12 Clever Ways To Repurpose Extra Nuts And Bolts Around Your Home

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Nuts and bolts are often small but significant pieces of hardware, perfect for joining pieces together with a tight, secure hold. If you have a handful of nuts and bolts from the time you had to assemble your IKEA furniture, or maybe a surplus from a tool kit you bought, you might wonder what other uses they have. Thankfully, it's easy to repurpose extra nuts and bolts around your home. With a little imagination, this hardware can transform into art, quick-fix tools, and even sturdy pieces for various crafts.

The name "nuts and bolts" can refer to a variety of sizes of fasteners, but each is used for the same simple purpose: connection. Their durability and flexibility make them perfect materials for interesting DIY projects, while their simple metal style can lend an industrial edge to your creations. Most of these projects require very few additional materials, and you may already have what you need. You can easily repurpose scraps of wood, fabric, and other bits of hardware rattling around in your drawers or toolbox. Try one project, and you might see the array of nuts and bolts in your hardware store in a new light. Who knows, you may even start to come up with more ways to use them as decorative, functional pieces. Grab that plastic container of spare hardware and put it to use with some clever DIY projects.

For a whimsical take on industrial style, try wrapping up nuts and bolts into interesting, colorful beads. The project involves gluing fabric scraps or jewelry cord, like Beadthoven 1.5mm Braided Cord from Amazon, around the threads of your bolt. You can do the same to the nuts, even adding other adornments. Use the completed beads as a vase filler, string them into a colorful garland, or add some aluminum wire to use as curtain tiebacks.

When you don't have a wrench, but do have a set of nuts and bolts, you've got the materials you need for an adjustable spanner wrench. With two nuts on a long bolt, you can create a makeshift wrench. Placing the two nuts around the fastener being adjusted creates a serviceable tool for the job. Just be sure to tighten the nuts securely so they don't slip under pressure. This approach can work in a pinch when a wrench is needed for a quick task but isn't within reach.

There are so many ways to use pegboards for all your organizing needs, especially for hanging tools in the garage or workshop. You can buy pre-made pegboards and use hooks, but there's another way to hang up what you need: nuts and bolts. You can use bolts at least 3 inches long, threading them through pegboard holes, keeping some right next to each other, and spacing others out if you have rules or edges to hang. Now you can easily hang hammers and other tools on your pegboard.

Sometimes, nuts and bolts are more than just functional fasteners; they can be the source of an elaborate piece of wall art. With nuts, bolts, screws, and other extra hardware, you can lay out a design such as a heart, cross, or an arrow, gluing them to a piece of wood or other material for mounting. Framed in a shadowbox or picture frame, these simple pieces combine to make eye-catching artwork. You can even mix in other materials such as charms, beads, or shells, for a more mixed media piece.

Always have a way to open a bottle with a DIY bottle opener made of nuts and bolts. The nuts are welded together, then threaded with a bolt. You add a bar in a horseshoe shape to clamp over the bottle and remove the top. There are many tutorials available online that walk through the process step by step, and you can put your own twist on it with how you shape the metal bar.

They may be simple nuts and bolts, but with a little creativity and glue, they can be turned into small, playful ornaments. One option involves painting progressively larger nuts green and threading them onto a bolt with washers in between to form a small Christmas tree. Another option is to combine a small bolt, two nuts, and a wingnut for a tiny cowboy. You may even want to use the completed pieces as a fun package decoration, especially if giving a set of tools or hardware to your favorite DIYer.

To incorporate resin art in your home, try adding an industrial edge by blending epoxy resin with a handful of nuts, bolts, and other hardware. You'll need a good picture frame for the look, either one you created from wood pieces or a ready-made one, such as Bulevina Resin Picture Frame Mold. Mix your resin thoroughly, then add in your nuts and bolts, distributing them through the resin. Once cured, you'll have a cool piece of decor for the garage, and you can frame a picture or artwork.

Another seasonal decoration you can do with nuts and bolts is make whimsical snowmen. It's a simple project that requires minimal time and supplies. Just glue three nuts standing upright in a stack, and attach two bolts on the side to form arms. Add another bolt facedown on top of the stack to make the hat. You can keep them metal or paint them accordingly, with white for the body, and black for the hat and arms. Consider adding a strip of plaid ribbon for a final rustic touch.

Cool, industrial style? Checkmate. This DIY chess set uses hardware, including nuts and bolts, to make the rooks, kings, queens, and all of the other chess pieces with a sturdy adhesive.  You can create your own chessboard by spraypainting wood or foam boards with a stencil, creating alternating squares in whatever colors you choose. Some people like the metal look, while others enjoy giving the pieces a new color. You could even go the extra mile and create your playing area from a series of black and metal washers glued on a board.

You can spell out anything you like with enough nuts, bolts, and washers. This approach works well for signs in a workshop, garage, or personal workspace. Mix them up and form words, such as your last name or a greeting. A durable adhesive, such as Cruzix B-7000 Super Glue, is needed to keep the pieces securely in place and prevent them from falling off. Using a stained wood backing or painted board can elevate the finished sign and help the metal pieces stand out.

Did you realize you can make DIY beautiful windchimes from repurposed household items such as nuts and bolts? String lengths of chain onto a wrench, piece of pipe, or piece of wood, then add nuts and bolts at the end to create the metallic pings as the wind blows. You could even add this to your garden as a noisemaker to scare away curious birds and deer from your plants.

When you need a simple hinge for a light project, craft your own with nuts and bolts. You'll thread four nuts on a bolt, then weld each side of them to a piece of wood or metal to create your hinge. It's a perfect way to make a hinge for a homemade jewelry box, storage container, or homemade gate. Just remember, these DIY hinges are best suited for light-duty projects rather than heavy loads.