National Hardware Replacement Strike: A Facilities Buyer’s Guide to Galvanized Eye Bolts, Truss Screws, and Angle Grinder Tile Cutting

Most hardware searches are just nouns. One maintenance request arrives as “National Hardware replacement strike”; another as “lineman’s pliers with fish tape puller.” If you order from search results alone, you will be right sometimes, but you will also create returns. The part only fits when the scenario behind the search fits.

I manage purchasing for a 200-person facilities company, so I process maintenance orders for three buildings and a few remote sites. I am not a contractor, but since 2020 I have handled enough orders to learn the questions to ask before adding anything to the cart. Here is how I sort the common ones.

“National Hardware replacement strike” is not a single part number

When someone types that, the real question is not the brand. It is which type of latch, and which side of the door. There are deadbolt strikes, passage-latch strikes, and surface-mounted gate strikes. A flat plate works on many wood jambs, while a metal door frame may need a plate with offset tabs or a reinforced jamb section.

The first branch is simple: are you replacing an old strike or installing into a new opening? If you are replacing, pull the old plate and look at it. Do not rely on the photo at the search result. Measure the distance between the screw holes, the overall shape, and the corner radius. A rounded-corner old strike and a square-corner replacement can look wrong even when they function. For a lockset that does not line up, a longer lip or adjustable strike may solve a minor offset, but if the frame itself has shifted, that is a framing issue, not a hardware issue.

I can only speak to commercial wood and metal frames, not security-rated detention hardware. If your door is different, verify it first.

One of my biggest regrets was ordering twenty-five replacement strikes after checking only the hole spacing. Nine did not match the old corner shape. The vendor accepted the returns, but restocking and shipping made the “efficient” order annoying and more expensive. Since then, every request includes an old-part photo and the words square corner, rounded corner, or gate latch.

When I see “National Hardware eye bolt galvanized,” I ask: what is the load doing?

Galvanized tells me it is for exterior use. It does not tell me if it is a light screw eye or a machine eye bolt. Those are different products with different limits.

One branch is whether you are screwing into wood or passing through support. A galvanized screw eye with a wood-screw thread is fine for a light chain on a post. If a gate or mechanism pulls sideways every day, the threads can loosen, especially as treated lumber moves with moisture. Use a through-bolt with a nut and washer, or a machine eye bolt rated for the application.

The other branch is lifting. If an eye bolt will support anything overhead, treat it as rigging hardware, not as a gate part. A forged shoulder eye bolt with a working load limit marking is the direction to go. A plain pattern eye bolt is intended for in-line loads; angular loads can bend or break it. Standards like ASME B30.26 exist to make rated hardware identifiable. I also ask the supplier for the rating in writing rather than trusting a photo caption.

We almost ordered twelve galvanized screw eyes for hanging chains near a walkway last year. Closer review changed that to rated shouldered eye bolts in steel supports. Dodged a bullet, or at least a bad conversation with the operations manager.

What is a truss screw? Look past the head style

A truss screw—more precisely a truss-head screw—has a broad, low-profile head. That head spreads holding force over a larger area without needing a countersunk hole. It is a common choice for brackets, gates, and thin metal parts where a taller pan head would snag, or where a flat head would require extra work.

The branch is not just head style. I need the thread pitch, diameter, length, and point type. A machine-screw truss head goes into a tapped hole or uses a nut. A self-tapping truss screw is for driving into unthreaded sheet metal. If someone gives me only the words truss screw on a purchase order, the order is incomplete.

Finish matters just as much outdoors. Zinc plating is fine for dry interior conditions. For a gate in the weather, choose a hot-dip galvanized or stainless steel fastener. If you are fastening into pressure-treated lumber, plain zinc is a poor bet and can corrode faster than people expect. Specific coating tests are beyond my role, but I always confirm the material with the tech before ordering a large pack.

Lineman’s pliers with fish tape puller: one feature, two very different jobs

This search usually comes from an electrician or from a maintenance tech who has pulled wire before. The fish-tape puller slot lets you pull fish tape without clamping the jaws shut on it. That sounds small, but it prevents nicks in the tape and makes long pulls less miserable.

If your crew pulls cable through conduit or above ceiling regularly, the feature is worth paying for. Pair it with a pliers length they actually want. In our shop, senior electricians prefer 9-inch for torque on heavier wire; some panel work is easier with 8-inch. I standardized on 8-inch once and one tech rejected it. Now the tool spec is part of the purchase order.

If the same person mainly terminates outlets or changes switches, a standard lineman’s pliers is enough. The puller slot will not get used, and you pay extra for it. And regardless of which version you buy, a dipped plastic handle is not the same as an insulated tool rated for live electrical work. Before anyone works near energized parts, that is a different purchasing conversation governed by procedures like NFPA 70E.

Can an angle grinder cut tile? Yes, if you choose the blade to match the job

The short answer is yes. The longer answer is that the grinder is the cheap part; the blade, dust control, and work surface decide how well it goes.

You need a diamond blade designed for tile, not a metal cutoff disc. For ceramic and most porcelain, a continuous-rim diamond blade produces fewer chips. If the tile is a very hard porcelain, look for a blade that says it is rated for porcelain. A metal or masonry blade is the wrong answer for smooth tile.

Now the scenario split. If you are cutting one tile, trimming a piece around a pipe, or making a cutout in tile that is already installed, an angle grinder is often the most practical tool. It goes to the work. If you are tiling a large floor or wall with many straight cuts, the grinder can still do it, but a wet tile saw is faster, gives a cleaner edge, and controls dust. In that case the real choice is not “can it” but “should it be the only saw on site?”

For small dry cuts with a grinder, keep the work stable and let the blade do the cutting. For straight cuts, clamp a guide. And for commercial shops, use the guard. OSHA’s portable abrasive wheel guarding rules for general industry (29 CFR 1910.243) are not there to make the tool less convenient; guards prevent some of the worst kickback injuries I have seen in incident reports. Wear eye protection and a dust mask at minimum.

The real search term is the situation

National Hardware replacement strike, national hardware eye bolt galvanized, truss screw, lineman’s pliers with fish tape puller, can an angle grinder cut tile—these phrases all look like product questions. They are really process questions. Replacing or new? Indoor or outdoor? Pulling straight or at an angle? One cut or forty cuts?

When we standardized our order notes in 2024, the time I spent searching for the right item dropped noticeably. It was not because the catalog got better; it was because the team started telling me what the part was doing, not only what it was called. Efficiency in purchasing is not about skipping details. It is about writing them down in a language the next order can reuse.

That process works for our facilities. If you manage a bigger crew or a more rigorous engineered application, your checklist will look different. Your mileage may vary—but asking the scenario question first is rarely wasted effort.