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I don't think split washers are the same as flat washers. They continue to put pressure on the nut so it won't turn even if the joint is mildly unloaded. A properly installed bolt is tightened until it begins to stretch, which keeps it tight even if the joint is unloaded In aerospace applications bolts are carefully tightened to a specified level of strain and a lock washer wouldn't do any good (the bolt itself takes up the slack in an unloaded joint). But on backyard stuff that is just tightened "tight enough" a lock washer can keep a joint from coming apart when it doesn't need to.
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