Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (Details) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended						12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended						0 Months Ended					0 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Barnes Distribution Europe [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Industrial [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Industrial [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Industrial [Member] CHF	Dec. 31, 2012 Distribution [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Distribution [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Aerospace [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Aerospace [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Revenue sharing programs [Member] USD ($) Y	Dec. 31, 2011 Revenue sharing programs [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Customer lists/relationships [Member] USD ($) Y	Dec. 31, 2011 Customer lists/relationships [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Patents And Technology [Member] USD ($) Y	Dec. 31, 2011 Patents And Technology [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Trademarks, Trade Names [Member] USD ($) Y	Dec. 31, 2011 Trademarks, Trade Names [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Other [Member] USD ($) Y	Dec. 31, 2011 Other [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Unamoritized Trade Name [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 27, 2012 Unamoritized Trade Name [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Unamoritized Trade Name [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 27, 2012 Synventive [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 27, 2012 Synventive [Member] Customer Relationships [Member] USD ($) Y	Aug. 27, 2012 Synventive [Member] Patents And Technology [Member] USD ($) Y	Aug. 27, 2012 Synventive [Member] Trade Names [Member] USD ($) Y	Dec. 31, 2012 Synventive [Member] Unamoritized Trade Name [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 27, 2012 Synventive [Member] Customer Backlog [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 27, 2012 Maximum [Member] Synventive [Member] Customer Backlog [Member] Y
Goodwill and Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Intangible assets																									$ 126,600			$ 10,700
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Goodwill, beginning of period	366,104	384,241			192,544	192,569		142,774	160,886	30,786	30,786
Goodwill acquired	201,029	167			201,029	167		0	0	0	0
Goodwill adjustments/derecognized		(17,200)				0			(17,200)		0
Foreign currency translation	12,772	(1,104)			12,534	(192)		238	(912)	0	0
Goodwill, end of period	579,905	366,104	384,241		406,107	192,544		143,012	142,774	30,786	30,786
Other Intangible Assets:
Range of life - minimum (in years)														10		7		5
Range of life - maximum (in years)												30		15		14		30		15
Finite Lived Intangible Assets Before Foreign Currency Translation Adjustment	463,920	347,320										293,700	293,700	102,806	23,506	41,972	6,572	12,750	12,050	12,692	11,492		10,000	0					10,000
Finite Lived Intangible Assets Foreign Currency Translation Adjustment	8,599	4,714
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Accumulated Amortization	(98,547)	(79,942)										(54,638)	(46,367)	(21,727)	(17,292)	(7,758)	(5,211)	(7,497)	(6,618)	(6,927)	(4,454)	0		0
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Gross	482,519	352,034
Intangible Assets, Future Amortization Expense
Amortization of intangible assets expected in 2013	27,000
Amortization of intangible assets expected in 2014	30,000
Amortization of intangible assets expected in 2015	31,000
Amortization of intangible assets expected in 2016	23,000
Amortization of intangible assets expected in 2017	24,000
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Goodwill, Expected Tax Deductible Amount	144,125
Amortization of Intangible Assets	18,605	16,907	13,424
Cash paid						3,495	3,140																		305,926
Business acquisition, purchase price allocation, goodwill amount						167																			201,029
Business acquisition purchase price allocation to amortizable intangible assets						2,370																				79,300	35,400			1,200
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Asset, Weighted Average Useful Life																										15	7	10			1
Disposal Group, Including Discontinued Operation, Goodwill				$ 17,200