Home Forums Miscellaneous Topics Rural Living Bolts, and Nuts?

Where do you buy bolts, and washers, and nuts?

In Iowa the farm stores carry them in bulk. Not free but, reasonable. In NW Ontario if I need some bolts, look out, lumber yard, or hardware store, priced by the piece.


As a side, some oldtimers used to call nuts, "burrs".

Big R has them in bulk, but usually hardware grade. Ace Hardware has a full selection of Hardware Grade to Grade 8, standard and Metric, aluminum thru stainless and anything in between. You buy them at so much each. Not prepackaged like Home Depot. Not the cheapest place,but when you go there, you find what you need.

Buckets, pails or bins of them at farm sales.

I bought a bulk assortment with bins.

When I need particular grade 7 bolts, I usually buy those at Tractor Supply or hardware store.

This made me think of all the nuts and bolts languishing in machine sheds and other buildings that were long ago tossed into buckets, never to again see the light of day.

We have farm stores around that sell bolts and nuts by the pound. A new store has come in and a lot of their stuff is sold by the piece and it gets pretty expensive.

I have bought a few of those buckets of bolts at farm sales and auction. I find a useful bolt once in awhile but am far better off to go buy what is needed for the project as I need them. Otherwise I wind up with bins of bolts that are never going to be used.

Been collecting them for years. Usually when I'd go buy a bolt, nut, and washers, I'll buy extra, so I've got a collection.

If I need something I don't have, and it's somewhat of an odd one. I'll go buy just what I need. I buy them at TSC, and the local farm supply store.

I have a pretty good supply from taking things apart when they go south. Amazing what you can make do with when the exact one you want isn't availalble

That's what I do.

I buy extra of everything.

Belts, hoses, hydraulic fittings etc.

I figure if I'm going to town because something failed once, I'll just be more prepared next time.

Yea,but by the time I need that extra one, I forget where I put it . I put things up where I know they won't get lost, then forget where I put them. Fastest way to find it is go buy another and in two days it will magically appear.

Putting spare parts in a “safe place” is dangerous.

They are "safe" in the sense that they will never need worry about being used, since they will never be seen when needed.

Ah, the gnomes of lost things always return items,---after you give up looking, and return from town with new items.

This is a bolt bin I made 50 years ago. Those are the rectangle cans antifreeze came in back when.

It is a bit of a catchall.

Work

That’s a lot of auntie freeze!

I used to ask the shops for all they had. It's been a long time since I've seen antifreeze in cans.

Some plastic jugs can be used on a shelf.

I've made large parts bins with the steel bucket brazed together.

I made our son parts bins with plastic buckets, but it is built too light, it sags under the weigh of the parts.