Effn "hardware stores"

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67Dart273

67Dart273

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Wanted a.......well a couple.......of no 60 twist drills. Was going to go out to HD, WAIT!!! Got online. Near as I can tell from the dubya dubya dubya HD does not stock them......at least a 60, and Lowe's I can't see where they have ANY number drills

So I ran down to the corner ACE. "Where's your individual drills?" "Aisle 14"

So I go down there and I can't find any number drills, so I go back up front. Two of them go back there, and just then WAY down on the bottom hidden by "other stuff" I see a display. "HERE we are!!" I exclaim"

And SHE says..................."Good thing 'WE' took another look!!"

Well, "WE" didn't TAKE another look, DID WE?

On the way out, I mentioned to the "male member" who didn't seem all that excited about anything except the approaching closing time, "these are INDISPENSABLE" when you have a job that requires them." "Duh..........."
 
These days I find "she" is the go-to guy. "She" comes into the job knowing there is a lot to learn, while "he" comes in thinking he knows it all.
 
flingdingo said:
These days I find "she" is the go-to guy. "She" comes into the job knowing there is a lot to learn, while "he" comes in thinking he knows it all.
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There are three young ladies at the local "O'Reallys" that fit that perfectly. Two in particular are VERY helpful. You may or may not know "in a previous life" I sold parts in two stores for over 15 years. I'd give anything for those days again. Real, actual, parts, and real, actual parts catalogs
 
I love my local hardware store and I get my buisness every chance I can.
67Dart273 said:
Wanted a.......well a couple.......of no 60 twist drills. Was going to go out to HD, WAIT!!! Got online. Near as I can tell from the dubya dubya dubya HD does not stock them......at least a 60, and Lowe's I can't see where they have ANY number drills

So I ran down to the corner ACE. "Where's your individual drills?" "Aisle 14"

So I go down there and I can't find any number drills, so I go back up front. Two of them go back there, and just then WAY down on the bottom hidden by "other stuff" I see a display. "HERE we are!!" I exclaim"

And SHE says..................."Good thing 'WE' took another look!!"

Well, "WE" didn't TAKE another look, DID WE?

On the way out, I mentioned to the "male member" who didn't seem all that excited about anything except the approaching closing time, "these are INDISPENSABLE" when you have a job that requires them." "Duh..........."
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I'm suprised they even had number drills. I sell very few. Very few. In fact, in 28 years of doing business I'll bet I have only sold a dozen or so. It doesn't make sense to stock a item that you sell so few of. If you use a lot of them and are having trouble finding them I would suggest a place like MSC Industrial or Granger.
 
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I dig my local independent/True Value 2 miles up the street, 2 aisles of tray hardware plus all the normal binned cap screws, etc. More chrome and stainless hardware then I've ever seen in one place which comes in handy looking for oddball hardware working on bikes. Don't think I've ever walked out not finding the the hardware I needed. Stopped in there a few weeks ago looking for an oddball 12mm tap my set doesn't have to chase thread in a frame rail. I was surprised they had it. Lowes, Advance, Hd, are clustered 15 miles up the road.
 
Drill bits are pretty, i like sharpening drill bits and keeping them nice.

A drill bit is not just a drill bit, there is a science to them, and is magical.

When you think about the function and design at micro level and realize the area measurement of the contact area and then consider rpms and how fast it goes.

Really quite amazing how it works.

I don't like when a drill bit isn't cutting and the person just pushes down on it harder and abuses the bit without understanding how it works. If it isn't cutting, there might be a reason.

Anyways, yea, i like drill bits
 
I too have a Ace 10 blocks up the street. I park right outside the door and they have what I need. If you don't give them buisness they will close and that will be sad. I bought gas grill there and the owner delivered it to my house while the wife and I were grocery shopping. You don't get that kind of service from Lowes. His price was within a few bucks of the hig box store too.
 
a 60 drill is .0400 someone is going to take up shelf space to sell maybe one in a life time if you buy it from a big industrial supply company like MSC they only sell them in package of 12 for a reason
 
there is an ace a few miles from my house, then menards, then lowes
i stopped by ace one evening looking for a new lightbulb for my flagpole...it musta been 8.20, 8.30...they were allready closed

that was the last time i tried going there, now i just go to menards, because i know they dont close untill 10
 
I've got a lifetime supply of bits.
I keep thinking I should get a drill doctor.
But I always seem to have another one that doesn't need sharpening.
Yea. That many.
But the tinny ones are getting low.
They are delicate and break.
Yea I fell your pain.
 
I frequent a old mom and pop hardware store near me. They do it all, screen repair, cut keys and sell chlorine. They have all kinds of oddball stuff with lots of nooks and cranny's to explore. I have an old hot water heater at home. One of the elements burned out. I went to HD, Lowes and a large plumbing store with no luck. With nothing to lose I stopped in. He walked right to it and pulled it off the shelf, covered with dust. Love it!
 
The last true hardware store by me was bought out by Ace last year, all of the employees have quit and they don't have near the number unique items in stock any longer. I understand it is simple economics because they don't have the sales volume of those items.
 
I've been using this companies drills for years. You can drill square, octagon pentagon.
Whatts square hole drill. First patent in 1918.

 
I have a hard time dealing with this because this area "was built" on farming, mining and logging. I spent some 15 years or more working at two different parts stores. At the last one, "huge" we "had everything." And WE DID sell drills, taps, and dies, along with lots of other stuff.
 
the small town "wonderful" carry everything hardware store has been eaten up by Ace and Wally World....

Miller, Mo pop. about 1000 still has a carry everything hardware. funny part is the s tore
s footage is 90 % hardware and 10% set aside to their business of selling, trading, hunting rifles, guns , ammo.. I bet the gun business makes up 50-70 % of their profits!!??? cool place..
 
i am a co owner of a hardware store in santa fe, new mexico. Trying to keep every kind of drill bit that is out there is economically impossible. If a customer would wealk in and need a certain drill bit, we would order for them immediately and get it out on our next order shipment. everyone of our employees has worked as a contractor or in an area of expertise. This way when a customer walks in, they can talk to someone that has experience and not just been hired in to fill the shelves. We take pride in our shop and value every person who walks through the door.

Also Ace can not buy out a hardware store, they are just like true value, a buying co-op.
 
If I actually need a drill bit that will drill metal (HSS not mystery metal) I generally go straight to and industrial supply house. We have BISCO, Kowalis Richards, Tacoma Screw as well as a Fastenall down here. Skip HD and Lowes.
 
DavidLee said:
i am a co owner of a hardware store in santa fe, new mexico. Trying to keep every kind of drill bit that is out there is economically impossible. If a customer would wealk in and need a certain drill bit, we would order for them immediately and get it out on our next order shipment. everyone of our employees has worked as a contractor or in an area of expertise. This way when a customer walks in, they can talk to someone that has experience and not just been hired in to fill the shelves. We take pride in our shop and value every person who walks through the door.

Also Ace can not buy out a hardware store, they are just like true value, a buying co-op.
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if it were me, I would buy an index of every size from 1/2" down in a good HSS, which is some where between 150 and 200 pieces if memory serves. i would keep it behind the counter and sell them piecemeal and then order a replacement whenever one sold. This isnt a huge space and it would build customer confidence. that said, I have never run a hardware store, so YMMV
 
barbee6043 said:
the small town "wonderful" carry everything hardware store has been eaten up by Ace and Wally World....

Miller, Mo pop. about 1000 still has a carry everything hardware. funny part is the s tore
s footage is 90 % hardware and 10% set aside to their business of selling, trading, hunting rifles, guns , ammo.. I bet the gun business makes up 50-70 % of their profits!!??? cool place..
Click to expand...

I lived in mount Vernon just south of Miller for ten years.

If anybody is ever within fifty miles of Kansas city, stop by A&N hardware in north Kansas city. It's worth it!

Need a new plug or cup - cap for your thermos? They got it. Files, reams, drill bits, build your own furniture vise, mowers, tillers, plumbing power tools pocket knives, ALL the old school stuff, and stuff you never knew you'd need, and all crammed into a store that hasn't changed since the forties.
 
I buy from mcmaster-carr. Delivery is fast, great assortment of machine tools, raw materials and fasteners. The stuff is well documented, so know specs on what you get. McMaster-Carr
 
Hi Dave, finally bought an old paper McC catalog off ebay some time ago. I hate dealing with their website, and this goes for the electronic parts outfits, too. I long for the days, LMAO of Allied Radio, Lafayette, and Burstein Applebee
 
67Dart273 said:
Hi Dave, finally bought an old paper McC catalog off ebay some time ago. I hate dealing with their website, and this goes for the electronic parts outfits, too. I long for the days, LMAO of Allied Radio, Lafayette, and Burstein Applebee
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There used to be McGee Radio, I learned much about electronics reading the catalog.

I do not seem to have problems on McMaster site, I use Chrome on W7 PC, and free Android app on tablet.
 
It's not the browser Dave it's figureing out how to find what I want on there. I just ordered cat no 121 which seems to be about 2015--2016 for 25 bucks shipped off ebay
 
barbee6043 said:
the small town "wonderful" carry everything hardware store has been eaten up by Ace and Wally World....

Miller, Mo pop. about 1000 still has a carry everything hardware. funny part is the s tore
s footage is 90 % hardware and 10% set aside to their business of selling, trading, hunting rifles, guns , ammo.. I bet the gun business makes up 50-70 % of their profits!!??? cool place..
Click to expand...
Alot of the traditional "parts houses" are being phased out ny Advance auto and Auto zone. Its a shame really because Auto Zone and Advance aren't better really.
I liked going to car quest and Big A because they actually stock parts or can get them same day. Auto Zone is always taking my money and telling me to come back tomorrow.
 
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