Anybody buy misc. hardware online?

[brainanator]

I'd love to go to my local Ace harware or homedepot, but they have a very limited selection of smaller hardware, almost no metric hardware, maybe 5 kinds of small metric hardware, and nothing that I really need....lol.

So I was wondering if anybody knows of a decent place to buy hardware online? I don't want to buy the hobby hardware, as the price is ramped up 10x what it would cost at a hardware store.

I'm mainly looking for stuff like bearing and gear shims, small machine thread screws and coarse thread screws (3-5mm), hex head would be most desirable, small nuts for the screws (insert joke here about small nuts), etc, etc.

There might not be a place online....and I'm not looking to buy boxes of screws...more like 4-10 of the item, which makes places online hard to find.

Thanks guys.

[whitrzac]

the best thing I've found is to go on RCT and PM the guys that are selling/sold everything... I bought tons of random boxes filled with screws/bearings/shims/parts for cheap...

[brainanator]

thats actually some pretty good advice, I'll have to give it a try.

[nastety92]

Here are a few suggestions,

http://www.rtlfasteners.com/
http://www.boltdepot.com/metric-socket-products.aspx
http://www.fastenal.com/web/home.ex

These were suggestions from other member found while I was looking into this same topic recently. I have no experience with any of these companies yet.

Nick

[TexasSP]

www.mcmaster.com for all my hardware needs. They have everything and then some. From screws to raw alloy sheet, if they don't have it, you probably don't need it.

[simplechamp]

Definitely a good idea. I've been building up a nice assortment of hardware since I started the hobby and it's been invaluable. Nothing worse than having to stop dead in the middle of a project just because you're missing a few screws. Lately I have been using Bolt Depot and I've been very pleased there. Good selection, fair prices, fast shipping. They allow you to buy 1 screw, a whole box, or anything in between.

I also check on Ebay chop-shops for the screw sets from various RC kits. You can usually get some pretty good assortments for cheap. I download the manual for the vehicle and flip through it to get an idea of what types and sizes are included.

[What's_nitro?]

+1 for Bolt Depot.

[Semi Pro]

http://www.rtlfasteners.com/

is great, quick shipping and good quality

[brainanator]

I don't usually worry about quick shipping so much as cheap cheap cheap shipping, haha.
Thanks for the suggestions, didn't know many people would buy hardware online, guess I'm not alone.

[bdebde]

+1 what Texas said, Mcmaster. Got a bag of 50 o-rings for my hyper 10SC for $7, better quality than the stock ones, they last much longer. Ofna wants to sell you all the diff gears for 20-30 bucks just to get 2 o-rings.

[feistyacorn]

I'm surprised that no one said Tony's Screws yet: http://www.tonysscrews.com/

They have very nice high strength screws.

[lincpimp]

Hitting up the various forums and ebay for lots of screws, etc is the way to go. I have a ton (literally) of rc related hardware and I have never purchased any of it from a fastener seller. Just too expensive, IMO.

[Arct1k]

I generally use mcmaster but do need to sort through the several bowls of misc screws I now have... or maybe just sell them to you LOL

[simplechamp]

Originally Posted by lincpimp

I have never purchased any of it from a fastener seller. Just too expensive, IMO.

I think lots are good for when you are looking to build up your stockpile, but there are times when I need a certain screw (most recently was M4x10 set screws) that really the only option was to buy from a fastener store. And it's still way cheaper than buying a pack of 4 screws from an RC company for $4.

[lincpimp]

True, I have at least 6 of every screw that goes on any rc, inc all of the weird and wonderful oddball stuff like traxxas servo screws and all of the course thread stuff for hpi...