Hardware Buying FAQ: Crosby, David Crosby Hook, Eye Bolts, Pocket Door Locks, Roofing Nail Guns, and Angle Grinders

Six years ago, I took over purchasing for a maintenance and construction company. That meant every tool, fastener, and piece of hardware crossed my desk. I kept quotes, invoices, and mistakes in the same spreadsheet. This FAQ is a few of the questions that showed up most often, answered from the buyer's side of the table. Some of these are product searches. Some are questions people ask before a first purchase. All of them have one thing in common: if you get the answer wrong, you pay for it more than once.

Here's what we're covering:

• What a 'David Crosby hook' actually is
• What to check on a Crosby eye bolt
• Is a modern rectangular pocket door lock worth the upgrade
• Roofing nail gun: rent or buy
• Does an angle grinder cut metal?
• How to compare quotes without hidden fees

What is a 'David Crosby hook' and why can't I find one?

Full transparency: 'David Crosby hook' is one of those searches that happens when a familiar name and a product word get mashed together. David Crosby was a musician—Crosby, Stills & Nash. Crosby (no David) is a manufacturer of rigging hardware. A 'Crosby hook' is a load-rated hook in their product line: slip hooks, grab hooks, latch hooks, and more. If you're searching for lifting gear, use 'Crosby hook' or 'Crosby rigging hook' and add 'WLL' if you need a specific rating. If you need the musician, that's a different rabbit hole entirely.

What should I check before buying a Crosby eye bolt?

For contractors, an eye bolt isn't just a threaded rod with a loop. It's a lifting point. On the lifting side, standards like ASME B30.26 exist so you can compare parts by rating, not by appearance. Crosby publishes load charts for its hardware, and a distributor should be able to show you one. If they can't, that's a red flag.

• Working load limit (WLL): If there's no WLL stamped on the part, don't buy it.
• Thread size and length: Wrong thread means rework, and rework eats margin.
• Shoulder vs plain: Shoulder pattern eye bolts generally handle angular loads better than plain pattern. I'm not a structural engineer, so I won't guess which one your setup needs.
• Certification: If the project requires certification, ask for it before ordering, not after invoicing.

We once bought unmarked eye bolts to save a few hundred dollars. I assumed 'same dimensions' meant same performance. I didn't verify. The safety rep rejected them, and we reordered proper Crosby hardware. We saved maybe $200 on the original order—or maybe $150, I'd have to check—and spent $600 on replacement labor and schedule delay. That's how 'cheap' becomes expensive.

Is a modern rectangular pocket door lock worth the upgrade cost?

Depends on the project. In a rental unit, a basic round flush pull will probably be fine. For a home or a client's office, a modern rectangular pocket door lock usually adds one thing people actually feel: a latch that closes cleanly without rattling. The rectangular shape also covers a bigger cutout, which helps if the existing door prep isn't perfect.

Before you order, check the faceplate dimensions and backset. I've seen people buy a sleek rectangular lock and then pay a carpenter to make the mortise bigger. That hidden labor cost can exceed the lock itself. A supplier who lists installation prep requirements upfront? That's the supplier I trust. No idea why that's rare, but it is.

Roofing nail gun: rent or buy?

Look, if you're doing one roof, rent. But calculate the full rental cost before you decide. Then add nails, compressor, hose, and the morning you lose tracking down a misaligned coil. Over the past six years, that rental decision has turned into a purchase more than once.

If you do buy, get a coil roofing nailer and use the right coil nails for the tool. Roofing nail guns use wire-weld coil nails, not stick nails. The wrong collation type is the fastest way to spend a day feeding a jammed magazine. The gun is the small cost. The nails, maintenance, and downtime are the big ones. Also, remember the safety side: roofing work is steep. A nail gun speeds up the work, but it doesn't replace fall protection. I've seen a crew try to save time by skipping anchors. That's not a line-item savings; that's a liability.

Does an angle grinder cut metal?

Yes. But not with a grinding disc. An angle grinder cuts metal when you fit a bonded abrasive cutoff wheel—sometimes called a cut-off disc or zip disc. A grinding disc is for removing material, not slicing through a bolt or a pipe. With the right wheel, you can cut steel rebar, bolts, angle iron, and sheet metal.

A 4-1/2 inch grinder is the most common starting point. Use the guard, keep sparks away from other people, and wear eye protection (ANSI Z87.1 rated is a decent benchmark). In workplaces, OSHA 1926.303 covers abrasive wheel tools, and that's not a suggestion. From a budget view, the grinder is the cheap part. The cutoff wheels are the real consumable cost, and the rework from using the wrong disc is even higher.

How do you compare hardware quotes without getting burned by hidden costs?

After six years of tracking invoices, I've stopped asking 'what's the price?' first. Instead, I ask 'what's not included?' That question sounds simple, but it changes everything.

A vendor who lists shipping, certification, lead time, and packaging on the quote usually looks more expensive at first. Then the invoice matches the quote. A vendor who gives a low number and adds 'certification is extra' or 'that quote is with a longer lead time' is a budget overrun waiting to happen. Over time, I built a simple rule: if a quote doesn't include the details, I ask for them in writing before we issue a purchase order. No exceptions. That rule has caught more hidden fees than any discount I've ever negotiated.

I'd rather pay a little more and know what I'm buying. That's why we standardized our lifting hardware on established brands like Crosby, and why every order goes through the same checklist: part number, rating, markings, documentation. Transparent pricing builds trust. Opaque pricing builds headaches.