Nut and bolt assortments. Worth it?

[Tscott]

Anyone ever buy one of the assortment sets? I am tired of having to go bolt shopping every time I work on something. I'd like to get a good selection of nuts and bolts in the garage and then focus on keeping it stocked instead of buying bolts every few days for a project. Is it better to get an assortment prepackaged from a vendor or is it better to build your own assortment from a list of commonly used sizes and lengths? I'm currently rebuilding a Triumph Spitfire, so I need a bunch of fine thread SAE grade 8 bolts to get the Chassis back together. Most of the bigger kits come with a parts bin and run from $400 and up depending on quantities. Eventually I think it would be great to have standard and fine thread selections in both metric and SAE sizes, but that would be a few thousand dollars just in hardware. What do you guys do for bolts in your shop? Does anyone have a checklist of commonly used lengths and sizes they use to build their own assortment?

Tom

 

[MoparTrucks]

No checklist or anything here but I buy a lot of bolts, nuts and washers at farm auctions and yard sales and mine any piece of junk I can get for spare parts and fasteners and keep quite a stock (we live in the sticks). My current problem is keeping them sorted and organized and I am looking for something with bins to get squared away. Its 22 miles to the closest place for me to buy a bolt so it pays to have a stock on hand.

 

[APEowner]

I bought boxes of course and fine thread SAE size nuts from #4 - 7/8 in grade 8 so that I don't have to scrounge for those. For bolts I buy a box whenever I need 1. I sprang for a wall slat box bin system for storage.

 

[BD1]

Is there a place you can buy by the pound ? Farm and Fleet sells hardware like this. I would buy in bulk what you normally need . Actually, I think Amazon.com just started selling hardware.

 

[signcrafter]

When I need a bolt I will usually buy a few different sizes and lengths. Over the years I have gathered a pretty nice collection of hardware. Same thing goes for fittings and what not. If I need an air fitting I will buy a handful of different ones. Need a black pipe 3/4" 90, I will buy a couple of them and also 1/2" and an assortment of other fittings. Need an 8-32x1 1/2" bolt, I buy a box and then buy a box of 1" and 2" also, then buy a box of 6-32x1,1 1/2, and 2". So my one bolt turns into 6 or more boxes(100 pack) of screws. Gets a little expensive at first but the next time you need a bolt you should have it which means the bolt is "free" and you save a trip to the hardware store. The main thing is to keep things organized, I use plastic bins with dividers and I made a plywood shelf to hold them all.

 

[Tscott]

Is there a place you can buy by the pound ? Farm and Fleet sells hardware like this. I would buy in bulk what you normally need . Actually, I think Amazon.com just started selling hardware.

By the pound? Nope, not anywhere around me. Local hardware store sells by the box but that's about it. I looked at Amazon supply and that may be an option, since my mother in law has Amazon prime, shipping may be free. If I have to buy individual sizes, I need to figure out what the common sizes are, but to be honest I've never really kept track of what I use. I typically buy what I need and then forget about it. I've looked for a typical bolt inventory list but come up empty. I guess I could make one and just ball park it by buying the middle 50% or so of available bolt sizes in common lengths if I had to.

Tom

 

[NUTTSGT]

When I built my fastener storage, I started buying bolt buy the pound. Every trip to twon I would stop at TSC and buy a lb or two of what was on my list. Now all I have to do is keep it stocked when it runs low.

 

[kyles974]

i went to tractor supply and bought by pound...have lasted me years,,,,almost got to go soon and its been ten tears

 

[WILD-BILL]

I'm in the process of putting something together and so far the best deals I've seen were from a seller called rivercityindustrialsupply on Ebay.

I was looking hard a the their 1255 price kit but it has some things I don't need and is missing some I do want.

I'm currently waiting on a reply for a quote on a custom assortment.

They seem reasonable as far as prices and shipping.

 

[Lippyp]

Their used to be a company over here that did complete sets of nuts and bolts for a spitfire rebuild in both mild or stainless steel.

These guys do mark 1/2/3 sets

http://www.aseriesspares.co.uk/classic-car-fasteners/classic-car-master-sets/cat_203.html

 

[OctoMan]

A lot of those assortment kits are usually from some mickey mouse country of origin. If what you're using them for is not critical then go for it. Buy by the pound if you can and try to get good US made stuff. Use only original (If possible) hardware on the Spit or good US made nuts, bolts, washers. I have a lot of mil-spec grade stuff on the MG.

Make sure you organize it all. I'm rebuilding a MGB and for months had to sort through washers and such to find what I needed. One night I just took a few hours and sorted all the hardware and a few beers later I had everything sorted. Most of what you'll need for the Triumph is under 11/16". Good luck on the Spit!

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

A large assortment will cost you a bunch of money, but will have most of what you want...not necessarily what you *need* though.

My philosophy is to buy extra when you buy any bolts. If I need 8-10 bolts of a certain size, then for a couple of dollars more it's usually worth buying a box instead. Do I need that many? No, but now I have stock for next time. I weigh the decision to buy a few extra on any project versus my time and fuel to go back to the store go get ONE bolt that I'm missing. Am I willing to pay $3-4 now to make sure I don't have to make that project-stopping trip next time?

I bought a set of used metal bolt cabinets with slide out removable drawer sections. Each one has about 20 bins inside. For years I've been buying hardware and keeping it all in a variety of locations in bags, boxes, cans, etc. Finally getting someplace to put all of it in one place has been very handy. Some things I go through a lot, like 3/8" coarse thread in 1" to 3" sizes. Plus lots of nuts, washers, and split rings.

Triumph Spitfires are hungry thing for metal. You'll need a lot of hardware. That British iron was pretty weak to start with, and a lot of suspension bolts I dealt with during my frame off work needed replacement.

Oh, you'll also need lots of oil. And light bulbs. It *is* a Triumph, after all. I've had plenty of experience with my '68 Mk III.

 

[Tscott]

The Triumph is a Mk4 and belong to my father in law. I bagged and tagged everything, but I'm a fan of changing all bolts for new instead of cleaning up the old. Just a little extra security. At this point I am looking at just buying a parts bin set up that mounts to the wall and starting as many of you have suggested. Buying in bulk in the common sizes I will need. I was unaware that TSC sold by the pound, I have to swing by tomorrow and see what selection they have and perhaps just grab a few bags. I have seen the ebay seller mentioned above and they do seem to have a lot of sets so I may look into that, but it's a little tough shelling out that much cash for hardware I don't need yet.

Tom

 

[EOC_Jason]

I've got a bazillion bins and such with nuts and bolts that have just built up over the years. Sometimes I can find an exact replacement, sometimes I can find one close-enough, sometimes I have no choice but to go down to the local sears and get what I need...

If it's a project where I'm planning all my materials and such or a repair where I've completely disassembled something, I'll usually go buy the exact bolts (or better) to replace before I put things back together. Otherwise I would spend half my day trying to find half a dozen nuts & bolts exactly the same in my bins of randomness...

Unfortunately also I find that a lot of things end up being metric and/or fine-thread, both of which are also instant trips to the Sears Hardware...

If the Sears ever goes out of business, I'm sooooo buying their isle of nuts & bolts... I will add-on to my shop just to have that!

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

Sears sells bolts? Sears in my area are largely clothing / home stores with a token tool area. I've never seen a hardware section with bolts/consummables before.

Another place I am keeping an eye out on is Radio Shack. Since they stopped selling radios years ago in favor of cell phone accessories, they are converting to mall outlets only. Sears (their owner) plans to discontinue the tools and parts entirely. The parts bins they have in each store for all the switches, knobs, misc parts will be ideal for our usage and will be surplus at some point.

 

[Falcon67]

i went to tractor supply and bought by pound...have lasted me years,,,,almost got to go soon and its been ten tears

This. I use this
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-versatrack-trackwall/p-00910124000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

And these
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00959412000P

And keep bins of short (under 3"), long, flat/split/star washers, nuts for all sizes 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", 7/16" and 1/2". Grade 3, 5 and 8. I did spend some bucks at a local fastener house for 1/4, 5/16 and 3/8 flange nuts because buying them at Lowes/HD is crazy high based on the price for onesy-twosy.

And yes - about 20% of the time I don't have the damn bolt I need in length X

 

[EOC_Jason]

Sears sells bolts? Sears in my area are largely clothing / home stores with a token tool area. I've never seen a hardware section with bolts/consummables before.

"Sears Hardware" does...

There is:

Sears - Usually @ malls... sells clothing, appliances, etc...
Sears Hardware - Stand alone store... Kind of like a small HD/Lowes
Sears Outlet - Sells appliances and some tools...

 

[jimindm]

I have seen plenty of sae sold by the pound at several places, but anything metric not so much. Find a bolt supply company close to you. My brother happens to work for one. They will ussually have a bin that is taking up room that they want to move. Also they can and will make you a deal on an assortment, to try to get your business. If they are the manufacturer of the stuff, their cost is mere peanuts, so they can make you a good deal. Some even have a larger catalog that they sell from.

My brother sponsers several race cars, from people actually asking him for product instead of cash. Every year he gets hit up by many for cash, but just a few for product. One is a freind of the family, and his sponsership costs by brother very little, but he got very, very well stocked bins the first year. Now they stay completely full, and he is using their chemicals.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

If you are close to a good supplier that is reasonably priced; I would tend to keep only a modest hardware selection in my shop...

Being that I am out in the stix; I attempt to keep an ample supply on hand, and prefer to do bolt shopping by the pound.. Four, six, or ten of each common size usually cover most needs... Much used Sizes such as 3/8" nuts are bought in larger amounts... This system works for me.

Fine thread metric bolts are less common locally, so I recently bought a assortment which came in a 16 compartment Durham drawer with lid.. Neat storage solution that is portable.. Downside being it has 25 of each bolt, which is a bit overkill for my needs..

 

[Spudland_Dave]

One word...Fastenal.
Started doing business there and have loved it ever since...I get pretty much everything there. Nuts & Bolts are no exception...when I buy, I buy a bag quantity and have leftover.
Alot of times I see the bolt assortments on sale and you get a "Free" Durham steel bolt bin...only reason I dont have one yet is I never had space before this year. My bolt assortments are in Kitty Litter pails...4 seperate pails for less then 1/2", bigger then 1/2", larger then 1" and Metric.
I only use TSC when its last minute/weekend project.

 

[bob15]

Want US made bolts, try MSC or McMaster. Look for Lake Erie (LE) bolts. They are US made. You can write to Master Carr, give them the part number and they will tell you if it is USA, Canada, or red china.

bob

 

[oldtractors]

I have an assortment of every of grade five from 1/4x1/2 to 3/4x8. - Probably 200 lbs of bolts. Most was by the pound from the tractor supply places. However, they always seem to be out of the size I really need. Also, they are plated a stupid color now (green) and probably come from China. Sometimes I get a box from McMaster. McMaster is as cheap as Fastenal. Recently, I got an assortment of bolts from this place:
http://www.allensfasteners.com/shippingPolicy.asp
It is a little more expensive than tractor supply, but not by much. The bolts are good and they have all the sizes. They ship flat rate, so the shipping is as cheap as possible. I need to restock several sizes, and will probably order from them again.

 

[Andybull]

I've bought two sets at different auctions.

This is one set:

 

[NUTTSGT]

One word...Fastenal.
Started doing business there and have loved it ever since...I get pretty much everything there. Nuts & Bolts are no exception...when I buy, I buy a bag quantity and have leftover.
Alot of times I see the bolt assortments on sale and you get a "Free" Durham steel bolt bin...only reason I dont have one yet is I never had space before this year. My bolt assortments are in Kitty Litter pails...4 seperate pails for less then 1/2", bigger then 1/2", larger then 1" and Metric.
I only use TSC when its last minute/weekend project.

Maybe yours is different than the one we have locally. One word...expensive.

Everytime I have went in there, they don't have what I need, the last being for safety glasses, I bet I waited five minutes at the counter for a salesperson before throwing them on the counter and walking out.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I've bought two sets at different auctions.

This is one set:

What kind of auction did you hit up ? Commerical, industrial or residential/farm ?

Ball park on what you paid for them if you don't mind ?

 

[yousesteers]

Look for a lumber yard that is selling out we usually auction off 1 to 3 a year and sell all the hardware

 

[numbah9]

I've bought two sets at different auctions.

This is one set:

You're nuts.

 

[Exceller8]

I bought a basic assortment at Sam's Club a few years ago for something like $60. I use that set all the time and I would say it was worth the money. Lately I've been buying fasteners at garage sales for next to nothing. The last three weeks straight I've got boxes full for less than $5. There was some other cool stuff mixed in as well, plus it's like Christmas sorting through all those goodies.

 

[Andybull]

I paid $600.00 at a welding shop auction, with a Vidmar 10 drawer cabinet and one drawer's worth of SS nuts, bolts and washers. For the one pictured I paid a bit too much, $1,800.00. It has a lot of Metric and cat 5 bolts and nuts.

 

[WILD-BILL]

Well, for better or worse I pulled the trigger on a custom assortment from http://myworld.ebay.com/rivercityindustrialsupply/&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2754

Here's the list......

ALLOY GRADE 8 HEX HEAD CAP SCREW / BOLT ZINC AND YELLOW

50EA 1/4-20 X 1/2

50EA 1/4-20 X 3/4

50EA 1/4-20 X 1

25EA 1/4-20 X 1-1/4

25EA 1/4-20 X 1-1/2

25EA 1/4-20 X 2

50EA 5/16-18 X 1/2

50EA 5/16-18 X 3/4

50EA 5/16-18 X 1

25EA 5/16-18 X 1-1/4

25EA 5/16-18 X 1-1/2

25EA 5/16-18 X 2

25EA 3/8-16 X 3/4

25EA 3/8-16 X 1

25EA 3/8-16 X 1-1/2

25EA 3/8-16 X 2

15EA 3/8-16 X 2-1/2

15EA 3/8-16 X 3


GRADE 8 HEX NUTS ZINC AND YELLOW

100EA 1/4-20

50EA 5/16-18

25EA 3/8-16

GRADE 8 USS ZINC AND YELLOW FLAT WASHER



100EA 1/4

100EA 5/16

50EA 3/8


GRADE 8 HEAT TREATED ZINC AND YELLOW LOCK WASHERS

100EA 1/4

50EA 5/16

25EA 3/8



SERRATED FLANGE LOCK NUTS ZINC FINISH:

100 OF 1/4-20

100 OF 5/16-18

100 OF 3/8-16


NYLON INSERT LOCK NUTS ZINC FINISH:

100 OF 1/4-20

100 OF 5/16-18

100 OF 3/8-16

All for $98.00 plus $12.50 for shipping.

Aside form allenheads or Stainless it pretty much coves everything I do.

Once I get everything sorted out and figure what sizes of allen heads and SS I want to keep on hand I plan on working with http://www.schallercorporation.com/servlet/StoreFront to get an assortment of bins to get it all in my craftsman 4 drawer intermediate chest.

Looks like it may be a tight fit but doable.

 

[Dick in Wisconsin]

I I sprang for a wall slat box bin system for storage.

Picture? Where did you get it? How much?

 

[tolken4]

Ok, stupid question time. What are you folks all using pounds of fasteners on? Just curious the type of work you all are doing. Please be as specific as you can

 

[WILD-BILL]

Building and maintaining my families race cars.

 

[SGKent]

we do restorations on late VW Buses. If you want original you probably will have to get a hold of folks on a Triump forum and buy up boxes of their discards then wire brush and refinish them. That would be original if you are going for an event like Monterey. If you are just wanting good nuts and bolts http://www.mcmaster.com is your friend. Since you won't restore the car in an afternoon, toss the bolts and nuts as you remove them into plastic baggies marked with a sharpie and put any special notes on paper inside as to which goes where. Example, "motor mount right: on plastic bag. On paper - "longer bolt was in the fitting to the right." Once you have a bunch then measure them and order the ones that look the worst and/or most common. I use a steel wire brush on a grinder along with a pair of vise grips to clean each one. Most are salvageable. If you need to you can get a plating kit from Eastwood to replate them or some bluing to toss them in to reblue them to black oxide. It all depends on what level of restoration you are going to do. Buy a box of spares from someone who has been working on Triumps and you may be able to have all original for under $50 and your time.

Example of using McMaster-Carr and wire brush plus simple bead plaster.

 

[Exceller8]

Ok, stupid question time. What are you folks all using pounds of fasteners on? Just curious the type of work you all are doing. Please be as specific as you can

I use various fasteners for:

Decking
Fences
Shop projects (duh! )
Mounting vises/anvils
Hanging stuff
Giving away to family/friends (I always have what they need)

Have you guys priced individual fasteners lately? I had to buy some 1/4" x 1" SS lag bolts and they were .95 each.

 

[dankicksass]

Midwest is a great option. They have everything in chrome. Also normal things for people who aren't crazy.

 

[jeffmoss26]

I order from local suppliers when I need things in quantity, otherwise just go to the local hardware store. I use a lot of 6/32 set screws for rekeying locks, and it was killing me to buy them individually!

 

[NUTTSGT]

Ok, stupid question time. What are you folks all using pounds of fasteners on? Just curious the type of work you all are doing. Please be as specific as you can

Different types of things. It's usually cheaper to buy fasteners by the pound than individually. When I started buying all mine, you can see pics in my refurb thread, I bought just grade 2. I'll buy 5 or 8 when I need them.

While buying pounds of fasteners might cost me something up front, it saves the time making a trip to town for a couple of 1/4 bolts and nuts. A trip to town is going to take 20+ minutes and a gallon of gas. ($3.50-$4). If you're working on something on a Sunday evening or burning the midnight oil, there's no place open. Sometimes having a small stockpile is worth the frustration of not being able to get something when you need it.

Sorry I can't be more specific than that.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Maybe yours is different than the one we have locally. One word...expensive.

Everytime I have went in there, they don't have what I need, the last being for safety glasses, I bet I waited five minutes at the counter for a salesperson before throwing them on the counter and walking out.

Must be...I kinda felt the same when I started doing business there, so I know what you mean, but my love for quality abrasives (Metabo & Norton) kept me going there...after a couple times, we strike up a conversation, they figure out I'm a serious hobbyist and voila...Cash account setup, prices come down and they are super friendly. Now they are my first stop shopping for all things industrial.
Good way to start would be shop the monthly sales flyer...usually good pricing on those items.

 

[bgarrett]

estate sales
usually no one will buy bolts and one estate sale business told me he cant get rid of them. He gave me everything in the garage free! It filled up the trunk of my 1931 Ford and I couldnt close it and I put some on the front seat and floor