theft for use as room decorations. High aluminum scrap values also put our signs at risk.
In the United States, once a sign is installed, the public expects it to be there. When a sign is stolen and an accident occurs, the victims often sue the local traffic agency and its personnel for being negligent in their sign maintenance duties. Using anti theft tamper proof nuts is one way to prove that an agency is being prudent in its role of protecting the public
In Australia, sign installations are often so remote that it costs a fortune just to get to them to make repairs. Using Tufnut security hardware is one of the best ways to protect the public while holding down sign maintenance costs.
One advantage of the Tufnut is that it can be installed or removed using regular tools. It's also RE-USABLE. An open end wrench works best for installation, although an adjustable wrench or a vice-grip can be used in a pinch. You just need an additional Tufnut.
To install the Tufnut, you just run it onto your bolt until its base rests on the post. You then run a second Tufnut onto the bolt, upside-down, until its peak meets the peak of the first nut. After backing the second nut off 1/2 turn, a 7/8" open end wrench will fit into the notch you have ceated between the two nuts. After tightening the nuts, the second nut is removed, leaving your property secured.
TUFNUT SPEEDWRENCH
This driver cuts installation time when many signs need to be installed. A Tufnut security nut is spun onto the bolt finger tight. The Tufnut wrench is spun down on top of the nut then turned to tighten the tamper proof nut. Once tightened, the wrench is spun off the bolt.
We've found this tool to be popular in northern parts of the country where it allows signs to be installed without removing gloves in cold weather.
Break Away Tamperproof Nuts
Break away nuts fit into small spaces and can be fastened with a regular socket or almost any wrench. Thay are typically used with carriage bolts or our Tufbolt security bolts to create a complete sign security system.
When used for sign installation, our standard 5/16 and 3/8 zinc, aluminum, and steel break away nuts are designed to break off at low-torque ranges that secure the sign but do not cause it to bend.
High torque versions of these break away nuts are available for wood-to-wood or metal-to-metal fastenings where bending is not a concern.
These tamper proof nuts can be removed by installing a second nut upside-down onto the bolt so that the peaks of the two break away nuts are touching. A vice-grip plier is inserted between the two nuts so that it can't slide off the slope of the installed nut, and the two nuts are spun off together. Once removed, the break away nuts cannot be re-used.
TRI-GROOVE ANTI-THEFT NUTS
Tri-Groove tamper proof nuts are installed, removed and reused with a special wrench that permits access to recessed mountings or deep channels. They can be used when there is no access to the fastening from the side.
Once installed, these anti theft nuts cannot be grasped or turned with conventional tools. Their best use is for applications that require easy removal and re-usability, such as securing access panels, or signs that are often updated.
As with our other anti-theft nuts, round-headed bolts should be used to create a secure fastening.
These anti-theft nuts are the original 1018 steel tri groove nuts that cannot be shattered with a hammer blow like many zinc die-cast nuts.