Best place to get cheap hardware?

[AceofSpad3s]

Hello, I recently have been buying alot of things I need to bolt onto workbenches and paying $2 a pop for vise, grinder, miter box ect, is getting annoying. What store would be the cheapest for plain old nuts,bolts and washers? I heard tractor supply sells by the pound but I haven't had the time to stop by recently.

 

[cowboy73]

Tractor Supply or Rural King would be the cheapest. A pound is typically around $2. That will buy a bunch of nuts, washers, and bolts!

 

[AceofSpad3s]

Tractor Supply or Rural King would be the cheapest. A pound is typically around $2. That will buy a bunch of nuts, washers, and bolts!

Only $2 a pound? Sweet, I though it was going to be like $6 or more. Next time I head by there I am going to buy a couple pounds worth.

 

[charlie.schroeder]

My experience with tractor supply is most hardware sells for around 2 dollars a pound, except grade 8 which is 4. The labels also tell you how many pieces per pound on each hardware drawer, and its not cheap junk hardware either

 

[dr_clyde]

It really depends on the kind of hardware. For general purpose nuts and bolts, tractor supply. For smallish quantities of machine screws, Mcmaster Carr tends to be the best price.

 

[ken w.]

I stock a lot of hardware from Tractor Supply. I buy mostly the green grade 5 bolts and nuts and the gold grade 8 washers. The plain washers they sell there aren't worth buying as the bend very easy. You will have a bag of bolts from TSC compared to 2-3 from a ACE hardware store.

 

[Kirbot]

If you any chance you live in NJ... Joseph Fazzio's is BY FAR the cheapest I've ever seen nuts and bolts.

Otherwise... Tractor supply
They only sell SAE by the pound though, at least near me.

 

[erty67]

Man, the money I have wasted buying bolts at home depot, Lowe's, ace, etc. TSC is so much less expensive.

 

[Onefastgsx]

I didn't know TSC even stocked thst much hardware. This is great info! Sure wish I knew this last week before dropping $25.00 on hardware for my latest project

 

[southalabama]

Bolt threads are one of my favorite and there are many.

Stock up in bulk of common nuts and bolts at tractor supply because they are by the pound.
The only problem I have with my local tractor supply is that it's a smaller store and they eliminated the galvanized bolt section. Wtf? When I go out of town I stop by their tractor supply and buy my galvanized bolts.

 

[Farmall450]

Farm & Fleet is by the pound too

 

[bareass172]

Just to put a different spin on this, I hit estate sales and find this stuff by the boatload. I figure out what's there, find a box that will fit it, and then ask the person running the sale "if I fill this box with bolts/nuts/screws/hardware can I have it for $2, $5, $10" (whatever seems fair). I have yet to have them say no, they don't want to sit on that stuff at the end of the sale or try to sell it one bolt at a time. I don't usually grab the stuff I already have a lot of, but I've bolstered my "stash" very well this way for pennies on the dollar.

I wish I had a TSC close, we only have Ace, True Value and big box stores...

 

[ishiboo]

Depends on where you live.

Fleet Farm has pretty regular sales on bulk fasteners, grade 2 is on sale through the 10th for $1.49 a pound, regular price is $1.89.

Menards does not have "by the pound", but the bulk fasteners in bags I am guessing compare pretty favorably to Fleet Farm, though I have not yet done the math. I did find buying the bags a bit more convenient though.

 

[SASORacing]

I try to get OEM bolts when possible, they are made well and look great. There is a honda website that I ordered a lot from a while ago. I am picky when it comes to using non- factory hardware on my motorcycles. It must be grade 8 or better. Or even better if it comes from a scrapped car or bike.
I have a drawer full of OEM "used" bolts that are all a little rusty but are leaps and bounds better than going to lowes or Home Depot and getting the weak nickel played grade 4 or whatever. I have and use that stuff for non critical/ non moving motorized things. It just looks cheap.

 

[404]

The place Kirbot mentioned seems to be here.. very cool.

http://www.josephfazzio.com/

 

[Kirbot]

The place Kirbot mentioned seems to be here.. very cool.

http://www.josephfazzio.com/

That's the place.
Along with loads of other cool stuff, they have an entire room full of bins of by the pound fasteners.

 

[tool_scrounge]

When the local chain hardware store decided to outsource their fastener stocking to a third party, the price of fasteners doubled overnight. When I inquired regarding, I was told that it was a great improvement, looked prettier, and made their lives easier. This annoyed me quite a bit.

I was always one for socking away misc fasteners, but that always is pretty random on selection. So I found at garage sale 12 organizers with about 50 drawers each full of sorted fasteners. I bought them all.

Later saw an ad for a far away seller with a huge selection of high grade larger bolts, nuts and washers from a closed tool and die shop. I bought them all. He shipped me seven large flat rate boxed full of bagged fasteners (~450 lbs worth). The Post Office was annoyed and would not deliver them, so I picked them up from the main office.

So now I rarely need to leave the garage to but fasteners. It is pretty nice. So buy bulk when you can. But you will need to find some way of organizing and storing them. But the net result is worth it.

 

[Farmall450]

When the local chain hardware store decided to outsource their fastener stocking to a third party, the price of fasteners doubled overnight. When I inquired regarding, I was told that it was a great improvement, looked prettier, and made their lives easier. This annoyed me quite a bit.

I was always one for socking away misc fasteners, but that always is pretty random on selection. So I found at garage sale 12 organizers with about 50 drawers each full of sorted fasteners. I bought them all.

Later saw an ad for a far away seller with a huge selection of high grade larger bolts, nuts and washers from a closed tool and die shop. I bought them all. He shipped me seven large flat rate boxed full of bagged fasteners (~450 lbs worth). The Post Office was annoyed and would not deliver them, so I picked them up from the main office.

So now I rarely need to leave the garage to but fasteners. It is pretty nice. So buy bulk when you can. But you will need to find some way of organizing and storing them. But the net result is worth it.

Might I ask what 450lbs of hardware ran you?
Unless those boxes were over the weight limit, I wouldn't think USPS can just deny delivery.

 

[tool_scrounge]

Might I ask what 450lbs of hardware ran you?
Unless those boxes were over the weight limit, I wouldn't think USPS can just deny delivery.

I think it was about $1/lb delivered, maybe a bit less. I cannot find the email chain this second. I was very happy with the quality of the fasteners. The delivery issue was that our mail lady (who is pretty good and I have no issues with) is all of about 90 lbs in weight. When I inquired about it at the main post office, they gave me a direct phone number so they could call and get a special delivery for heavy boxes. So far I have not needed to call since this incident.

 

[188slo50]

Fastenal is way cheaper and the more you buy the more you save. Also be sure to use the same store and salesman as it will help in your savings.

 

[bareass172]

I try to get OEM bolts when possible, they are made well and look great. There is a honda website that I ordered a lot from a while ago. I am picky when it comes to using non- factory hardware on my motorcycles. It must be grade 8 or better. Or even better if it comes from a scrapped car or bike.
I have a drawer full of OEM "used" bolts that are all a little rusty but are leaps and bounds better than going to lowes or Home Depot and getting the weak nickel played grade 4 or whatever. I have and use that stuff for non critical/ non moving motorized things. It just looks cheap.

Not to derail this thread, but I did want to point out that grade 8 is not always better. There are applications where a grade 5 is more than adequate and you don't have the "brittle" factor that comes with grade 8 hardened fasteners. In the big picture does it matter? Not a whole lot for 99% of what we do, but there are specific applications where I choose grade 5 over grade 8.

Just FYI, most of the hardware that comes on bikes is not grade 8. I see grade 5 in suspension components, but a lot of hardware on metrics is not grade 8 or even its metric class equivalent. Also there is no "grade 4" - what you're referring to is grade 2. Check this out:
https://www.boltdepot.com/fastener-information/materials-and-grades/bolt-grade-chart.aspx

I, like you, prefer to salvage what I can from junkers out of cost & convenience. I have a parts tumbler to run the rusty stuff through, it comes out nice and clean.

 

[bob15]

Do you have a Sears Hardware? Could spend your $15.00.....

or

McMaster Carr and MSC

 

[bwringer]

Everything I work on is metric (mostly Japanese motorcycles), so I've accumulated a pretty damn big selection of metric hardware. You save a lot of money and time over constant trips to the hardware store.

http://mcmaster.com (if you want a whole box of something)
http://boltdepot.com (if you need only a few)

http://clipsandfasteners.com (If you need something really strange)

And, believe it or not, you can score some pretty nice deals on fleaBay for fasteners in bulk. Always worth a look.

There's a Fastenal very close to my house (and a regional warehouse just down the street), but they've been utterly useless. YMMV.

If you just need inch stuff, then the farm stores will be a good bet.

 

[Hobby_Man22]

How come they have bolts that are painted teal? Are these regular steel bolts painted for corrosion resistance?

 

[mikegt4]

Who is "they"?
Places like Tractor Supply used color coding so the lady at the register knows to charge you the price for the grade of hardware (grade 5 vs grade 8 etc.). It's just a dye that will often wash of with something like acetone.

 

[bwringer]

Yup, they're just color-coded with a dye so they can weigh them at checkout. If you're that fussy it washes off, or just use them as-is.

Yikes, it's been seven years since this thread fizzled out... anyway, some farm stores are starting to stock bulk hardware by the pound in metric nowadays.

 

[Farmall450]

Yup, they're just color-coded with a dye so they can weigh them at checkout. If you're that fussy it washes off, or just use them as-is.

Yikes, it's been seven years since this thread fizzled out... anyway, some farm stores are starting to stock bulk hardware by the pound in metric nowadays.

Well, Farm & Fleet's are Hillman, whose coatings aren't going to wash off (integral to the plating).

But I've seen blue or purple at rural king for grade 8, which I assume would.

 

[dr_clyde]

How come they have bolts that are painted teal? Are these regular steel bolts painted for corrosion resistance?

That's not paint, it's plating. They are typically the grade 5 hardware plated a bluish color. Normal silver zinc plating is the lowest tier, then grade 5 is usually dark green or teal, then the grade 8 stuff is usually gold.

It is primarily so cheap farmers don't try to swindle the cashier, as the hardware is sold by the pound and the price is different per grade. It needs to be very obvious and clear what grade you are buying so they don't get mixed up, either accidentally or on purpose. Most cashiers don't know the fastener grade is marked on the head, and they shouldn't be expected to double check each bolt or whatever. Color is easy and fast.

My experience is the farm store is the only place you'll see green hardware. Most industrial supply houses sell grade 5 in the same silver zinc as the lower tiers, you just need to look at the heads and read the hash marks. In industry, most fasteners are either silver grade 5, gold grade 8 or black oxide alloy.

 

[bwringer]

Well, Farm & Fleet's are Hillman, whose coatings aren't going to wash off (integral to the plating).

But I've seen blue or purple at rural king for grade 8, which I assume would.

Yep, RK uses some pretty wild technicolor dyes. Things like zinc, black oxide, pale yellow, or sometimes a blue anti-corrosion coating etc. are integral to the fastener; the purple or green coatings are not.

It's also a good way to help make sure you're getting what you want to get as you scoop washers or bolts into your bag. People let their kids rummage around in the bins and mix things up, and of course customers and employees often don't get things right or mix things around in the bins by accident or on purpose.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Go to a local nut/bolt supplier. We don't know where you live, so we can't give specific recommendations. I keep a bolt bin of grade 8 fine thread (1/4" to 5/8") on hand. I restock it from Copper State Nut and Bolt. I think I originally paid $330 for it with hardware. Sounds like a lot up front, but it's been the best money I've ever spent in the garage. You end up using grade 8's on everything because they cost $.25 when buying by the box; there's no reason to bother with grade 5's at those prices. I'd love to get the same setup in coarse thread, but I just don't have the room.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Best deal I have found requires you to buy in reasonable quantities, not "onesie twosies". Usually you get a good price break at quantities of 100. I am now well stocked on flat washers, lock washers, coarse and fine thread nuts from 1/4" up to 1/2" by 1/16"

Albany County Fasteners has free shipping on orders over $100.