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I used to love browsing McMaster-Carr but pretty quickly realized there is nothing worth buying as a consumer. Anything remotely practical for personal use is c

by tootie 5y ago

I used to love browsing McMaster-Carr but pretty quickly realized there is nothing worth buying as a consumer. Anything remotely practical for personal use is cheaper on Amazon.

s5300 5y ago
McMaster is pretty good as a consumer for fastener hardware, a good assortment of various geometries of various metals, and mixing supplies in sense of both availability, exotics (such as aluminum flake 12.9 screws), and absolute zero bullshit with regards to knowing what you're actually getting, the fact it's always there, and that it's same day-next morning delivery in most parts of the US. I've had my fair share of actual 12.9 steel screws from Amazon that are actually 12.9 steel, and my fair share of 12.9 steel screws that were actually made of cheese. Plus... this is something maybe only a CAD user can understand - McMaster Carr provides an outright sex bible of importable 3D CAD objects. Like, I really thought my CAD instructor in University was joking when they said McMaster would be your Bible if you're ever designing in CAD for hobby/industry. Then I got a job, and holy shit were they right. So I like to think whenever I pay slightly more on McMaster for what I could get on Amazon or eBay, I'm supporting the bible for all of the goodness it's given me for my hobby designing and in making actual work less stressful as well.
- akiselev 5y ago
  > Plus... this is something maybe only a CAD user can understand - McMaster Carr provides an outright sex bible of importable 3D CAD objects. Luckily many suppliers are doing this. Misumi for example has plugins for CAD packages like Solidworks that even generate CAD parts for parts with custom configurations (like aluminum extrusion cut to size) so going from assembly to BOM to purchase order is a few clicks.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- tootie 5y ago
  Oh yeah, I got turned on to McMaster while doing some fabrication projects with industrial designers. We needed bags of machine screws, cable carriers, aluminum extrusions, lubricant, random brackets, rubber tubing and such it was truly miraculous.
Grakel 5y ago
Great industrial shelving for the garage, that hard-to-find bolt with the specific threads, or rock salt for icy driveways. The second time you call them they greet you by name. You can say a part number, a quantity, thanks, and hang up, and you're getting a box of awesome really soon. McMaster-Carr is an amazing company for people who do things.
luma 5y ago
McM pricing heavily depends on how much business you do with them, if you're a commercial buyer you'll see much steeper discounting applied.

by tootie 5y ago

I used to love browsing McMaster-Carr but pretty quickly realized there is nothing worth buying as a consumer. Anything remotely practical for personal use is cheaper on Amazon.

s5300 5y ago

McMaster is pretty good as a consumer for fastener hardware, a good assortment of various geometries of various metals, and mixing supplies in sense of both availability, exotics (such as aluminum flake 12.9 screws), and absolute zero bullshit with regards to knowing what you're actually getting, the fact it's always there, and that it's same day-next morning delivery in most parts of the US. I've had my fair share of actual 12.9 steel screws from Amazon that are actually 12.9 steel, and my fair share of 12.9 steel screws that were actually made of cheese. Plus... this is something maybe only a CAD user can understand - McMaster Carr provides an outright sex bible of importable 3D CAD objects. Like, I really thought my CAD instructor in University was joking when they said McMaster would be your Bible if you're ever designing in CAD for hobby/industry. Then I got a job, and holy shit were they right. So I like to think whenever I pay slightly more on McMaster for what I could get on Amazon or eBay, I'm supporting the bible for all of the goodness it's given me for my hobby designing and in making actual work less stressful as well.

akiselev 5y ago
> Plus... this is something maybe only a CAD user can understand - McMaster Carr provides an outright sex bible of importable 3D CAD objects. Luckily many suppliers are doing this. Misumi for example has plugins for CAD packages like Solidworks that even generate CAD parts for parts with custom configurations (like aluminum extrusion cut to size) so going from assembly to BOM to purchase order is a few clicks.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
tootie 5y ago
Oh yeah, I got turned on to McMaster while doing some fabrication projects with industrial designers. We needed bags of machine screws, cable carriers, aluminum extrusions, lubricant, random brackets, rubber tubing and such it was truly miraculous.

Grakel 5y ago

Great industrial shelving for the garage, that hard-to-find bolt with the specific threads, or rock salt for icy driveways. The second time you call them they greet you by name. You can say a part number, a quantity, thanks, and hang up, and you're getting a box of awesome really soon. McMaster-Carr is an amazing company for people who do things.

luma 5y ago

McM pricing heavily depends on how much business you do with them, if you're a commercial buyer you'll see much steeper discounting applied.