Metallics JTLN5SSM Nut 1/4-20 Hx Keps Locknut 18-8 (Jar 1000)

The JTLN5SSM is a 1/4-20 hex keps locknut, so it threads onto any 1/4 inch bolt or screw with standard UNC coarse thread (20 threads per inch). It will not run onto a 1/4-28 fine thread fastener.

They are 18-8 stainless, which is the common 300 series austenitic grade used for corrosion resistance in wet and outdoor work. That makes them suitable for exterior strut, enclosure, and grounding hardware where a plated steel nut would rust. For best results pair them with 18-8 or 304 stainless bolts so you are not mixing dissimilar metals.

A keps nut (also called a K-lock or washer locknut) has a free spinning toothed washer captured under the hex flange. The teeth bite the surface as you tighten, which resists loosening from vibration, so you do not add a separate lock washer. The JTLN5SSM is the 1/4-20 version in 18-8 stainless. It is a one piece pick-up-and-go nut, which is why panel builders and electricians use them instead of nut plus washer.

The JTLN5SSM ships as a jar of 1,000 pieces. That is a shop or crib quantity rather than a job-count bag, so it suits an MRO stockroom, a panel shop, or a contractor standardizing on 1/4-20 stainless hardware across a building.

Go with the keps nut, like the 18-8 stainless JTLN5SSM, when you want speed and a one piece assembly, and when the mating surface is metal that the washer teeth can bite. Choose a nylon insert (nyloc) nut instead where the washer teeth would scratch a finished surface, where you need to back the nut off and reuse it, or at elevated temperature that would soften the nylon. A nyloc also locks on the thread rather than the surface, so it still holds if the joint is not clamped tight against a flat face.

Yes. 1/4-20 is the standard thread for much electrical mounting hardware, and the JTLN5SSM is catalogued as electrical fastener stock. The hex pattern drives with a standard 7/16 inch wrench or socket for 1/4-20 hex nuts, and the 18-8 stainless body suits damp locations and exterior enclosures.

Keps nuts are generally treated as single-use for full locking value. The washer teeth deform the mating surface and dull on removal, so a reinstalled nut will not resist vibration the way a fresh one does. With 1,000 pieces in a jar of the JTLN5SSM, replacing rather than reusing is the normal practice.