Hardware - Buy as needed or collected?

[robertgreen79]

Just curious what you guys do. Do you have miscellaneous hardware and buy as needed or whether everything is sorted and organized. I have a bunch of miscellaneous hardware, but usually end up having to go to the store to pick up whatever is needed. Usually its for nuts and bolts.

 

[Stephenw]

I try to stock common sizes of grade 5 and grade 8. I also stock some metric. It saves running to the hardware store in the middle of a project.

 

[trainwreck]

I buy as I need, but when I buy, I'll buy four or five times as much as I think I need. Then, I usually won't need anything for the next job. Eventually, you end up stocking the sizes you use the most.

 

[Zeke]

And I keep old hardware as projects come and go. You don`t always need new.

 

[touchdowntodd]

unfortunately in the past simply because of not many places to store things i have bought as i go, and the local stores lady LOVES to see me come back when i get home only to find out a bolt is too short/long or something else goes wrong lol

starting this year, i think im gonna buy in bulk when i need something.. lets say 10 bolts for every 2 i need..

as an FYI if you have one locally farm n fleet stock and sell by the pound, many sizes, many thread patterns.. and its MUUUUCH cheaper.. if i go there i always buy more.. i think maybe i will go there from now on.. screw the other places LOL

 

[Ign]

Same:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=84672

 

[D KRAGER]

I collect it. Before I throw anything away, I take off all the hinges handles ect. I buy bolts and screws by the bulk at the farm store.

The key to keeping hardware is to keep it organized so you know what you have on hand.

 

[1983Camperspecial]

I have a drawer full of old hardware and a old portable craftsman toolbox full of old nuts and bolts, It has saved my *** more than once. Its a 40 mile round trip to the nearest place that carries nuts and bolts so I save what I can, and when I go to the junkyard I save all the old bolts from stuff I remove too. It free and plentiful.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I have a small collection right now. I'm adding a bin set up in my garage refurb. I'll buy fasteners a few lbs at a time til it's full or as I need it.

 

[djd99]

I collect them also every time I go to tsc I buy a variety.

 

[creativecars]

I save mine and take many things apart before I send it to the scrap yard. But I also have a farm and home supply 2 miles away. When I need something I don’t have I grab a hand full for next time and gradually built up a stock for future projects. It is by the pound, I can get a 20, 5/16 nuts for 50 cents.

 

[Ford12508]

Just the other day I bought a 100 or 500 pack of nuts ranging from #2 through 3/8, both fine and coarse thread. Normally I just go to the hardware store and pick some up when needed, but it is such a pain to run out for nuts. Bolts I can see because they come in different lengths, so you can't predict that. Nuts are all the same though, except for threading, so I might as well stock up on those.

I do have a lot of bolts too, but they are not in order.

 

[dodgeramsst2003]

Just the other day I bought a 100 or 500 pack of nuts ranging from #2 through 3/8, both fine and coarse thread. Normally I just go to the hardware store and pick some up when needed, but it is such a pain to run out for nuts. Bolts I can see because they come in different lengths, so you can't predict that. Nuts are all the same though, except for threading, so I might as well stock up on those.

I do have a lot of bolts too, but they are not in order.

a trick I learned from someone older than me is to buy the longest they have available and keep them in stock. when you need a bolt of that size, you simply cut it down to fit. It may not be a perfect solution, but it does cut down on the amount of bolts you keep around.

a bonus is if the bolt is a lot longer than you need, you now have a short stud that you can use on another project!

 

[rvr6000]

Buy what I need plus a few extra. Not like you ever see sales on nuts and bolts so I just get a few extra here and there and keep them organized. Like others said I will also take used screws out of things and put them in a seperate bucket with other miscellaneous parts. Just last week I dismantled an old kitchen table that resulted in six decent hinges.

 

[Rixter58]

I collect it. Before I throw anything away, I take off all the hinges handles ect. I buy bolts and screws by the bulk at the farm store.

The key to keeping hardware is to keep it organized so you know what you have on hand.

So true....and dont ask me how I have learned this. Having it doesnt do a D@MN bit of good if you dont know you have it or cant find it. Dont ask me how I know that either.

 

[Ohio Auto]

I bought a rolling nut/bolt organizer..you can see it in the middle up against the wall. It is two sided and every bin is full. Nuts, bolts, screws, misc hardware. I live 8 miles from town and got tired of running to town.

 

[Sterff]

I keep a few common sizes in bolts and screws. When it comes to metric stuff Im off to the hardware store.

 

[mikester]

I have a good stock of nuts and bolts in a cabinet that I mounted on brackets on one of my walls. The drawers have multiple dividers so theyre well organized by size. Half of them are SS. Ive got one drawer with misc grade 8 stuff. When it comes to the car stuff, I go to the local yard and pull as many bolts off that I think I can use. Most being body bolts that are strange sizes and all metric. I clean them up with a wire wheel.

 

[crewchief888]

i keep the hardware i remove, if i'm in the junkyard, i grab a pocket full of screws, bolts and misc.
i usually buy what i need when i'm planning my project, along with a few extras.
i salvage a lot of misc hardware and small scraps of steel at work.

 

[John in OH]

I'm 12 miles from the nearest hardware store (also expensive) and 26 miles from Tractor Supply so it is a real pain to buy "as needed". As others have suggested, I always buy extra of whatever I need ... if I need 4, I buy 12, etc. Also, I try to buy in bulk from Tractor supply as that is MUCH cheaper to buy by the pound. Lowes and HD are outrageously expensive as a fastener source. Salvaging fasteners is another great way to increase inventory, and keep your costs down.

Screws and small items are kept organized in a 120+ collection of baby food jars. Larger items in a bolt storage cabinet. Random bits, pieces, odds and ends are stored in vintage Akro Mils storage cabinets that my Dad gave me years ago. Organization of fasteners can save a ton of time when doing a job. I absolutely hate to spend time digging through boxes or bins of random mixed fasteners trying to find what I want. The baby food jar system has become unwieldy so I just ordered three of the Akro Mils 64 drawer storage cabinets and will be retiring the baby food jars over the next few weeks.

 

[alex71]

That's funny, I posted this same reply in another thread, but it seems to be even more relevant here. This is a crosspost from here: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=84672&showall=1


Thanks to whoever sent me a link to this thread... Yeah, I still have lots of fasteners for sale. I sell mostly on ebay these days, but I am happy to sell to GJ members as well. FYI, my ebay prices are about 70% higher than my direct prices.

As for my own fastener inventory that I have in my garage (not to be confused with the stuff that's for sale), I have 5, 15Wx28Dx52H card file cabinets, plus 36 Durham drawer cabinets (15." wide) full. Sure I don't use it all every day, but I like to be prepared.

These are the card files that I have (bought them at a library demolition sale for $50 a piece)

these are the Durham cabinets I'm referring to:

All that storage, and I'm not even close to having one of everything I have for sale in my personal inventory (mostly what I don't have at home are the machine screws. I have so many different kinds for sale it is mind blowing)... but I'm on the lookout for another dozen or so Durham cabinets so I can catch up).

Yeah, its like a hardware store in there. between all that stuff, toolboxes, and machinery, finding room to work can be a challenge. I hasn't (yet) gotten so full that there's no room for a project car. Its still in there and I can still get to all four sides of it... so far

 

[muibubbles]

I try to stock common sizes of grade 5 and grade 8. I also stock some metric. It saves running to the hardware store in the middle of a project.

+1 i HATE running to the store in the middle of a project... kills the momentum..

I buy as I need, but when I buy, I'll buy four or five times as much as I think I need. Then, I usually won't need anything for the next job. Eventually, you end up stocking the sizes you use the most.

+1 if i have to go buy a specific size i like getting the bigger package to have some for later

I bought a rolling nut/bolt organizer..you can see it in the middle up against the wall. It is two sided and every bin is full. Nuts, bolts, screws, misc hardware. I live 8 miles from town and got tired of running to town.

whered u get that organizer from? i like!


i also just collect bolts in a box.. once there a sufficient amount i sandblast em and then toss em in the vibrating tumbler for 2 more cycles and get em quiet shinny =)

 

[Rickster]

I buy all my nuts and bolts from garage sales. Every other one has a bunch of jars filled with top quality hardware for 50 cents to a dollar each. I only buy the jars with all one kind of nut/bolt/screw is in the jar. I don't spend time sorting out jars full of all kinds of stuff. I keep everything in metal drawer bins and some metal & plastic multi-drawer bins I also picked up at garage sales.

 

[914forme]

It a long trip for me to the local hardware store 26 miles round trip. So I go I stock up, I do travel for the job, so odd Items I will pickup in the big city. But I have a stash of 3/8" grade 8 I use for a lot of stuff, all lengths from 1/2" - 4" have flat and lock washers and nuts. I use the plastic storage bins and keep them organized.

For my Porsche since I have had so many parts cars like 10 of them, I have a big drawer system from a school used to hold Microfische. It now stores hardware and small parts al organized by area of the car. So I have an interior section, a suspension section, engine, etc......

 

[Ohio Auto]

Picked it up at TCS store. (tractor supply company)

It's really handy..I can roll it to whatever project I'm working on in the shop.

 

[blazsawgras]

when i need hardware items i usually buy more than i need then i have some for another project. sometimes it saves a trip to the hardware store also alot of my work is night when the store is probably closed anyway. also if im working another project like taking apart 2 vehicles to fix one i save all the old hardware from the swaps on the vehicles.

 

[TEXACMAN]

I usually buy a few extra when I go to get something. I also salvage hardware etc... I have alot of stainless from picking it up at work on cell tower sites scattered all over the place.

 

[bill9860]

Combination of the above - kepp some basic common stuff, buy extra when I do need something and salvage from shipping, and other discarded items.

 

[Packard V8]

I grew up on a farm fifteen miles from the nearest hardware store. We always tried to make do. I've been collecting hardware for thirty-five years now.

As previously mentioned, at garage sales, I always buy a coffee can full of misc for a buck. Sorting it is a pain, but over the years, I've bought card files full of hardware, assortment cabinets full of hardware, and many, many of the cheap plastic stack drawer organizers.

It is always a source of some small satisfaction in being able to complete most projects without a trip to the hardware store.

Whether it is worth the effort to buy, sort and save depends on who you are and what you like to do. I'll never be able to leave this place because all the tools, hardware and parts long ago reached immovable object state.

jack vines

 

[Falcon67]

I collect them also every time I go to tsc I buy a variety.

What he said. I come from a line of hardware savers, so I keep just about every little doo-dad. And I buy when around it, sometime just because "I might need one of them".