# Shop Hardware



## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

Man I go through a lot of shop hardware. Bolts, nuts, washers, both SAE and metric. Has anybody else noticed how much this stuff has gone up this year? Over the years, I've scrounged up several nice hardware cabinets, so I try to keep my stuff organized. It drives me crazy when I'm on a job that I'm charging somebody by the hour and I've got to stop and look all over the shop for a specific size/piece of hardware. Worse yet, is to have to get into the truck and make a "hardware run".

I usually stock up this time of year before things get busy in the Spring. You can really bury some money into fasteners if you go with buying at HD, Lowes, or ACE. Even worse is to buy at the auto parts store. As much as I buy, I've found the cheapest place to buy is Tractor Supply. They sell standard SAE fasteners in Bulk by the pound. Fill the bag, weigh it at the check out counter. Price depends on grade. Grade 2 - $3.49 Grade 5 - $4.79 Grade 8 -$5.99. I know a lot of mechanics that would say "I only use grade 8", to that I would say you are a hardware salesman's dream.... You don't need a grade 8 bolt to hold the starter relay on a piece of sheet metal, depending on the size of butt you're packing, you don't normally need a grade 8 bolt to mount a seat. For most applications on a lawn mower chassis, you don't even need grade 5. Take a look at the shiny new JD you just bought and see how many of the fasteners actually have markings on the head of the bolt. No markings.... they're less than grade 5. Once again... It's a lawn mower, not the space shuttle, so buy hardware accordingly.

For the odd-ball stuff I run across all the time, I've found the guys at the link below are a pretty good source. Shipping comes into play, so you need to take that into consideration. These guys carry a pretty extensive line of metric fasteners at reasonable prices (usually $.05 each), so I try to stock up on metric when I buy to make the cost of shipping less painful. I found their catalog/inventory is really helpful when I'm on one of those projects where I'm doing a lot of "freelance engineering" and I haven't got the time to look all over Tupelo Mississippi for a weird fastener. The one thing we do have here is the world famous Tupelo Ace Hardware. That's where Mrs. Presley bought her little boy his first guitar... It's been around for 94 years and it's one of those old fashion hardware stores you have to see to believe. The local joke is there's a couple of guys still working behind the counter that were working the day Gladys walked out with that guitar, so you don't have to explain to them a rivet nut like the knucklehead in a orange, or blue vest.

https://www.boltdepot.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Prospecting&utm_content=1% LaL - 90 Day Purchase Pixel&utm_term=Prospecting_Product Focused_From DIY to Construction&fbclid=IwAR0ux56qHiTFAKUhkG2U0lObk5TwLwNNBg8FU11EXGFnj4aQcoU26hMnlkU



Feel free to share where you buy your hardware, especially if it's on-line. I'm always looking for a deal......


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## bontai Joe (Sep 16, 2003)

I used to have an old fashioned hardware store near me, complete with a wood burning pot bellied stove and a lazy dog. They sold the usual tools. paint, and hardware, plus firearms, fishing lures and hunting licenses. Old Mr. Altemose passed away and the kids ran it for a while and then they had a huge auction and sold the property. The new owner bulldozed everything flat and has a for sale sign on it now. I think the store had been there for over 100 years. Now I have an Ace Hardware about a mile further down the road that has about a quarter of the store inventory locked up in cages. Not "user friendly" at all. I don't shop there.


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

bontai Joe said:


> I used to have an old fashioned hardware store near me, complete with a wood burning pot bellied stove and a lazy dog. They sold the usual tools. paint, and hardware, plus firearms, fishing lures and hunting licenses. Old Mr. Altemose passed away and the kids ran it for a while and then they had a huge auction and sold the property. The new owner bulldozed everything flat and has a for sale sign on it now. I think the store had been there for over 100 years. Now I have an Ace Hardware about a mile further down the road that has about a quarter of the store inventory locked up in cages. Not "user friendly" at all. I don't shop there.


Joe - No pot belly, but it's a way neater place to shop than HD, or Lowes. They are also a Kohler and Rotary Dealer, so they stock a LOT of parts that I don't have to wait for the USPS to finally decide to deliver. 



















The old guy behind the counter told me he's been working there 61 years and it's the only job he's ever had in his life. He don't move fast any more, but he knows where everything is in the entire building. Heard a young kid tell him he needed one of those "thingamabobs" on a screen door..... The old man said "You just want one, or a whole handful"


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## marc_hanna (Apr 10, 2017)

When Home Depot came to Canada back in the ‘90s, all the small hardware stores closed down. Now we’re only big box stores. 
There are a few gems though, Princess Auto is one of them. You can find all sorts of difficult to find items there. Otherwise, I go to industrial suppliers.


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## bontai Joe (Sep 16, 2003)

Let's see...... I'm going back about 35 years give or take. There was an old fashioned hardware store in Belvidere NJ. The building dated back to the 1800s. Another case where the old owner died and no one wanted to run the store so they had an auction. I took my mom to that one. It was wild as to the stuff they pulled out to sell. They had split wood tine pitch forks, carved wooden scoop grain shovels, and other tools made in the 1920s and '30s that were "new old stock". My mom was bidding on a box of 100 railroad spikes and I asked her why? She said she had never seen one and wanted one for her desk as a unique paper weight. I told her to stop bidding, or she would have the whole 100. Just go over to the guy that wins the bid and ask to buy one, which she did. I bought a jumbo sized rural mailbox for a few bucks. It was twice the weight and strength of the new ones sold today. I don't really remember what else we bought.They had a stack of Flexible Flyer sleds that were probably made before WWII. Mom and I had a lot of fun that day. Her dad was a master carpenter and she was familiar with most of the tools. They rolled out wooden kegs of nails, pocket knives and duck calls. The building sat vacant for a couple of years then it got bulldozed flat and turned into a parking lot..... "pave paradise and put up a parking lot"

Where do I buy the hardware I need now? I go to an Ace hardware further away from home that doesn't lock everything up in cages. In fact, I was there today to pick up some LED lightbulbs, a bottle of Stabil, a 5 pc. 3/8" drive socket accessory pack, and a 24 pc. Craftsman 1/4" drive tool kit. Most of that was on sale this month. They sell hardware loose by the piece, or in 1 pound or 5 pound boxes. I don't use much hardware now-a-days. I used to buy sheet rock screws and deck screws in 5 pound boxes fairly regular back in the day. I still have cabinets full of misc. hardware all sorted out, probably more than enough to last the rest of my lifetime.


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## bontai Joe (Sep 16, 2003)

I almost forgot one of our local claims to fame, Country Junction, "The World's Largest General Store". https://www.countryjunction.com/ about 12 miles west of me.
When I first moved out to the Poconos, this was a maze of interconnected buildings and additions that had been built over many years, housing a very unique store. You actually needed to pick up a map when you entered so you wouldn't get lost. It burned to the ground a few years ago and they ran the business out of a couple of BIG tents for about 2 years and then they rebuilt a large single building divided up into lots of zones and hallways to try and replicate the feel of the old building. It's not the same. They sell the usual tools, paint and hardware, plus pets, furniture, large (room size) plastic dinosaurs, life size mannequins that look like John Wayne, Dean Martin, Marylin Monroe, plus themed areas of home decor. Each area has piped in music to match, like Roy Rogers singing "Happy Trails" in the western decor area, seagulls and fog horns in the seashore themed area, Dean martin and Frank Sinatra singing in the '50s themed area. They have an in house restaurant, and a small movie theater that plays family films. At one time, they had a full body moose taxidermy mount for sale in the furniture dept for $8000. They used to have a petting zoo outside, but I think that ended with the fire. It is the kind of place you can easily spend hours wandering around as a tourist, but it isn't a place you can pop in, get a box of bolts and hit the road. We don't go there for stuff, because it is a tourist trap of sorts and prices are high.

If you like old fashioned paper hardware store catalogs, then I HIGHLY recommend getting the catalog from Cumberland General Store for $9 and a catalog from Lehman's. Both offer hours of excellent reading and entertainment.


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## Ed Williams (Jun 13, 2019)

I have found the best buy to be had now is Tractor Supply. Everything except Grade 8 is sold in bulk by the pound, any size both metric and SAE, fine or coarse thread. I did a price check over a year ago now. I used to buy everything at ACE, but no more. I bought an assortment of 3/8 coarse, 5/16 fine and coarse, and 1/4 coarse. Cost at ACE was $28.50. The identical assortment from TS was $9.20. Still have to use ACE for specialty fasteners, but all the day to day stuff is now TS.


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## bontai Joe (Sep 16, 2003)

Ed Williams said:


> I have found the best buy to be had now is Tractor Supply. Everything except Grade 8 is sold in bulk by the pound, any size both metric and SAE, fine or coarse thread. I did a price check over a year ago now. I used to buy everything at ACE, but no more. I bought an assortment of 3/8 coarse, 5/16 fine and coarse, and 1/4 coarse. Cost at ACE was $28.50. The identical assortment from TS was $9.20. Still have to use ACE for specialty fasteners, but all the day to day stuff is now TS.


Thanks Ed! I will definitely keep this in mind! I have a fairly new Tractor Supply store about 4 miles from me, almost across the street from the caged Ace Hardware. I really should go there more often!


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

_*"Everything except Grade 8 is sold in bulk by the pound, any size both metric and SAE, fine or coarse thread". *_

Don't know about yours, but my local Tractor Supply stores (3) sell only SAE hardware by the pound. They carry very little metric hardware at all. That's why I have to shop on-line for it....


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## marc_hanna (Apr 10, 2017)

I wish our (Canadian) tractor supply stores have as many options and as good prices as the US ones do.


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## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

marc_hanna said:


> I wish our (Canadian) tractor supply stores have as many options and as good prices as the US ones do.


I don't even think we can get universal tractor fluid or the like at ours any more.


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## Ed Williams (Jun 13, 2019)

Bob Driver said:


> _*"Everything except Grade 8 is sold in bulk by the pound, any size both metric and SAE, fine or coarse thread". *_
> 
> Don't know about yours, but my local Tractor Supply stores (3) sell only SAE hardware by the pound. They carry very little metric hardware at all. That's why I have to shop on-line for it....


Our local TS has a good selection of both SAE and Metric in steel and stainless, very comparable to ACE. They do not carry fasteners with specialty heads such as recessed allen and torx heads. Have to go to ACE for those.


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## bontai Joe (Sep 16, 2003)

Bob Driver said:


> _*"Everything except Grade 8 is sold in bulk by the pound, any size both metric and SAE, fine or coarse thread". *_
> 
> Don't know about yours, but my local Tractor Supply stores (3) sell only SAE hardware by the pound. They carry very little metric hardware at all. That's why I have to shop on-line for it....


I've had decent luck getting metric hardware at auto parts stores, because cars use a fair amount of metric hardware. I have a NAPA store and Advance Auto, Auto Zone, and a couple of others within 7-8 miles from home.


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## sleepylizard (Dec 28, 2016)

Bob Driver said:


> Man I go through a lot of shop hardware. Bolts, nuts, washers, both SAE and metric. Has anybody else noticed how much this stuff has gone up this year? Over the years, I've scrounged up several nice hardware cabinets, so I try to keep my stuff organized. It drives me crazy when I'm on a job that I'm charging somebody by the hour and I've got to stop and look all over the shop for a specific size/piece of hardware. Worse yet, is to have to get into the truck and make a "hardware run".
> 
> I usually stock up this time of year before things get busy in the Spring. You can really bury some money into fasteners if you go with buying at HD, Lowes, or ACE. Even worse is to buy at the auto parts store. As much as I buy, I've found the cheapest place to buy is Tractor Supply. They sell standard SAE fasteners in Bulk by the pound. Fill the bag, weigh it at the check out counter. Price depends on grade. Grade 2 - $3.49 Grade 5 - $4.79 Grade 8 -$5.99. I know a lot of mechanics that would say "I only use grade 8", to that I would say you are a hardware salesman's dream.... You don't need a grade 8 bolt to hold the starter relay on a piece of sheet metal, depending on the size of butt you're packing, you don't normally need a grade 8 bolt to mount a seat. For most applications on a lawn mower chassis, you don't even need grade 5. Take a look at the shiny new JD you just bought and see how many of the fasteners actually have markings on the head of the bolt. No markings.... they're less than grade 5. Once again... It's a lawn mower, not the space shuttle, so buy hardware accordingly.
> 
> ...


We're lucky in Australia, and certainly in my area. We have Konnect, Country Fasteners, and a few others who only deal in nuts, bolts, etc. In my case, I inherited a few tins of them from my dad, who had Austin cars & never threw anything away. I'm similar, as I pull things apart before I dump them, keeping nuts, bolts, screws, etc. I rarely need to buy fasteners, & I'm often visited by a mate looking for "a nut to fit this bolt". 10 minutes with some spanners & screw drivers can soon produce a collection of items that may come in handy one day.


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## bontai Joe (Sep 16, 2003)

I'm glad to read that I'm not the only one that strips out the hardware before throwing stuff out.


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

Zinc-plated, 8.8, metric hardware is not hard to find. What's hard is to be able to buy in bulk at a decent price. I'm not talking about 5-10 count, I'm talking 50-100 count to stock a 72-hole hardware cabinet. $50 an hour is cheap for any commercial shop now days. When you're billing somebody $.83 a minute($50 hour) and you spend 5 minutes look for a fastener, you just billed the customer $4.16 labor searching for a $.20 bolt. Your hardware supply can't be a cluster in a drawer, coffee can, or 5 gallon bucket. It has to be right at the work station, within an arms reach, and organized. Restocking is a matter of buying a box of 50, dump it in the correct bin, and get back to a job I'm billing by the hour.


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## bontai Joe (Sep 16, 2003)

Bob Driver said:


> Zinc-plated, 8.8, metric hardware is not hard to find. What's hard is to be able to buy in bulk at a decent price. I'm not talking about 5-10 count, I'm talking 50-100 count to stock a 72-hole hardware cabinet. $50 an hour is cheap for any commercial shop now days. When you're billing somebody $.83 a minute($50 hour) and you spend 5 minutes look for a fastener, you just billed the customer $4.16 labor searching for a $.20 bolt. Your hardware supply can't be a cluster in a drawer, coffee can, or 5 gallon bucket. It has to be right at the work station, within an arms reach, and organized. Restocking is a matter of buying a box of 50, dump it in the correct bin, and get back to a job I'm billing by the hour.


Thanks Bob, it's been a while since I thought of the cost of time spent looking for hardware while working. One place I used to work at as a draftsman some 35 years ago, my office was right next to the assembly room which had a carpeted floor. The guys would sometimes drop a nut or bolt on the floor and just grab another out of the bin, because time was money. The largest threaded fasteners we ever used were 5/16" dia. The vice-president used to patrol the area about once a week and pick up all the hardware he found on the floor and start his speech about waste. I finally asked him to consider his own salary, was it profitable for him to be picking up nuts and bolts off the floor. In fact was it profitable for any of the skilled guys to get on their hands and knees to look for and pick up tiny bits of hardware. We used a LOT of 4-40, 6-32, 8-32 and 10-32 size stuff and occasionally even smaller. Now that I am back to being a semi-retired amateur tinkerer, about 80% of my hardware is properly sorted into labeled bins, but 20% is in coffee cans, etc Then again, 5 minutes of my time is worth about 5 cents according to my wife.


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

_*"Our local TS has a good selection of both SAE and Metric in steel and stainless, very comparable to ACE" *_

So you're positive your local TS sells both SAE and *Metric* by the POUND? I can buy metric and SAE locally all day long at $.25 - $.50 each piece (Fastenal), that's not what I need. 25-50 count, or by the POUND....... Here's zinc-plated, 8.8 metric M6-1.0 x 20mm at about $.07 each. Looking to beat that price and that's not going to happen on metric at TS or ACE
M6-1.0 x 20mm Metric 8.8 Zinc Finish Hex Cap Screw-Fully Threaded (Pkg 25)


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

Spent several years setting up new shops and trying to make the older shops run better. I always moved the hardware bins and the shop supplies out of the parts room and put them as close to the center of the shop as possible. Got a lot of flak from parts guys and fleet managers about possible theft. My response was always "What gets stolen in a weeks time can't possibly add up even close to the production time wasted walking back and forth to the parts room for nuts, bolts, and butt splices, especially since the coffee pot and candy machine is right on the way".......


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## Ed Williams (Jun 13, 2019)

Bob Driver said:


> _*"Our local TS has a good selection of both SAE and Metric in steel and stainless, very comparable to ACE" *_
> 
> So you're positive your local TS sells both SAE and *Metric* by the POUND? I can buy metric and SAE locally all day long at $.25 - $.50 each piece (Fastenal), that's not what I need. 25-50 count, or by the POUND....... Here's zinc-plated, 8.8 metric M6-1.0 x 20mm at about $.07 each. Looking to beat that price and that's not going to happen on metric at TS or ACE
> M6-1.0 x 20mm Metric 8.8 Zinc Finish Hex Cap Screw-Fully Threaded (Pkg 25)


I have bought both SAE and Metric at the local TS by the pound. The only places that carry fasteners locally is ACE, which had a monopoly until Lowes and TS came to town. Lowes sells 50 and 100 ct boxes, the same as ACE, but you still pay the per piece price at both. No discount for buying by the box. TS does not sell box quantities. Otherwise, you have to drive 35-40 miles to Lexington for more options, or shop the net and pay for shipping and wait for delivery.


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

Ed Williams said:


> I have bought both SAE and Metric at the local TS by the pound. The only places that carry fasteners locally is ACE, which had a monopoly until Lowes and TS came to town. Lowes sells 50 and 100 ct boxes, the same as ACE, but you still pay the per piece price at both. No discount for buying by the box. TS does not sell box quantities. Otherwise, you have to drive 35-40 miles to Lexington for more options, or shop the net and pay for shipping and wait for delivery.


*Tractor Supply on-line pricing as of 1/31/2021...*
SAE grade 2, *BULK*, SKU# 359999399 ..... $2.19 per LBS
SAE grade 5, *BULK*, SKU# 355555999 ...... $3.19 per LBS
SAE grade 8, *BULK*, SKU# 356888799 ...... $4.19 per LBS

Metric grade 8.8, *BULK*, SKU# None Listed 

I'm baffled by how your local TSC processes *BULK* purchases of metric fasteners in their point of sale machines(cash register) without a corporate supply chain SKU #? How do they order restock inventory from their DC?

I'd love to see that SKU# if you get the chance to post it. Your local TSC Distribution Center is probably Franklin KY, mine is Macon GA, but they both use the same software program and SKU #'s for supply chain management. They probably use some form of SAP software, so if you can get me that SKU #, my problem is over.


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## bontai Joe (Sep 16, 2003)

My most recent employer used McMaster Carr and Grainger for some (not all) hardware, but I'm remembering that they were not cheap.


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## Ed Williams (Jun 13, 2019)

Bob Driver said:


> *Tractor Supply on-line pricing as of 1/31/2021...*
> SAE grade 2, *BULK*, SKU# 359999399 ..... $2.19 per LBS
> SAE grade 5, *BULK*, SKU# 355555999 ...... $3.19 per LBS
> SAE grade 8, *BULK*, SKU# 356888799 ...... $4.19 per LBS
> ...


My guess is the cashier priced the metric stuff out using the same code as the SAE. They have some new people that may not have known the difference. I will be out of commission for the next 3 months with the leg, but will try to check when I get well.


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