[Rog02]

Tsc and other purveyors of bulk fasteners typically sell grade 2. Alright for fence building, but I ain't putting it in anything moving down the highway. Grade 5 is a decent compromise and will cover 90% of your needs. Grade 8 has its place, but unless you have regular call for it, probably not worth stocking.

Duane said it well! Still lots of questionable hardware on the market so be sure you get documentation.

Fastenal, KAR Products, Tifco, and several others are a phone call away. Good bolts cost money son so just get your billfold out and start counting out hundreds unless you want to step up to AN Grade close tolerance aircraft and then make it thousands.

Get a decent bin system, having inventory is meaningless if you cannot readily access it. Charge for every bolt, washer, and nut unless you like giving money away.

 

[bentwings]

It's hard to beat McMaster Carr. I can get most hardware in a day or so. Try to plan ahead just a little. They also have certified fasteners for more critical things.

I have more than dozen plastic boxes with the smaller grade 8 bolts from 1/4 to 1/2 inch both NC and SAE. I also have several plastic boxes with number screws. I have very little grade 5 stuff. It's usually left over and came with a project.

Metric is pretty slim. I usually plan ahead and order it.

I hate going to the hardware store as you noted.

Fastenall has a fastener program where they come by periodically or even self ordering to service a fastener cabinet. In fact I think they even supply the cabinet as it self orders as you use fasteners. It can be as big as you want.

 

[MinnesotaDave]

You left out the popular 5/16" and 7/16" diameters and unless you use a lot of 5/8" and 3/4" you might want to think about reserving those (or at least 3/4") as you grow or purchase as needed based on specific project needs.

I would recommend 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", 7/16" & 1/2" for starters with lock nuts, standard nuts, lock washers and flat washers (I prefer SAE over USS) of each size.

You may find your needs differ but for lengths I would suggest the following - again for starters"
1/4" - 1/2", 3/4" 1", 1-1/4" 1-1/2", 2", 2-1/2", 3"
5/16" - 3/4", 1", 1-1/2", 2", 2-1/2", 3"
3/8" - Same as 5/16"
7/16"- 1", 1-1/2", 2", 2-1/2", 3"
1/2" - Same as 7/16"

If short on storage capacity or budget keep in mind that 1-1/4" long bolts are typically threaded all the way to the head and can be cut down if shorter lengths are required. However, if you found yourself cutting down on a regular basis you should increase your shorter size inventory.

And then there's matter of coarse and fine thread but I would put in a coarse thread selection first and build as needed.

This list is pretty close to what I keep on hand.

 

[akphill]

I use lawson bolts they can supply the bins that stack on top of each other and are designed for all the different bolts and they come to the shop once a month and restock works for me

 

[Sandy]

I don't buy one or two of anything, I buy by the hand full and/or pound or box. If you're at a hardware store, buy a hand full of something you don't need, it'll save a trip when you do need 'em.

 

[DSW]

Tsc and other purveyors of bulk fasteners typically sell grade 2. Alright for fence building, but I ain't putting it in anything moving down the highway. Grade 5 is a decent compromise and will cover 90% of your needs. Grade 8 has its place, but unless you have regular call for it, probably not worth stocking.

I almost never buy butter bolts from box stores. Everything I buy is grade 5 or grade 8 typically.

 

[7A749]

TSC carries a good selection of grade 5 and 8 nuts and bolts.

 

[farmshop]

We carry sae bolts 1/4-1" dia up to 6"long by 1/2" lengths most are grade 5 with some grade eight. Also have metric from m4 to m20 up to 120mm grade 8.8. Most come from Fastenal although fleet farm sells bulk grade 5 and 8. Have got 3-72 hole Fastenal bins.

 

[Pipeliner]

Grade 5 is a decent compromise and will cover 90% of your needs. Grade 8 has its place, but unless you have regular call for it, probably not worth stocking.

Grade 8, besides being more expensive, is also not always desirable. 8 breaks 5 bends. Good to remember if you're ever trying to keep an alternator on a 77' F-250.

:laugh:

 

[MinnesotaDave]

We carry sae bolts 1/4-1" dia up to 6"long by 1/2" lengths most are grade 5 with some grade eight. Also have metric from m4 to m20 up to 120mm grade 8.8. Most come from Fastenal although fleet farm sells bulk grade 5 and 8. Have got 3-72 hole Fastenal bins.

Almost all my bolts and misc fasteners come from L&M fleet.
Welding rods and mig wire too

 

[Firemanmike69]

We get everything from Imperial supplies. When we switched from bowman they came in and but a barcode label on everything and gave us a scanner to reorder. Scan the barcode or enter a number from the catalogue and its ordered

 

[Frenetic]

It's hard to beat McMaster Carr.

I'm a fan of McMaster.com too. They don't show you the freight cost until you check out, though. A bit of a buzz kill.

 

[TommyL]

I can't afford to drive 12 miles to the hardware store for a bolt or nut when I'm doing projects only to find out that they ran out of it a week ago. There is a Fastenal store almost next to our Lowe's where I can get anything I need more reasonably.

 

[ironmangq]

Almost all my bolts and misc fasteners come from L&M fleet.
Welding rods and mig wire too

L&M Fleet is the best! Usually have what I need and if they don't there's a fastenal around the corner. I have a hard time going in there and not dropping a $100 on stuff I didn't know I needed, and this time of year they have the chicks and ducklings which gets the gf to go with.

 

[cope]

Another vote here for Fastenal.

 

[jackdawg]

Grade 8, besides being more expensive, is also not always desirable. 8 breaks 5 bends. Good to remember if you're ever trying to keep an alternator on a 77' F-250.

:laugh:

Grade 8 is meant for single use, usually torqued to a set loading and expected to stay in place for its lifetime.

I also prescribe to the theory, when you have to go to the bolt shop for a given size, buy a handful to put on the shelf, not just the ones you need. Then you end up with a stock of commonly used bolts.

 

[12345678910]

Tsc and other purveyors of bulk fasteners typically sell grade 2. Alright for fence building, but I ain't putting it in anything moving down the highway. Grade 5 is a decent compromise and will cover 90% of your needs. Grade 8 has its place, but unless you have regular call for it, probably not worth stocking.

.

The stuff I get is galvanized green, so it sticks out vs all the other fasteners you have.

It's all grade 5, it's marked grade 5, it acts like grade 5

You can get traceable paperwork to the manufacturer if it's important to you .



Carriage bolts are grade 2, but that's the spec for carriage bolts.


They sell Grade 8 and metric stuff too, but it's one at a time, packaged and pricey.

 

[ManoKai]

McMaster-Carr option: www.mcmaster.com/#bolt-kits/=12734qh

The Gr5 in black-oxide finish are our GoTo fastenets in SHCS. As others have stated, McMaster-Carr has world class customer service and competitive pricing.

 

[Stick-man]

I used to order from a local supplier, then the dems put them out of business. I don't do much serious, traceability required stuff anymore. So I pretty much buy everything from Menards. They have a pretty serious hardware section.

 

[docwelder]

st louis screw and bolt