Abstract: A one-bolt connecting rod for an internal combustion engine, compressor or other machine; a structure for aligning the shank and cap parts of a two-piece connecting rod; an aluminum fastener for aluminum connecting rods; an extrusion process for making connecting rods; and connecting rod parts made by a fine blanking process. In the one-bolt connecting rod, the unbolted junction of the shank and cap is of the hook-on-lug type, and the bolt runs longitudinally through the junction. The alignment structure is on one side a V-junction with contact only between slanting walls and on the other side a junction of two single-plane walls. The aluminum fastener is a threaded aluminum stud.