I spent some time setting up my new benchtop mill today, and after tramming the head – ensuring the spindle was perpendicular to the table – I wanted to give things a whirl.
I unpacked my new 4-inch vise, 6-inch parallels (because I can’t find any name-brand 4-inch ones), and the inexpensive clamping kit that I purchased with the mill from Precision Matthews.
Oops – the clamping kit has a range of double-threaded studs, but the shortest ones are too long and couldn’t clear the sides of the vise.
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Knowing that I don’t have much 3/8″-16 hardware, which this clamping kit works with, I dug out my assortment kit.
I bought this Kerr Lakeside socket cap screw assortment back in 2014 on sale for around $44. It’s a terrible value for just 170 pieces, but I did the math at the time, and it would have cost me quite a bit more to build my own assortment.
This assortment comes in handy every so often, and if need-be I can cut down a too-long fastener, although it hasn’t come to that yet.
It doesn’t have everything (such as 10-32), but it earned its place in my tool box over the years.
Built up a fastener assortment can get very out of hand given the number of different styles are available. One of these days I might pick up a set screw assortment, but for now I only have this pre-made assortment for inch-sized socket head cap screws, and one for button head screws.
The 3/8″-16 x 1-1/2″ screws barely worked for this application, but allowed me to cut my first chips with the new machine. It also helped me determine what to buy next with greater confidence (just heavy duty washers to swap for the flanged nut).
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If I didn’t have this assortment, my local Home Depot apparently has (4) hex-head 3/8″-16 x 1-1/2″ bolts in stock. Experience has taught me to wish for luck looking in their parts bins for something like that. A store further away has 187, and another 15.
Still, having the fasteners on-hand saved me 30-40 minutes of driving and time in-store.
Knowing I had the assortment – and where to find it – made all the difference. I mention this because I bought 3/8″ washers (standard thickness but I could have stacked them) a year ago, and have no idea where I put them. I moved them a few months ago, and couldn’t find them quickly enough, which is why I had to create franken-screws using flanged nuts from the clamping kit.
I think I made the right call with this fastener assortment, but I wouldn’t recommend it without reservations.
I have had good experiences over the years with other types of assortments, but there are some part categories where I feel store-bought assortments are grossly overpriced for what you get.
Olympia offers a whopping 2500 piece hardware assortment, currently ~$264 at Amazon, and while it has great ideas (I’ve been thinking of getting lock washers in a couple of inch and maybe metric sizes), there’s also a bit of waste with respect to my typical project needs.
You can’t have everything at-hand, otherwise there’s no end to the costs and storage needs. O-rings? Electrical terminals? Lock nuts? Standoffs? Rivets?
If I was looking to build a fastener kit on a budget, I’d consider picking up a couple of hardware packs at the home center – you know the kind, where a few fasteners are bundled in a little sealed baggie for a dollar or two. Maybe I’d get fewer sizes and lean towards longer lengths that could be trimmed down with a hacksaw if needed.
What types of assortments do you keep on-hand?
fred
“I’ve been thinking of getting lock washers in a couple of inch and maybe metric sizes”
I have an assortment of parts (screws, nuts, cotter pins, roll pins, washers etc.) from Dorman that came in round plastic containers each divided into segments (like slices of a pie) separating the different sizes one from another, A rotating inner lid allow access to each segment. One of the containers holds SS Belleville washers, another internal star washers, another external star washers, another the more conventional split ring lock washers and a final one brass lock washers. No wave spring washers but otherwise pretty well covered for most common small sizes. Having the different styles to select from has come in handy over the years, But the plastic rotating inner lids tend to stick.
Ted
Nice find! Thanks Fred!
fred
I bought them many years ago from an auto parts store that was going out of business. The % off price that they had them marked seemed too good to pass up – so I scooped up one of each kind that they had left. Some of them – like an assortment of zerk fittings – I’ll probably never use.
This is more or less the style of the containers that they came in – except that mine have metal press-on top lids:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/313990289678
MM
Those look like very handy containers, I have never seen those before! But I do remember, many years ago, seeing similar containers in a thin, flat shape. They were no more than one inch thick and maybe 3 inches in diameter, and had several pie-wedge shaped compartments. There was a hole in the lid, either at the top or at the side, and you’d rotate the lid to put the hole over which compartment you wanted to access. I’ve seen them used for fishing weights, hex bits, small fasteners, etc.
For example:
https://www.amazon.com/Anglers-Accessories-Mini-Split-Assorted/dp/B0085EAPCG
They were quite convenient to put in your pocket. I also remember that some of them could snap together so if you had more than one you could store them in a stack.
fred
I have bought several assortments like those – made by Eagle Claw. Still available:
https://www.amazon.com/Eagle-Claw-Sinker-Assortment-Rubber/dp/B0009V0W9Y
As you say they are convenient to slip into a pocket, fishing vest or fanny pack.
The Dorman ones are quite a bit bulkier – and don’t seem to be available any more except perhaps on the NOS or used market. Dorman assortments now seem to come in more conventional rectangular boxes:
https://www.amazon.com/Dorman-799-452-Metric-Ring-Value/dp/B000XQ5IN0
Hepdog
I keep a wide variety:
Standard:
4-40
6-32
8-24 & 8-32
10-24
1/4-20
5/16-18
3/8-16
Metric:
M2
M3
M4
M6
M8
I build a variety of things from tube amps to C-10s, I am always adding to my hardware assortment.
All the 1/4-20 and above is at least grade 5.
I have duplicates in stainless steel,
I have cadmium plated, black oxide, and regular old zinc.
You can never have too many graded washers and keps nuts!
When I’m in a pinch, the local ace hardware has a good assortment. Otherwise, McMaster-Carr, MSC, or Amazon are my go-tos. Tractor supply is OK. HD and lowes are last resort.
Clips & Fasteners have a massive assortment of specialty automtive fasteners.
If your local to Atlanta, threads for the south has everything in stock at great prices.
-Todd
MM
That’s shockingly close to what I keep on hand except I don’t keep 8-24s but I do keep 10-32s and I have a lot of 1/2 in as well, both -13 and -20. I try and keep fender washers in all those sizes too. I also have M6 and M8 aluminum hardware assortments from when I used to fool around with sportsbikes.
McMaster FTW! I’ve also got a local chain, Ace Bolt and Screw (not to be confused with Ace Hardware) that’s pretty good.
Also, you can never have too much clamping hardware for your mill. I’m not sure I’d have trusted the cheapo amazon stuff but given the low forces involved with a benchtop machine they’re probably fine. One thing I see missing from the set Stuart posted is some washers. Get some extra-thick hardened & ground washers to add to the set.
Peter Fox
I stock enough small hardware to just about have my own personal hardware store. Most bought through local hardware stores McMaster Carr and BoltDepot.com.
A rough listing of the range:
Phillips pan head Sheet Metal Screws #2 through #14 Lengths 1/4″ to 3″ depending on size
Phillips Flush head Sheet Metal Screws #4 through #10 Lengths 1/4″ to 2″ depending on size
Phillips pan head Machine Screws 2-56 through 1/4-20 Lengths 1/4″ to 3″ depending on size
Phillips Flush head Machine Screws 4-40- through 1/4-20 Lengths 1/4″ to 2″ depending on size
Socket Head Cap Screws 4-40 though 3/8-16 Lengths 3/8″ to 4″ depending on size
Stainless Socket Head Cap Screws 4-40 though 1/4-20 Lengths 3/8″ to 2″ depending on size
Fine thread Socket Head Cap Screws 4-48 though 3/8-24 Lengths 3/8″ to 2″ depending on size
Metric Socket Head Cap Screws M3 though M6 Lengths 6mm to 40mm depending on size
Button Head Socket Cap Screws 4-40 though 3/8-16 Lengths 3/8″ to 1 1/2″ depending on size
Stainless Button Head Socket Cap Screws 4-40 though 1/4-20 Lengths 3/8″ to 1″ depending on size
Metric Button Head Socket Cap Screws M3 though M6 Lengths 6mm to 25mm depending on size
Flush Head Socket Cap Screws 4-40 though 1/4-20 Lengths 3/8″ to 2″ depending on size
Grade 2 hex bolts (hex head cap screw) 1/4-20 through 1/2-13 Lengths 3/4″ to 7″ depending on size
Hex head lag screws 1/4″ through 1/2″ Lengths 1 1/2″ to 6″ depending on size
I am a strong believer that if you don’t maintain stock on whatever your common commodity hardware is you waste more time and effort than the hardware is worth.
Evadman
I have a small hardware store in my garage, which I built over the last 20 years of welding, cars, fixing stuff for other people, or getting “I know you have that widget, can I borrow one?” inquires from neighbors.
Almost all of it is in 14 drawers just like the ones you linked from Olympia, except by Durham. I made stickers for the top of the box just like you see in hardware stores, and one on the outside that denotes what is in the box. These have everything from grade 8 cap screws to metripack electrical connectors.
Besides those, I also have a big drawer set of 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2″ grade 3 or 5 fasteners between 3/4″ and 4″ length, for every standard length possible in the middle. I usually use those for random welding tasks. It is faster for me to weld on a bolt or a nut then to tap a piece of bar stock. Thankfully, I got them 20+ years ago when a full box of each size was maybe a dollar.
The set that saved me the most money was easily a set of 10.9 metric countersunk allen key cap screws. I have probably used at least 500 of them fixing commercial embroidery machines in the last few years.
If I didn’t build the assortment myself, I got it from sarjo. They are called ‘fas-kit’ sets. They can come with the drawer or just the contents. A 750 piece, 24 size socket head cap screw assortment like Stuart posted is $94, or $131 with the box a the moment. Unlike a lot of other places, there isn’t a huge markup for metric stuff either. I do remember the empty drawers being cheaper on amazon, sometimes substantially. The box in that set is $37, but an identical one on amazon is $24 from Durham.
William Adams
My needs are modest, so I sort by size into:
https://www.harborfreight.com/tool-storage-organization/parts-storage/organizers/cases/18-divider-storage-container-94456.html
Back when they did coupons, I just kept a stack in my car, and whenever I was driving by I’d pick one up.
A quick visual check shows one each of those for:
– M3
– M4
– M5 (see below for the missing size)
– M8
– 1/4″-20 (two containers)
– #10-24
with an assortment of other hardware types and sizes in a variety of other containers.
I’ve since been transitioning to the smaller containers in:
https://www.harborfreight.com/tool-storage-organization/parts-storage/organizers/cases/multi-compartment-utility-box-40528.html
and have one such dedicated to M6, but no other hardware has proliferated to needing that (yet).
you don’t lose too much storage capacity (at least in the smaller sizes of hardware I use, and fortuitously, this size of plastic case seems pretty standard — a lot of hardware ships in it, and I found a set of them at the big box arts store Michaels which were pretty affordable w/ a 40% off coupon.
I just wish that someone would make a box like to:
https://www.harborfreight.com/tool-storage-organization/parts-storage/toolbox-organizer-with-4-drawers-68238.html
which fit one of those sizes — I suppose at some point in time I’ll have to make a couple.
I also wish that there was a storage container in this size which had front–back divisions _and_ movable dividers.
Plain+grainy
My assortment of Kreg pocket screws comes in handy in a pinch. Many exterior sizes.
Wayne R.
Reminded of a job with Hilti Unistrut, several boxes of Hilti Unistrut/threaded rod nuts clearly marked as 5/8 and a bunch of 5/8 threaded rod. We could not get the nuts onto the rod.
Across the parking lot from the site was the back of an Ace hardware. Went over there with a couple of these 5/8 Hilti nuts and discovered they were all 16mm, I think. The box labels were wrong from Hilti.
The amazing part was the Ace had enough metric threaded rod for the job.
fred
While on the topic of Unistrut nuts – I see that there a specialty sockets for them:
https://www.amazon.com/19mm-Strut-Channel-Socket-Drive/dp/B016MSNESI
Franco
All I can say is that compared to many of you, I am a sick bast**d. (neighbors, friends and family can confirm my sickness)
RP
Long time reader, first time commenter.
In this case, would the LEAN process described in a previous article worked in your favour or against you? Would not having the excess materials slowed you down or would have been just as prudent to take the time and determine what you needed and went and got that single item?
Stuart
That’s the thing – I realized LEAN is completely relative. Having extra fasteners on-hand can be just as “lean” as not having extra plywood taking up shop space.
The extra plywood I have is project-scaled, as opposed to being suited for impromptu “I just need a small piece” types of tasks or fixes.
A lot of times with fasteners, I don’t know what I need, or something fails and I need a quick fix.
I have some proper hardware on the way. If I didn’t have the screws on-hand, I might have ordered wrong the first time, leading to greater costs and delays.
RP
This is what I thought as well. You are right, it’s not a one size fits all situations. For sure the 5S setups is the most beneficial. I would challenge someone to you an A3 and then to your RCA and then you 5WHY it. I would be curious to see how many problems you could solve. Remember, the process doesn’t need to be drawn out and long. If anything it will shed light and start discussions. Maybe you will see something you never knew was there.
JR Ramos
4″ parallels are less common. I didn’t want to spend a mint on a set of those and gave these from HHIP a shot. They’re surprisingly excellent and will suit almost all work just fine. This is the same line/sourcing of pretty decent Chinese stuff that you’ll see branded under a few names like HHIP, HFW, Accusize, Shars, sometimes Fowler if the quality makes their cut. MH Global is another. The import stuff is hit and miss but they can put out some really good but cheap items – been pleasantly surprised several times. Sometimes those unsnobby no-name alphabet soup sellers have the same stuff cheaper…but sometimes they are peddling junk as well.
I found these at a real bargain sale price, liked them so much I ordered a second set and had some of those custom ground. If you need v-blocks or some other setup items in the future, these same brands are worth a look…occasionally you do need to just shell out for something better (like possibly SPI if that suffices (and isn’t the exact same thing as these cheapies) but if you can avoid the $$$$ for the accuracy that suits you, by all means save the bucks imho.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ABWUGLE/
For workholding it may pay to spend some $$ on good machinist quality hardware if it may see some torque and strain.
I keep a lot of hardware around but only bought a few in kit form – more often than not I still find myself needing to go to the store for bits and bobs, or alter/make something. I keep it all reasonably organized and labeled. Fond of reclaiming good hardware as well…lots of high quality and/or perfectly good hardware ends up in the bin because nobody cares to save it or think about that. With so much junk quality hardware in stores these days it’s nice to save (or buy) better standard stuff and use it.
Stuart
I saw that brand, and they seem to have a mixed reputation. I have them saved to my cart and might pick them up at some point.
I went with SPI, and figure if the odd size combination bothers me I can cut them down and have 4″ parallels and 2″ ones for one of my smaller vises. SPI tends have to have decent value equipment, and I’ve been mostly pleased with their quality over the years.
For the vise hold-down hardware, I ordered Te-Co. Gibraltar would have been my next choice.
Jared
I like those assortment kits from Spec Bolt or Tusk for my dirt bikes. Really handy for the specialty stuff they include and the large quantity of flange bolts. I have several and they get used often.
I also have big boxes and tubs of wood screws on hand from 3/4″ to 3.5″, then smaller quantities of screws up to 6″ – picked up when Lowes put them on clearance a few years back (must of switched suppliers or something). It’s very convenient to have around the farm!
Generally I’ve got a lot of metric hardware on hand, but I’m much more limited for standard. It takes time to build up a comprehensive collection!
TomD
Menards sometimes has “floor sweepings” from the pick a screw/bolt area and super cheap – like a buck a bag. I bought a few and now have a piece bucket that has helped quite a bit.
Todd
Saying you bought a new mill without showing us the mill is an illegal move. I hereby ban you from the internet.
Stuart
While not exactly what you’re looking for, I put an image of it here – https://toolguyd.com/project-topics-update-0672023/.