<VV> Broken Bolt forensics

[lonzovair at aol.com]

Ok, I dug out the last two broken bolts and brought them in to work with me so my structural engineer boss could offer an opinion.
On the "new" replacement that I gotfrom Underground over a year ago (that broke early this year) he said "that is a grade 8 that cracked and then pulled apart, and there wasn't a lot of time difference between the two..."...
On the NOS one from Clarks that I put in earlier this year and broke on Veterans day, he said "Now THIS is interesting... see the black annodizing on the outside? That is usually done during the quenching/heat treating when dipped in an oil of some type. See this area here where the break is? See how about 20-25% is the same color as the outside of the bolt and the remaining thread? That tells me there was a crack in it when it was heat treated... I'd be willing to bet had they had better QC back then, this one would have been tosed in the scrap bucket. This bolt was bound to fail, and it's amazing that it lasted as long as it did."
He also said the emblem I saw on the head was "like a Mercedes emblem without the circle" with the E in the center... and now that I look at it, it looks like an "E" in the middle of a "Y"... he said it was a high strength bolt...
So there ya have it.
I'll try to post pictures when I get home tonight, if I can get a clear enough picture.
Thanks for all the help, opinions, and advice!!!
Take care, and God bless!
Lonzo