Stan Galat posted:Alan Merklin posted:I've used two ACE Home Centers over the years both the one in PA and the current one here in WV are always eager to help and I always get coupons and discount cards in the mail. ...However, I buy SAE hardware by the pound from Tractor Supply and Metric in bulk off... "eBeg" My costly habit is not bothering to put left over hardware back into the right bin as it's easier to toss it into a plastic bucket.
I used to work with a guy who threw all of his "extra" copper fittings in a 5 gal bucket. I asked him why he did that, since it was impossible to know what was in there when he needed something. He told me, "hope springs eternal. It's like an Easter Egg hunt every time I need something". I've got an employee who's truck looks like a bomb went off in the back. He's got all his tools and stock, but it takes him 15 freaking minutes to find anything back there. I suppose your plastic hardware bucket is something like that.
I can buy common and Grade 5 and 8 hardware by the pound at Farm and Fleet and construction screws and SAE stainless stuff from Menards-- but this kind of hardware is never the issue.
The issue is the stainless button-head cap-screw in fine-thread metric I really need to keep going on whatever I need to keep going on. Invariably, I want one to five of such whatnots-- not enough to order from anywhere.
In those instances, Ace is the place. If I really, really need it and Ace doesn't have it, I order from McMaster and it's there in the morning UPS delivery... with $15 freight.
When I moved from PA I had two 5 gallon buckets full and they barely would move with the help of a hand truck...sold them both at our moving garage sale for $100 someone got a hell of a deal.