Too much torque can actually do more damage to to a
bolt than, and make a rigging situation more dangerous than not enough torque. If you are concerned about the
bolt coming free and the scenery falling use locktite, or a locking
nut, although I have found that even that is generally excessive. Remember that 1/4" grade 2 hardware has an allowable shear load between 160 and 370 lbs, depending on where the load is centered, and the type of shear (single or double) under ideal circumstances. By modifying a
bolt (cutting) heating a
bolt (grinding) and cold forging a
bolt (hitting) you are changing the bolts physical properties. By altering the
bolt in these ways you are altering its modulus of elasticity, which is determined by its physical characteristics. Your new case hardened
bolt my never ever come off that scenery again, but it also my by several times more brittle than it was when it was installed, making it less able to
bend and recover to the forces of a
flat bouncing off a
deck, or fouling with an adjacent
batten. Whenever the properties of a
bolt come into question, go up a grade if going up a size is not an option. Increasing to a grade 5 fastener increases the strength of the
bolt nearly 1.5 times, and going to grade 8 (the only grade approved for over head lifting) increase nearly 3 fold.