Bicycle Mechanics - drop bolts [recessed or standard nut?]

would you recommend using a recessed nut or standard nut brake for use in a drop bolt?

The dropbolt itself provides the mounting bolt for the caliper but you can choose which type the other bolt, the one that goes to the fork or brake bridge, is but not the brake itself.

Here are a couple of articles from Sheldon Brown.

The first shows some commercial dropbolts, that are unfortunately no longer available, but may give you some design ideas.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/dpdropbolt.html

The second is a home-made dropbolt Sheldon cobbled up. Looks pretty crude to me.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/home-drop.html

Note he says to make the drop bolts long enough to allow the brake pads to be near the top of their adjusting slots as it "gives better braking". That's one answer to another thread you started on this subject.

would you recommend using a recessed nut or standard nut brake for use in a drop bolt?

Back when drop bolts were a little more common, we used to make rear "standard bolt" drop bolts work on the front by drilling out the back of the fork crown and installing a recessed hex nut. It worked well enough.

Since decent quality long reach calipers are easily available, I'd say that you should put the right brake on the bike and not mess around with drop bolts unless you have a real good reason.

But if you really need them, here's a place to get drop bolts. http://www.harmonywaterrestoration.com/bicyclecomp_pg.html

Got mudguards to attach? Nut facilitates that, but, drop bold lowers the clearance, because the brake is closer to the tire.
But [+1] with double pivot brakes available in a variety of reach ranges. they are unneeded.