# Calling All Old Members We Are Back.



## Grumpy Gator (Mar 24, 2015)

"Were putting the band back together."
What marketing genius decided that pre-packed nut and bolts should come it odd numbers ?I needed 4 ,¼ X 20 truss head screws So off to the nearest auto parts store.First the brains behind the counter looked at me with his mouth open like I asked him to define particle physics then he told me they don't make them anymore.So I said just show me where you keep the nut and bolts and I will help my self. Thats when I found out they only came in packs of 3.Since I was in a hurry I bit the bullet and bought them. BUT cross that store off my list. Next time it's down to the old hardware store  where they know what your talking about and only sell you what you need.
***I miss the old days************Gator********************


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## Bill Gruby (Mar 24, 2015)

Me here, GROUCHY as ever.  Where did I put my coffee?

 "Billy G"


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## ogberi (Mar 24, 2015)

Gator, I feel your frustration.  Try finding an imperial SHCS in a big box store that isn't stainless steel.   Great thing I got a mom & pop ACE about 10 minutes up the road.


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## cazclocker (Mar 24, 2015)

Well, all I can say is that the older I get the more reasons I find to be grumpy! Thank God for coffee in the morning & adult libations in the evenings...
...Doug


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## GA Gyro (Mar 24, 2015)

Knock, knock... 

This looks like the place to pull up a trash can or paint bucket... grab a cold one... and catch up with the guys.  

My name is John (GA), and I have been bitten by the hobby machine shop in the basement bug.... my sense of budget and spending time outside the shop has been totally destroyed.  

May I enter...


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## Billh50 (Mar 24, 2015)

I usually go to Ace or one other old time hardware store here in town when I need something. And to think New Britain was known as the Hardware City at one time. Those old hardware stores are hard to find now. I remember you could go into those places and ask for something no one has seen in years and the guy would go out back and come out with it. might be covered in dust but he had it.


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## Ulma Doctor (Mar 24, 2015)

Ace is the place for fasteners as far as hardware stores go around these parts.
i buy bulk online whenever possible!


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## davidh (Mar 24, 2015)

here in the frozen northland we have a 100 year old hardware but they are being forced to buy a lot of prepackaged stuff, just to keep the selected franchise.  i am 25 miles from the nearest walmart or home depot so i use them as much as i can.  they do still have much of the old stuff but i can see it slipping away.  open account, everyone knows your name, it is nice but a dying breed I'm afraid. . .


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## Bill Gruby (Mar 24, 2015)

I get all my fasteners from Ro-Brand in Plainville, Ct. We also have a Eastenall but they are way overpriced.


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## chips&more (Mar 24, 2015)

My problem is, I’ve probably got the fastener I need right in my garage! Just can’t find the darn thing because there’s too much crap in the way hiding it! So, I usually go to ACE, they have the fasteners all neatly organized in yellow colored storage bins ( I should be taking notes, ha!)…Good Luck, Dave.


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## w9jbc (Mar 24, 2015)

this one reminds me of a place on Facebook called grumpy past masters Harrrumph!


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## NightWing (Mar 24, 2015)

I had a situation last year where I needed some lag screws  for securing some large boards together for an indoor project.  I went to the local Ace Hardware that has a huge selection of hardware.  All I could find were galvanized lag screws that had some of the nastiest application of galvanization ever.  Some of the threads were actually filled in.

I asked the clerk in hardware where the standard plated lag screws were and was told they don't make them anymore.  I asked how could that be and he explained that the galvanized were more expensive than the plated ones, so people were buying the cheaper plated ones for outdoor applications, where they rusted and failed, which resulted in angry customers coming back and raising hell.  Therefore, they only make galvanized lag screws now.

I went to the Home Depot and found plated screws without an issue.


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## Mark in Indiana (Mar 24, 2015)

Gator,
I feel your frustration. However, we're in an age of maximizing profit. If you only need 1 bolt, you're forced to buy 3 nuts & bolts. If you need 4 bolts, you're forced to buy 6 nuts & bolts...etc. I'm surprised that you're not being forced to buy extra washers & lock washers with the packaged fastener sets. For now, I can go to a Fastenal or other industrial distributor and get what I need. I've also been saving bolts for over 35 years. Mostly to save time.

The biggest pain for me since they've replaced the neighborhood hardware store with the big box store is that it adds at least an hour to your project for one bolt.
Here's why I'm frustrated when I need that one bolt:
1. You drive to the big box store. It's usually on a weekend with the worst traffic.
2. You're forced to park your car miles away from the store unless you're a rebel and park in the reserved spots for pregnant women or "employees of the week". 
Note; I do respect the handicap parking spots.
3. When you enter the store, you're forced to go on a safari on the acreage of sales floor space. Half a dozen store associates stop you to ask you if you need help, only when you're in a hurry. You no longer know where the hardware section is because corporate management decided to re-arrange the store to expose you to other merchandise that you neither want or have time for. Now there's no store associate around to tell you where the bolts are.
4. You finally find that one bolt and go to pay. You are forced to fumble through a malfunctioning self-serve cash register or you have to wait in line to pay a human being. On principle alone, I refuse to use the self-serve checkout.
5. You endure the long drive home. It's excruciating because of the mass of drivers poking around on the road because they can't find the entrance to the mall.
6. You're forced to finish the project tomorrow.


Thanks for the chance to rant. I feel better!


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## ogberi (Mar 24, 2015)

I suppose that I'm lucky to live in a more rural area vs the suburbs.  The local Ace has plenty of agricultural items, and the local Tractor Supply isn't but a minute closer than Ace.   I've been in the fastner section of Ace so often the guy asked, "What's broken now?"


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## 18w (Mar 24, 2015)

I work for a local city waste water treatment plant. There isn't enough room here to relate the problems we incur on a weekly basis when it comes to sourcing bearings and fasteners.  Not that we can't get them , but what used to be on the shelves of many local suppliers is now "oh we can order that for you" a result of state taxes and mba types I suppose. Then there is the issue of quality or lack there of. This in the heart of the Puget Sound region, home of paper mills, metropolitan cities with treatment plants, power generating dams and a thriving aerospace industry with Boeing and its sub contractors. Bearing suppliers are the worst. The one supplier who has the most stock locally for bearings, a long time local company, has become almost a totally China brand only....to the point one of the few quality bearing suppliers, Timken, showed them the door and will not let them remain a Timken dealer. On the other hand you have Motion Ind. and Applied, (the once great Bearings Inc.) that their inventory could fit in my garage.
 The local Fastenal is a joke. The only thing that you can count on is you will see different ie. new employees every time you go in there and each new one has less knowledge of the hardware business than the previous one. We do have some large fastener suppliers and they usually have every thing you need as long as you find offshore fasteners sufficient. I recently needed some metric set screws to replace the dreaded China screws that come on all those cheap tool holders. The salesman brought out a nice looking box with the Hollow Chrome label....ah ha! me thinks.....not so much, on the end of the box "made in China" Is nothing sacred anymore? At least they seem to be better quality. When I am in need for stuff at home and don't want to drive to a commercial supplier we do have a great locally owned hardware store Mc Lendon Hardware. They have a huge fastener selection, bigger than Fastenal and Ace combined. Everything including gr.8, stainless, allens, you name it, and you can buy 1 pc. or by the box.  I buy from Ace just because I want them to survive and enjoy the old time service.
 Now if you really want to get me started, bring up nails!  Or Grainger.....


Darrell


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## higgite (Mar 24, 2015)

My son says I embarrassed him (which I can't imagine) a few years back in a Radio Shack store. I needed ONE cable tv connector. They only sold them in blister packs of TWO. I voiced my dissatisfaction at having to buy more than I needed and told the clerk that I was glad they didn't sell Chevrolets. He didn't get it. My son did. He knows me.

Tom


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## Franko (Mar 24, 2015)

I've found that Tractor Supply is a great place to purchase basic bolts and screws. They sell them by the pound, so it doesn't take a half an hour to check out, and they are considerably less expensive than hardware and big box stores.

For attaching hardware that I frequently use, I buy in bulk from a local bolt and screw store, which sells them for a fraction of the highly inflated price at what's left of hardware stores. Like, 1/4-20 T-nuts for about 8¢ instead of 75¢ at Ace.


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## David S (Mar 24, 2015)

I love those pre packaged fasteners.  I needed 4 x #8 screws.. nuts and washers.  Don't remember the exact quantities of each, but is was something like 3 screws per pack, 5 nuts in another pack and 9 washers in another.  When all is said an done I have 2 screws, one nut and 5 washer left over.  Got to love it.

David


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## Franko (Mar 24, 2015)

I think the same people who are in charge of hot dogs and buns are the culprits.


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## Grumpy Gator (Mar 24, 2015)

Yup. Well said.
    ***G***


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## GA Gyro (Mar 24, 2015)

Well... POO...

Went out to my service van.... thankfully I did not have a call to run (not quite warm enough for AC yet)... stuck the key in the ignition and it cranked but would not start.  
Pulled the 'dog-house'... and checked spark... got spark.  
Then sprayed some starter fluid into the air filter... ran for a few seconds (knockity, knockity).
OK, then went back under the dog-house and put a fuel pressure gauge on the pressure tap on a fuel line... ZERO.  Oh well...
Crawled under and hotwired the pump, ZERO...
Just finished pulling the tank and changing the fuel pump... Thankfully the replacement part was 'only' around $200.  
In the process had to cut one of the two tank straps... the bolt was stripped.  Will need to go to the junk-yard in the morning to get a tank strap, bolt, and the variation of a tinnerman's nut they use in a hole in the frame... for the tank strap bolt to screw into.  

I am glad this happened now... rather than in June when it is hot and humid outside... and I would have to re-schedule half a dozen calls... and potentially loose some $$$.  
Better to get the maintenance out of the way during 'slow season'.  

Last week, changed the oil in all three vehicles... I cannot remember the last time they were all within 100 miles of needing a change at the same time.  Glad for it... now it is all done.


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## uncle harry (Mar 24, 2015)

Ulma Doctor said:


> Ace is the place for fasteners as far as hardware stores go around these parts.
> i buy bulk online whenever possible!



Oh yeah!.....I live @ a 12 or less mile radius of a 3 store Ace franchise group who TOTALLY ROCK.  I have been able to find virtually anything I have needed in the way of fasteners &/or fittings.  Better than that is a very local fabricator friend who has the fleet or contractor stuff, and  also has a serious inventory of stock steel bars of darn near any angle, tube, channel etc. etc. and so on.  Better than that, I live less than 10 miles from Speedy Metals in New Berlin WI.  So why, you ask, am I on this forum?  Because all of  of these creature comforts for a hobby machinist don't  change that I secretly enjoy "*****ing" about stuff.  It's probably just part of recovering from the lunacy of corporate business thinking and the many "useful" paradigms that come down from wondrous sources. (boy do I NOT miss that)

Thanks for listening.    ......Uncle H.


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## John Hasler (Mar 24, 2015)

Ulma Doctor said:


> Ace is the place for fasteners as far as hardware stores go around these parts.


Interesting.  I think of Ace as one of the chains that displaced the real hardware stores.


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## uncle harry (Mar 24, 2015)

cazclocker said:


> Well, all I can say is that the older I get the more reasons I find to be grumpy! Thank God for coffee in the morning & adult libations in the evenings...
> ...Doug



Your avatar is quite fitting.


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## Grumpy Gator (Mar 24, 2015)

Come on guys please say on topic my member list just shows me and one other.We can start another thread on hardware stores BUT I'm trying to get this group off the ground and running smooth.
Like I asked in the first post.Was there a drop box to accept  and did you click on it ?
A screen shot would be useful on my end to hammer out the high spots.
****Your Input is Needed***********G***********


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## Bill Gruby (Mar 24, 2015)

Guys, our Author (Gator) is trying to get this thing straight. He needs input from all of you to help. By input I mean what you think would help to run it smoothly with little or no effort. Time to get off the soap box and help him out.

 Gator, I just came here when it appeared on the task bar at the top of the page. It was just a numeral 1 saying there was a new social group. I didn't even have to log in to get here. I just posted and there it was. Holp[e this helps.

 "Billy G"


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## higgite (Mar 25, 2015)

grumpygator said:


> Like I asked in the first post.Was there a drop box to accept  and did you click on it ?


There was and I did. I clicked, therefore, I am.


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## Grumpy Gator (Mar 25, 2015)

Short sweet and to the point. Thanks.
       ***G***


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## Franko (Mar 25, 2015)

Grumpygator, I don't remember anything special when I first posted. I saw an alert in the "social groups" tab, checked to see what it was and saw a conversation that inspired a response. After I posted, I got an invitation from you in email informing me that I'd been invited to join, which seemed a little puzzling.


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## kvt (Mar 25, 2015)

Have been watching the thread, but that is about it. Posted in one of the other ones.


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## n3480h (Mar 25, 2015)

I did receive the invitation, but since I had already been on this forum, I just went back to it instead of clicking the invitation link. Sorry.

Tom


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## NightWing (Mar 25, 2015)

Can you please remove me from notifications?  I'm not really into this and would rather not be in the active group.


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## Cactus Farmer (Mar 25, 2015)

I live in the middle of the west Texas oilfields and there are machine shops here that can chuck up your truck and take a skim cut off the outside and then bore a 6" hole thru it and line the hole with ductile. There are suppliers for EVERYTHING here. O-rings, fasteners, valves, guages, pipe, paint,steel,brass, aluminum bronze, and aluminum, tubing rated up to 10,000#, fittings in brass,steel and stainless in several grades,insulation for very cold and way hot, machine tool repairmen who can make you a set of half nuts or lead screw -chuck jaw screws or gears, caustic soda and soda ash comes in 50 pound bags for $5-10, and 55 gallon drums are everywhere,along with old oilfield tubing for building fences,buildings,gates,trailer frames,axels and car ports.
A fellow who worked with my Dad was visiting and we were talking about such stuff and he perked up and produces his "want list" of things to find and take back with him to his "retirement home" 200 miles away. He said he refused to pay $6 for an o-ring he can get here for a two-bits . I was paying attention and started to notice how true his words were. By the time a small o-ring( or any other small item gets bought by 3 to 6 middle men and assigned as part#6A  for "Rubilater Model # 101.1" the prices go crazy.  I now appreciate where I live and have no plans of moving to a "nicer" place. Here is nice enough and I do shop at places that are locally owned and they know my name.  They are helpful beyond all measure when I come looking for something that I have no nomencalture to describe it, so I start talking and they say "yep.we got those" most of the time. On rare occasions some gizmo has to be ordered but it's here in 1-3 days and they often can include it in an order for some regular stock so the shipping is small if not a "give me" deal.
Yep, this part of Texas is flat and hot and windy but it right in the middle of some great lakes, all 100 to 250 miles away, skiing 300 miles
mountains 200-400 miles. We are used to driving long distances to play, but there aren't  many days that I can't get in the shop and make something or repair a gizmo for my wife.  It gets cold a few days a year but never for weeks at a time. Yea we have snakes and cactus, you can develope a deep respect for them and if they are around the homestead they go to snake heaven. Can you tell I appreciate where I reside? If you need any of these supplys, contact me and we will begin figuring out how to get it to you. Live is good!


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## savarin (Mar 25, 2015)

Blister packs never have the number you need, the length you need and you need access to a fully functioning sheet metal shop to get the damn things opened or live very close to the hospital emergency department
I rather like this guys take on the whole deal.




Hope you can understand his accent (strong welsh)


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## Franko (Mar 25, 2015)

I grew up in Midland until I finished Jr. High, Cactus Farmer, where none of the highways have any double stripes. I can't say as I've had much desire to go back. I had all the sand I could stand, so my hat's off to you for sticking with it. I hear the oil patch is booming out there so much that housing is a real challenge.

I moved from Midland to Wichita Falls, where I found the water to be deliciously sweet. I left Wichita Falls after college and moved to Dallas. The water here is ok if you like to drink bleach. I'm not that fond of Dallas, but you can get just about anything here, and it is close to East Texas and all my favorite bass lakes.


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## Cactus Farmer (Mar 25, 2015)

Water is pretty sweet in Alpine and Ft Davis too. All  my kinfolks are from up on the Red River, Sherman,Whitesboro, and Whiskytaw Falls.
GreatGreat grandfather settled in Grayson county after the war of Northern agression. Came from Alabama near Birmingham with a handful of years in Kansas. He never shaved after the war as a protest I'm guessing. His beard was down to his waist. Even in those old pictures he was a strong proud old man.  I hope I can live up to his expectations.

As for the wind and sand, I talk it up all I can or we mightbe overrun with nardowells and cartep baggers. You know it isn't all that bad. I have 10+ acres in Crane county just almost exactly halfway between Odessa & Crane but in Crane county proper. Very low taxes and even less for old folks. Quite too except when I deside to shoot a bit on my 100 yard range. An address with only 3 numbers and on a Loop to boot. An old Case VAC  tractor,deer,quail,cats,dogs,cottontails,occasionally a turkey comes to visit. A woman I love and a Prius to keep the cost of driving down is all I need to be very contented. Except for a new tool once in a while.......................


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## 18w (Mar 26, 2015)

I have a Dad and brother who live just outside of Terrell east of Dallas. Met a lot of friendly people on visits to Texas. Cactus Farmer you mentioned drill pipe. My brother has built and welded about a million miles of pipe fence for ranchers as a side business. Welding outside in the hot Texas sun means he has a lot more fortitude than I do. Always glad to get back here to the Pacific N.W. Truth be told I would love to be back in the Black Hills of So. Dakota where I was raised except for the freezing and no means of making a living that is.

Darrell


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## Franko (Mar 26, 2015)

Cactus Farmer, I've driven that road many times. I had relatives in Crane that we visited a couple times a year.


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## Cactus Farmer (Mar 26, 2015)

Remember the Caprock about half way to Crane? The ranch house just on the top edge? That is the Glass-Everitt ranch,the Hoopers raise pretty horses there now and have done so for some time. When I look out my southern windows that is what I see about 3/4 of a mile away.
I love it out there and I'm putting on my street clothes right now and heading that way. We are tripping pipe for a change in the bottom hole assy . We have just landed the 90 degree curve and now will drill an 8 3/4" hole that will end up  ~2 miles long. Total hole length ~22,000 feet.
Then we are moving 1 mile east and doing this all over again. Good $$$ for the oilfield being "shut down". The only ones who have stopped working are the people who operate on other peoples money and shysters who swindle the "investers" from other parts of the country who want to be "rich oillmen" like J.R. Ewing in Dallas. We drilled a well for one of those years ago and he can out to see the well dragging a young "helper". I'd guess he saw a show or too and desided that the oil "bidness" was for him. He was smoking a green cigar about an inch in diameter and the helper was too. It appeared that lit them just as they got on location. The old man was handling the green beast (think carnival prize size) OK, but the youngster was looking as green as the cigar. The well was a total bust too. He was sold a bill of goods if seems. The only good thing about it all was that the youngster shouldn't ever want to smoke again.


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## kvt (Mar 26, 2015)

Cactus Farmer, Franco.   I have lived about half my life in the Tex Panhandle,  Flat boring and not much to do.   Other half in Places like San Antonio, San Angelo etc.   Def not the same.   I drive from SA to a hundred miles north of Amarillo,   most is flat and everything.    Nice thing is you can see for miles.   SA  SMOG etc causes problems,  and the cities keep growing even though they do not have water, etc to support them.   YOu also do not find the friendly people in shops willing to help you find a piece of something that will work,  even if not designed for that.   IN SA it seams that if they cannot look on the screen and pull up what that is they do not help you in any form.   I have gotten to where I can order stuff on line better than fining it in stores here.    Have one metal supplier that is willing to work with Hobby machinist and sell small batches of metal,   But Fasteners etc,   They companies wanto sell you a box of 1000 when all you need is 1.  And forget the big box stores having what you want,   and they have basically driven all the old small stores out of business.   In a 10 mile radius around my house I have something like 3 Home Depots,  2 Lowes, a couple of other s like McCoys, etc.   I even have a Grangers or two.   But all the small stores are gone.  But even in my home town, the old parts house that had a little of everything is now a NAPA store and the other one is a Sub of some other company and do not stock much of anything any more.   It seems that no mater where you are things change and often not for the better.    The only nice thing is,  In SA UPS and fedex know where to deliver,  In places like my old home town they may not be able to fined you as often roads do not have signs on them.  And directions are go so many miles down this road, turn and go down that road for a ways and then find a old house and look for the new one. I have actually had them leave stuff for my parents at a store and someone call them to tell them it is there.


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## Franko (Mar 26, 2015)

Cactus Farmer, Ken, it's been 50 years so I don't remember much except all the rabbits that used be on the highways in the morning. I drove out that direction about 5 years ago, through LaMesa and Hobbs on my way to visit a friend in the New Mexico mountains. What I didn't remember is it smelling like it does now. I don't think I remember ever driving that route before. The landscape just east of LaMesa is spectacular and looks like every old John Wayne western movie, except it is festooned with wind generators now.


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## Cactus Farmer (Mar 26, 2015)

The word of the day is......festooned........WOW! good word! The things are everywhere! Lamesa is pronounced La-meeee-sa , Pecos is Pacuss, and then there is Notrees, Mentone, Penwell  and a plethora of other odd names out here to puzzle and delite the touristas. who said the western part of Texas was boring. We have lots of things to do and yep, laughing at furniers from up north, say Oklahoma and farther north, is one of them.











us


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## kvt (Mar 26, 2015)

It is fun,   They try to figure out how to pronounce BEXAR,  and the street names here can also confuse them.


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## Franko (Mar 26, 2015)

We used to drive through a little town called Benoint on the way to my grandmother's near Brownwood.

_Festooned_ is a Kurt Vonnegut word, of whom I am a big fan. I pounce on opportunities to use it.


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## higgite (Mar 26, 2015)

I thought a festoon was a spittoon all decorated up for the holidays?!

Another fun town to hear furriners pronounce is Refugio.

Tom


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## JHP (Mar 28, 2015)

uncle harry said:


> Oh yeah!.....I live @ a 12 or less mile radius of a 3 store Ace franchise group who TOTALLY ROCK....    ...So why, you ask, am I on this forum?  Because all of  of these creature comforts for a hobby machinist don't  change that I secretly enjoy "*****ing" about stuff.  It's probably just part of recovering from the lunacy of corporate business thinking and the many "useful" paradigms that come down from wondrous sources. (boy do I NOT miss that)
> 
> Thanks for listening.    ......Uncle H.



I wish I'd actually gotten 20 cents every time I heard the word "paradigms" during my years in the "corporate (IBM Corp.) world". I'd buy some more tools!


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## JHP (Mar 28, 2015)

grumpygator said:


> Come on guys please say on topic my member list just shows me and one other.We can start another thread on hardware stores BUT I'm trying to get this group off the ground and running smooth.
> Like I asked in the first post.Was there a drop box to accept  and did you click on it ?
> A screen shot would be useful on my end to hammer out the high spots.
> ****Your Input is Needed***********G***********





This is how I got here:
Here's your "screen shot"! This was an e-mail from HobbyMachinist under the title: "Web Version- Recent Posts".
 Hope this helps.
jhp


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## Grumpy Gator (Mar 28, 2015)

>>>>>Thanks<<<>>>jhp>>>>
      ***Gator***


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## dennys502 (Mar 28, 2015)

New here - nice to meet everyone. 66 years young - retired and starting to make things again.

Denny


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## compressorguy (Mar 28, 2015)

Not an old timer here, but old and grumpy so I might fit in.
Big box store irritate me to the point of serious rage.  
1. They move in and for the first six months have people who seem to know what you are talking about.  Then those people disappear and the pimple faced "professionals" show up.
2. The offer great prices and huge selection until they manage to drive the mom and pop stores out of business.  Then the selection goes away and prices creep up.
3. When they do have a bin for whatever you need, it is filled with something else because the "stockers" don't have a clue  that some idiot customer dropped the wrong item in the bin and the next guy filled it with the same stuff and the "inventory    specialist" saw the bin had stock so he/she didn't reorder.
4. They are always out of at least 50% of the items you need and only order new inventory on certain days.
5. The store in your town is only allowed to stock a limited number of SKUs and the item you need is only at the "Big store" 100 miles away or "available online".
6. Everything they carry is slightly different than the same item in a "Real Hardware" store.  Made by the same manufacturer, almost the same model number, looks the same, but built to the Big Box price point. (Dewalt tools and Kohler sinks and    Toilets are examples I have discovered.
On the Chinization subject.  
1. Americans have decided, as a country, that it is better to have a whole bunch of cheap crap than to have a few high quality items. 
2. Big corporations are driven by profits and therefore want to maximize the cost versus sales price.
3. Big corporations are generally multinational and therefore have no particular allegiance to any one country.
4. Cheap labor produces cheap products.
5. Cheap labor is not available in North America.
6. To satisfy the low price demand, manufacturing moved off shore.
7. To facilitate the move, big corporations greased the already slimey palms of our "Representatives" and obtained trade agreements like NAFTA and the even more onerous Pacific Fair Trade (or whatever they are calling it) Agreement.
8. These agreements were initially sold as "Increasing opportunities for selling our goods overseas".  The newest (Pacific Fair Trade?) hasn't been sold at all because it is so crappy that the details are classified! (my Congressman says he was allowed to read it one time for a limited time, but could not copy it or take notes and was not allowed to have anyone with him while he read it! Yet Corporate lobbyists were carrying copies around the halls of the Senate!).

Don't ask questions, just drink the Kool Aid from wherever it is sourced and be happy with it!


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## kvt (Mar 28, 2015)

Compressorguy, 
And big companies want so much billions in profit each year, so they keep razing prices, moving off shore, cheaper products. etc  What ever happened to making a good US made product, at a fair price, and not making a fair and reasonable profit.    Now they only care about making a really big profit.   The CEOs now get a bonus bigger than companies use to make in profits each year.  
That in my opinion is part of what is killing American jobs, and stuff.   Look at APPLE,   their profits are more than any other company, but instead of lowering their prices to a reasonable, they just want more profits on top of it.


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## CNCMAN (Mar 28, 2015)

I guess I lucky to live where I do. I was repairing my ancient Mercury 110 outboard and needed a specific fitting. I looked every where local and online, everyone could order it for me. Then I went to Milton WI to the Hardware store and wouldn't you know they had a bunch right there in the very store i was in.  
But yea, unfortunately these days seemingly simple tasks like buying hardware can make you nuts.


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## JHP (Mar 28, 2015)

kvt said:


> Compressorguy,
> "And big companies want so much billions in profit each year...   ...they just want more profits on top of it."
> 
> Sorry Gator, I know this is way off topic, but just to chime in on "Compressor Guy and KVT": I read just the other day that the "average bonus" on wall street this year is $172,000.00. That's the "average", so if the pimple faced clerk is getting a thousand, how much are the "suits" getting??? Now, I know, that's not the retail or manufacturing sector, but they are, by law, much more transparent and so you'll NEVER know what the heads of Depot, et al, are getting.


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## uncle harry (Mar 28, 2015)

JHP said:


> I wish I'd actually gotten 20 cents every time I heard the word "paradigms" during my years in the "corporate (IBM Corp.) world". I'd buy some more tools!



I knew an IBM guy back then who translated the corporate logo IBM to "I've been moved".


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## Howder1951 (Mar 28, 2015)

David S said:


> I love those pre packaged fasteners.  I needed 4 x #8 screws.. nuts and washers.  Don't remember the exact quantities of each, but is was something like 3 screws per pack, 5 nuts in another pack and 9 washers in another.  When all is said an done I have 2 screws, one nut and 5 washer left over.  Got to love it.
> 
> David


Myself, I usually buy those 5" long 10-24's and cut them to the needed length, everything else is really difficult!


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## jpfabricator (Aug 10, 2015)

Most cars have 5 lug nuts......................, but the nuts are sold in packs of 4. ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?


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## GA Gyro (Aug 11, 2015)

jpfabricator said:


> Most cars have 5 lug nuts......................, but the nuts are sold in packs of 4. ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?



That is so you can have one for each wheel... <grin>


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## higgite (Aug 21, 2015)

Hopefully, there is still one lug nut holding the wheel on when you drove to the parts store. Otherwise, you couldn't have driven to the parts store. So, you only need 4 in a pack. 

Tom


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## Dave 41 (Sep 6, 2015)

grumpygator said:


> "Were putting the band back together."
> What marketing genius decided that pre-packed nut and bolts should come it odd numbers ?I needed 4 ,¼ X 20 truss head screws So off to the nearest auto parts store.First the brains behind the counter looked at me with his mouth open like I asked him to define particle physics then he told me they don't make them anymore.So I said just show me where you keep the nut and bolts and I will help my self. Thats when I found out they only came in packs of 3.Since I was in a hurry I bit the bullet and bought them. BUT cross that store off my list. Next time it's down to the old hardware store  where they know what your talking about and only sell you what you need.
> ***I miss the old days************Gator********************


Don't go to my hardware store and ask for a roll pin.  They don't know what it is.


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## Grumpy Gator (Sep 6, 2015)

_How far is the nearest Tractor Supply ? Most of the time they have what I need._
_ Heck Florence ain't that small._
_  ***G***_


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## markknx (Sep 6, 2015)

Dave 41 said:


> Don't go to my hardware store and ask for a roll pin.  They don't know what it is.


That's in houseware, the thing the wife uses to flatten the pie crust?


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## markknx (Sep 6, 2015)

Here is the real question why is it that I have At least 10' of shelves full of hardware, but never the right hardware?


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## Dave 41 (Sep 7, 2015)

markknx said:


> That's in houseware, the thing the wife uses to flatten the pie crust?


That's exactly what the store clerk thought.


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## markknx (Sep 7, 2015)

Dave 41 said:


> That's exactly what the store clerk thought.


It happen to me too that was how I knew.


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## uncle harry (Sep 7, 2015)

Dave 41 said:


> Don't go to my hardware store and ask for a roll pin.  They don't know what it is.



Or, when you order an assortment of roll pins online or otherwise the size you need is not included.


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## compressorguy (Sep 7, 2015)

If you want a really dumb stare, ask for a spring pin.  I was at the local big box the other day and asked the department clerk where the Moly screws were.  "I don't think we carry those" was the reply.  I had to explain that it was a commonly used term for expanding drywall anchors, but that it was really a brand name for the same.  That finally got a response and direction to everything in drywall anchors EXCEPT what I wanted.


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