Where do you guys buy hardware.

[ultrarunner]

The receipt tracking is a nice feature... one I never appreciated prior to experiencing it...

 

[Teachu2]

One advantage to living where agriculture and oil are big business is there's a local vendor, Budget Bolt. Open M-F and a half day Saturday, same hours as my favorite steel vendor and on the same street. About two acres of fasteners, very neatly organized, and very helpful staff. Everything from automotive specialty fasteners to turnbuckles to shackles to spring clips, and bolts from tiny to huge, SAE and metric, stainless, and taps, dies, and QUALITY drill bits. Every time I go in there, I find something else I didn't know I needed. They're not cheap, but their products are excellent quality.

 

[N80]

One advantage to living where agriculture and oil are big business is there's a local vendor, Budget Bolt. Open M-F and a half day Saturday, same hours as my favorite steel vendor and on the same street. About two acres of fasteners, very neatly organized, and very helpful staff. Everything from automotive specialty fasteners to turnbuckles to shackles to spring clips, and bolts from tiny to huge, SAE and metric, stainless, and taps, dies, and QUALITY drill bits. Every time I go in there, I find something else I didn't know I needed. They're not cheap, but their products are excellent quality.

I could spend hours in a place like that and solve problems I didn't even know that I had! Wish we had something like that around here.

 

[ultrarunner]

We had an old time hardware store that took an entire city block... with plenty of free parking...

It opened in 1946 and had lots of old time hard to get items and one room devoted only to fasteners, chain and cable...

It's gone now with condos planned... I really miss the place because staff was career... some 25 years.

Foothill Ace Hardware Oakland CA RIP

 

[buckeyefarmer]

When i drive thru AR, i see some large local farm supply stores that I'd like to stop and look thru. They sell utv's, boats and who knows what else inside.

 

[4570Man]

Tractor supply is my first choice. Their bins are pretty organized in my experience. Lowes sucks because they sell each piece individual VS TSC selling by the pound. Not only does it take the poor cashier lady forever to sort out my mess of 20 different pieces it's a lot more expensive than TSC.

 

[4570Man]

There's a Buchheit hardware store in Sparta Illinois ( along with 7 other locations that I've never seen). It's the nicest hardware store I've ever been in, and the selection is the best I've ever seen.

 

[newbury]

Surprised no one mentioned Agri-Supply.

Last time I was there in Virginia they sold bolts by the pound like TSC.

 

[N80]

We had an old time hardware store

My family opened and owned the local hardware store in the small city I live in. I think it was opened in the late 1800's. My Dad worked there when he was young. It was still around when I was a child and I remember it well. There were still plow hardware and tack in there for mules and horses. Ace and the chain hardware stores put them out of business in the early 1970's then the big box stores put Ace and those types out of business.

The building is just a few blocks from my house on main street. It is still there but there is an architect firm or something like that there now.

I have a Winchester cartridge board that came out of the hardware store. It has condition issues and is missing a few cartridges but it is really cool. The reason I mention it is that it was in the store for a long time and there are no modern cartridges on it. No 30-06 so I imagine it dates to prior than 1906 anyway.

After my grandfather came back from WWII he became known for being very even handed. I met an old plumber who told me that after the war it was hard to come by pipe and other plumbing supplies and that around the state other hardware stores sold all they had to larger contractors. He told me that my grandfather rationed out the supplies in equal portions to all buyers. This plumber told me he would have lost his business otherwise.

Sorry for the OT story but figured you guys would appreciate it.

 

[ultrarunner]

I love posts that delve into the rest of the story or the back story... it's what makes TBN so interesting.