If you’ve ever found yourself mid-project—whether it’s constructing a custom machine part, repairing a specialized industrial component, or assembling a prototype that requires perfectly sized fasteners—you’ve probably hit a snag with standard hardware. The standard lock washers you can grab from a local big-box store or even a general industrial supply catalog are great for common applications, but they often don’t fit the bill for unique, size-specific needs. As a lock washer supplier who’s been in this game for over a decade, one of the most frequent questions I get from engineers, maintenance teams, and small business owners alike is: “Are lock washers available in custom sizes?” The short answer is yes—but there’s a lot more to it than just saying “yes.” Let’s break down what custom lock washers really mean, how we make them work, and why choosing a custom solution might be the difference between a project that holds up and one that fails when it matters most. Lock Washers
First, let’s start with the basics to make sure we’re all on the same page. Lock washers aren’t one-size-fits-all parts. They’re designed to prevent fastener loosening caused by vibration, thermal expansion, contraction, or repeated loading—common issues in everything from heavy-duty farm equipment to aerospace assemblies. Standard lock washers come in a range of metric and imperial sizes, but those sizes are standardized to work with common bolt and nut dimensions. A standard ¼-inch split lock washer, for example, is made to fit a standard ¼-20 bolt. But what if you’re working with a non-standard bolt? What if your application needs a washer with an outer diameter that’s not 1.5 times the bolt size? Or a wall thickness that’s thinner or thicker than standard to account for a tight, high-stress joint? That’s where custom sizes come in.
Over the years, I’ve watched customers come to us with problems that standard washers can’t solve. A few years back, we had an engineer from a custom off-road vehicle manufacturer reach out because they were designing a new suspension system. Their primary pivot bolt was ⅝-inch, but the space between the frame bracket and the control arm was just 0.062 inches—way too tight for a standard ⅝-inch lock washer, which is typically around 0.120 inches thick. They tried grinding down standard washers, but that threw off the temper of the metal and caused the washers to crack under the repeated impact of off-road driving. That’s when we made them a custom lock washer: ⅝-inch inner diameter, exactly 0.060 inches thick, with the same hardened steel and split design as our standard heavy-duty washers. It fit perfectly, and their team reported no loosening issues once the system was on the road.
Another example: a team working on a legacy power plant needed to replace lock washers on a 1.25-inch bolt that was installed back in the 1970s. The original washers had a unique outer diameter of 2.125 inches—way smaller than the standard 2.5-inch outer diameter for a 1.25-inch bolt. The plant’s maintenance team had spent months searching for a replacement, and every supplier they contacted only offered the standard size. Custom was the only option here, because a standard washer wouldn’t fit the recess in the bolted joint, which had been machined to the exact size of the original part. We worked with the plant’s engineering drawings to replicate the exact dimensions, made from heat-treated carbon steel to withstand the high temperatures and vibrations of the turbine, and delivered the first order in just two weeks. That’s the kind of problem custom lock washers solve that standard parts can’t.
But making custom lock washers isn’t as simple as just adjusting a few measurements. There are a lot of factors that go into a custom order, and as a supplier, we have to make sure every step is done right to deliver a part that works as intended. First, the customer has to provide specific dimensions—not just “I need a big washer” or “I need a small washer.” We need the inner diameter (ID), outer diameter (OD), and thickness, down to the thousandth of an inch. We also need to know the type of lock washer they need: split ( helical), star (external or internal tooth), wave, or any other design. Each type has its own purpose, and mixing up designs for a custom order can lead to failure. For example, a custom star tooth washer might need a different number of teeth than a standard one to grip the surface of a composite material without damaging it, which is exactly what another customer—an aerospace parts manufacturer—needed a few months ago. They were assembling a panel with carbon fiber, which scratches easily, so a standard external tooth washer would have left visible damage. We designed a custom internal tooth star washer with shorter, rounded teeth that gripped the metal frame without touching the carbon fiber, solving their problem.
Next, material selection is a big part of custom lock washer production. Standard washers use common materials like cold-rolled steel, 304 stainless steel, or zinc-plated steel for general use. But custom orders might require specialty materials: 316 stainless steel for marine applications where corrosion is a risk, Inconel for high-temperature environments, brass for electrical conductivity in electronic assemblies, or even titanium for lightweight aerospace parts. We work with customers to test materials if needed—for example, a food processing customer once needed lock washers that wouldn’t leach chemicals into their product, so we sourced a food-grade 303 stainless steel and had them tested for compliance with FDA standards. The final custom washer had the exact dimensions they needed, plus the material properties required for their industry.
Tolerances are another critical detail that often gets overlooked with custom parts. When you order a standard lock washer, the manufacturer has already set tight tolerances to ensure consistency, but custom orders need to have tolerances defined too. A tolerance of ±0.005 inches on a 2-inch outer diameter washer might be fine for a general industrial application, but for a medical device that’s implanted in the body, tolerances might need to be ±0.001 inches. As a supplier, we work closely with each customer to set tolerances based on their application’s requirements, and we use coordinate measuring machines (CMM) to inspect every custom order before it ships. We’ve had customers come back to us with parts they thought were custom but were made with loose tolerances that led to fit issues, so we make it a priority to get that detail right upfront.
One question I get a lot is about lead times for custom lock washers. A lot of people assume that custom parts take months to make, but that’s not always the case. We keep our tooling flexible, which means we can set up for custom orders quickly—usually in 3 to 5 business days for simple designs. More complex custom washers, like those with specialized tooth patterns or non-standard material processing, might take a bit longer, but even then, we typically deliver in less than two weeks for small to medium orders. For large volume orders, lead times are a bit longer, but we always communicate timelines clearly with customers so there are no surprises. We also understand that projects often have tight deadlines, so we prioritize rush orders when it’s feasible—we’ve delivered custom lock washers to a customer who had a broken assembly line in 48 hours, for example, which helped them avoid thousands of dollars in downtime.
Cost is another factor that comes up. Custom parts do cost more than standard washers, but the difference isn’t as big as many people think, especially when you consider the cost of downtime or project delays from using the wrong part. A standard ⅝-inch split lock washer might cost a few cents each, but a custom one with tight tolerances and a specialty material might be 50 cents to a few dollars each. But when your entire assembly is shut down because a standard washer doesn’t fit, or a poorly made custom washer fails, that cost pales in comparison to the loss of production. We work with customers to balance their needs—sometimes we can adjust a custom design slightly to reduce cost without compromising performance, like using a common heat treatment process instead of a specialty one, or simplifying a tooth pattern without losing functionality. We’re not here to overcharge for custom work; we’re here to provide a solution that works for their project.
I’ve seen too many projects go wrong because someone tried to make a custom part themselves, or grabbed a standard washer that “sort of fits.” Grinding down a standard lock washer might seem like a quick fix, but it removes the hardened layer of the metal, making the washer too soft to grip and prevent loosening. It can also cause the washer to warp, leading to uneven pressure on the bolt and joint. We had a customer once who did that for a heavy construction project, and within a month, the bolt loosened, causing a section of a crane boom to shift. Luckily, no one was hurt, but they had to replace all 120 washers in the boom, which cost them more than if they’d ordered custom ones from the start. That’s why we always tell customers: if standard parts don’t fit or work, custom is the safe, cost-effective choice in the long run.
So, to circle back to the original question: Are lock washers available in custom sizes? Absolutely. But they’re not just “washers with different measurements”—they’re tailored to your specific application, material needs, tolerance requirements, and performance demands. Whether you’re a small business with a prototype that needs a one-off custom washer, a large industrial plant with legacy equipment that needs exact replacement parts, or an aerospace engineer building a new component that requires a specialized design, custom lock washers are a viable, practical solution.
If you’re dealing with a project where standard lock washers just won’t cut it, we’re here to help. Our team has decades of experience working with all kinds of industries—from automotive and aerospace to agriculture, power generation, and beyond. We can walk you through the steps of providing the right dimensions, selecting the best material, and defining tolerances to make sure your custom washers work exactly as they should. We offer free quotes for custom orders, and we’re happy to answer any questions you have about the process. Don’t let a fit issue or a performance problem derail your project—reach out to us today to discuss your custom lock washer needs.
Stud Bolts References:
- Machine Design, “Fastening Fundamentals: Lock Washers and Loosening Prevention,” 2021.
- ASME B18.21.1, “Standard for Lock Washers, Helical Spring Type,” American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2020.
- Stainless Steel World, “Custom Fasteners for Industrial Applications,” 2022.
- NASA Technical Report, “Corrosion Resistance of Specialty Fasteners for Aerospace Systems,” 2019.
Handan Jihao Fastener Co., Ltd.
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