Consumables

[Dixie_Flatline]

Just used up the last of my flat washers, along with the last of my fender washers, which led me to wondering if there was a better way to go about getting replacements. I normally have a variety of sizes on hand, but I don't need a thousand of everything. Used to have a website bookmarked that sold surplus/used surgical towels which worked great as shop rags. Electrical things I normally grab from Waytek if the electrical supply shop doesn't have what I need.

Home Depot has these fastener kits, but it seems like they are always heavy on the tiny sizes I will likely never use while including few of the larger sizes. Pretty sure the same goes for Lowe's and Harbor Freight. Small plastic tackle boxes with small fasteners. Would Fastenal have something like this since it is sort of their wheelhouse? If not then maybe I've stumbled upon a business opportunity, putting together basic hardware kits.

 

[scooby074]

Find a local bolt supply that isnt Fastenall and get one of their assortments. usually they come with storage. Then u just need to replace what u use https://boltdepot.com/Product-Details?product=27910

 

[Dixie_Flatline]

Find a local bolt supply that isnt Fastenall and get one of their assortments. usually they come with storage. Then u just need to replace what u use

New storage is also on the list. Bought those multi-drawer Crafstman units at Lowe's and they have started to sag in the middle.

 

[nicks78camaro]

Rural King and Tractor Supply sell bulk hardware by the pound, way cheaper than Home Depot/etc.

 

[Renegade1LI]

I stocked up on some gr 8 hardware from Runnings in upstate NY. Great hardware selection & was charged 4.99$ per pound, replenished my assortment, even multiple style lock nuts & washers. Otherwise I get some from amazon, depending on how much storage you have.

 

[Mandres]

surplus/used surgical towels

Yikes!

 

[tarmy]

This…took a while…but when I want it…I want it damnit!

 

[Fixr]

Just used up the last of my flat washers, along with the last of my fender washers, which led me to wondering if there was a better way to go about getting replacements. I normally have a variety of sizes on hand, but I don't need a thousand of everything. Used to have a website bookmarked that sold surplus/used surgical towels which worked great as shop rags. Electrical things I normally grab from Waytek if the electrical supply shop doesn't have what I need.

Home Depot has these fastener kits, but it seems like they are always heavy on the tiny sizes I will likely never use while including few of the larger sizes. Pretty sure the same goes for Lowe's and Harbor Freight. Small plastic tackle boxes with small fasteners. Would Fastenal have something like this since it is sort of their wheelhouse? If not then maybe I've stumbled upon a business opportunity, putting together basic hardware kits.

Go to an Ag supply store and buy by the pound, Tractor Supply, Rural King, Farm Fleet, whatever. Each grade of hardware is sold by the pound. I wouldn't buy racing or aerospace hardware that way, but it's a good deal for ordinary projects.

 

[firebirdparts]

Yes, find a place that sells by the pound.

 

[gahrajmahal]

Menards is good by us, they sell two sizes typically. The less than $2 bag and the $4.99 bag which is sometimes 50 pcs. If the hardware is small enough (like 1/4” washers). I usually try to buy stainless.

 

[Dixie_Flatline]

Yikes!

They are obviously clean. Not a sack of blood/gore stained rags. They call them hucks also. Place I had bookmarked sold them at a great price, and I knew what I was getting when I placed my order, but cannot find the link to save my life.

This…took a while…but when I want it…I want it damnit!

Exactly! When I am in the middle of a project the last thing I want to do is drive (hopefully only) 25 minutes to town and try to find what I want. In my dream setup there would be a parts room filled with bins and shelves of things, like a miniature version of a parts house curated for my needs.

 

[hobie18]

This…took a while…but when I want it…I want it damnit!

Forget two front teeth. This is what everyone wants. Santa?

Build a bunch of these.

 

[NightSky]

They are obviously clean. Not a sack of blood/gore stained rags. They call them hucks also. Place I had bookmarked sold them at a great price, and I knew what I was getting when I placed my order, but cannot find the link to save my life.

RagLady? https://raglady.com/

 

[bwringer]

Rural King and Tractor Supply sell bulk hardware by the pound, way cheaper than Home Depot/etc.

TSC tends to be pretty expensive, with a poor metric selection -- if you have RK in your area it's much better, or check whatever farm stores are around. Runnings, Fleet Farm, etc... shop around.

 

[Dixie_Flatline]

RagLady? https://raglady.com/

YES! Good grief why couldn't I remember that?

 

[tarmy]

They are obviously clean. Not a sack of blood/gore stained rags. They call them hucks also. Place I had bookmarked sold them at a great price, and I knew what I was getting when I placed my order, but cannot find the link to save my life.

Exactly! When I am in the middle of a project the last thing I want to do is drive (hopefully only) 25 minutes to town and try to find what I want. In my dream setup there would be a parts room filled with bins and shelves of things, like a miniature version of a parts house curated for my needs.

You mean like these?

 

[Mike65]

The local to me Ace hardware has a large selection of nuts, bolts & washers SAE &Metric.

 

[N_Jay]

The local to me Ace hardware has a large selection of nuts, bolts & washers SAE &Metric.

Was about to say; Find and old Ace Hardware store.

 

[PhantomEB]

Oh I thought this thread would be about toilet paper and bbq sauce….

I got my two starter sets from a specialty bolt store. Way cheaper and came with boxes of everything.
those places are still my go to when it comes to I need this and that.

 

[nicks78camaro]

TSC tends to be pretty expensive, with a poor metric selection -- if you have RK in your area it's much better, or check whatever farm stores are around. Runnings, Fleet Farm, etc... shop around.

Definitely a better metric selection at Rural King, although no one carries a good selection of bulk JIS metric.

 

[545_days]

I would love to find a store selling metric fasteners by the lb. (or kg) with pricing similar to tractor supply's SAE fasteners by the lb. Metric fasteners are always expensive and typically available two or three to a little sealed envelope vs. available in bins by weight.

I'll probably wind up biting the bullet and spending $600 with Bolt Depot on a metric assortment, bitching all the way that a similar quantity of SAE fasteners would be a fraction of the price at Tractor Supply.

 

[Dixie_Flatline]

I would love to find a store selling metric fasteners by the lb. (or kg) with pricing similar to tractor supply's SAE fasteners by the lb. Metric fasteners are always expensive and typically available two or three to a little sealed envelope vs. available in bins by weight.

I'll probably wind up biting the bullet and spending $600 with Bolt Depot on a metric assortment, bitching all the way that a similar quantity of SAE fasteners would be a fraction of the price at Tractor Supply.

Fastenal you can buy an 85-piece washer assortment and it is around $37 before tax. But that is only washers, and honestly not that many since its an assortment. I think I will pay Rural King a visit sometime this week since I will be out that way running errands, just to see what I can find.

 

[Metal-Marc]

You guys are nuts. I only buy what I need.

 

[nicks78camaro]

You guys are nuts. I only buy what I need.

So if you need an oddball screw, nut, drywall anchor, or washer, you drive to a store to buy a single?

 

[hobie18]

Nuts or bolts

 

[545_days]

You guys are nuts. I only buy what I need.

It all depends on how long it takes to get to a store with a decent fastener selection. For me the nearest Ace hardware is a good 25+ minutes away, so it means an hour lost every time I need something that I don't have in stock.

Even worse if I get to Ace and they don't have enough of what I need in stock.

 

[Mike65]

So if you need an oddball screw, nut, drywall anchor, or washer, you drive to a store to buy a single?

That is why I have been saving nuts, bolts, washers & screws for the past 40 years. I try & plan ahead & have on hand what I might need. In a pinch the local Ace Hardware & Lowes are just a 10-minute drive.

 

[hobie18]

I don't like having to go to the local ace or big box, especially during a project. I absolutely loathe having to go to autozone or oreillys.

 

[Jon h]

I absolutely love it when I have all the hardware/material on hand when I’m doing a project. It almost makes it seem like the project cost nothing.

Jon h.

 

[cannuck]

I have several different storage systems for fasteners, but my main go-to for most fabrication projects are a pair of 72 open bin racks, one for Gr5 in UNC and one for Gr8 in UNF. My metric is now in 4 x 7 bins along one wall just above work bench with mostly 8.8 on top row and 10.9 & 12.9 on bottom row and SS in UNC in a couple rows over opposite bench. Misc stuff is on a 2'x3'x6' shelf that will eventually get 24" long slide out bins and will allow me to open up some benchtop storage. Used fasteners (I have a source from a breaker rebuild shop) go in pails that grandson will one day sort (when we have more storage options). I am decades out of being in production and only do a bit of fabricating work, but can not imagine not having fasteners on hand for whatever comes up. I would hate to even THINK about how much money is ******* but when you get into a panic to get something done on a weekend and you know you have material you can trust and locate, well worth it.

Yes, trust. What you may not realize is the vast majority of fasteners in the NA market are NOT made here. If you head to the local bulk bin or even I fear Home Despot you are taking a blind guess at what quality you are getting. ESPECIALLY true as the price goes down, but not necessarily any better when expensive (i.e. HD, etc.). I have bought my fasteners from one of two stores for the last 40 years, and they are both very much in the fastener business. The one I switched to way back in my production days (i.e. when the warranty buck stopped in my back pocket) was a gamble because a new company - but today is a regional chain. Just to put this into perspective: I was building a VERY expensive engine from a high profile, supposedly top tier supplier. ARP fasteners for the most part, but the larger oil pump came as a "kit" with longer M6 studs and new nuts. When I hand snugged before picking up torque wrench (I have done this so many thousands of times I can hit 1 M/Kg almost every time) one felt "mushy" I looked to see if it was hung up and had slid in more compressing the gasket and seemed flat and in place. When I put torque wrench on it wouldn't reach 5 lb/ft (needs to 7), and just stretched until broken. Also keep in mind when the US FAA investigated fraudulent aircraft parts (after a fatal crash about 20 years ago) the found counterfeit parts from Asia all over the place - including in THEIR inventory and in Air Force One. You have to take fastener quality seriously because they literally hold our world together and often keep us alive.

 

[Steve_P]

The counterfeit fastener thing is WAY overblown. Yes, it exists, but it's just not a realistic concern outside of aerospace, especially if you buy from a reputable supplier like McMaster. If you want to test, buy one extra screw and torque it to 1.5X the spec. This is around the yield point. Then back off and go 1.6, 1.7.... It should fail at about 1.8-1.9X the torque spec for SAE grade 5 and 8. Easy quality check that anyone can do at home.

If counterfeit fasteners were statistically relevant it'd be in the news every day with wheels falling off cars, engines blowing up, etc. And it's not. The majority of fasteners sold in the US are made overseas, particularly Taiwan.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Exactly! When I am in the middle of a project the last thing I want to do is drive (hopefully only) 25 minutes to town and try to find what I want. In my dream setup there would be a parts room filled with bins and shelves of things, like a miniature version of a parts house curated for my needs.

Even at 7.5 miles, it's too far to make a trip to town to grab a few bolts. This is why I keep stock on hand. I bought small HF bins for SAE fasteners in multiple sizes. I buy either Grade 5 or 8 at TSC. I stay away from the grade 2 or 3 stuff.

Figure out your storage system and file it up a bit at a time. Every time I would stop at TSC, I would grab a bag or two of whatever size I needed.

 

[Beerhippie]

I guess I'm lucky, as the local grange is right around the corner, so I store most of my consumables there. Unfortunately, they seem to stock less hardware every day

I do have nice, organized bins with commonly used sizes of fasteners, etc, mostly salvage, in SS and galv. I also have tubs full of same waiting to get organized.

 

[AC-WC]

What is this metric you speak of

 

[Old tool guy]

Did somebody say “consumables” … ?

 

[lolaetype]

In my limited experience Fastenal doesn't want to deal with the hobbyist, at least that's true of our local store. The usual big box stores are overpriced for what you get. The Ace hardware stores I've dealt with generally carry good stuff but it's generally overpriced, IMHO. As others have said, go by a farm and ranch store like Atwood, Blains, or Rural King, to name just a few. Buy what you need by the pound. My one complaint with the local Atwood is the different grades of nuts and bolts are different colors over the cad plating.

We used to have a Shamrock Bolt and Screw in town. Great prices, better than Atwood, and a better selection. I'd give the counter guy a list and he's come back a few minutes later with everything nicely bagged and sorted. Unfortunately, the closed this location. If you can find a place like this in your neck of the woods you are golden.

https://shamrockbolt.com/

 

[cannuck]

The counterfeit fastener thing is WAY overblown. Yes, it exists, but it's just not a realistic concern outside of aerospace,

I mentioned the counterfeit parts because some of us are indeed within aerospace. also no small matter to the families of the deceased from crashes (starting with 55 at Partenair)

 

[Sweetcorn]

I absolutely love it when I have all the hardware/material on hand when I’m doing a project. It almost makes it seem like the project cost nothing.

Jon h.

This is a great feeling, plus I work on too many different things for myself and others to make a trip out anytime I need a bolt or piece of steel/aluminum or other consumable.

I got a few of the Durham 72 compartment storage bins and I've been very happy with the time saved vs the expense of buying and maintaining/filling them.

 

[Captain Spaulding]

I have 3lb coffee cans for stray fasteners sorted by size. I’ve occasionally grabbed a box or bin of hardware at an auction and got a bunch when my father-in-law passed. It’s rare that I have to go to town for a nut bolt or washer.

That said, I used the last of my 3/8” fender washers awhile back. A little bit depressing to sit and think about how many more I might go through in the time I have left.

A few years ago, I was working on something and needed a fine thread 7/16” bolt. Went to my can and found one and was done with the project faster than I could have washed my hands and grabbed my wallet to drive to town to get one. My wife didn’t understand my excitement.

 

[nadogail]

I have 3lb coffee cans for stray fasteners sorted by size. I’ve occasionally grabbed a box or bin of hardware at an auction and got a bunch when my father-in-law passed. It’s rare that I have to go to town for a nut bolt or washer.

That said, I used the last of my 3/8” fender washers awhile back. A little bit depressing to sit and think about how many more I might go through in the time I have left.

A few years ago, I was working on something and needed a fine thread 7/16” bolt. Went to my can and found one and was done with the project faster than I could have washed my hands and grabbed my wallet to drive to town to get one. My wife didn’t understand my excitement.

When I find that elusive "Right Part" in my "Might Need It Someday" stash, I break into my "Happy Dance".