Finding the final parts

egomine · Post by **egomine** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 10:11 am

I have been to the Home Depot and Lowes and I am having problems locating some of the final parts. Namely the 1/4" size 4 and 6 screws, the rubber stoppers, and the aluminum strips in the 1/16" of an inch thick size.

They have everything their just not any screws smaller than 1/2", the stoppers are about 3/4" of an inch on the larger flat side instead of 1/2", and the metal is all 1/8" thick.

Where are you guys finding these items at?

Shane

egomine · Post by **egomine** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 10:16 am

Also. The book says to get spacers that are size 4. All the nylon spacers I have seen do not follow these naming conventions and look either way to big (like the nail head and everything would fall through) or so small (that the screw would most likely split it).

Any ideas on these too.

electromaster64 · Post by **electromaster64** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 10:36 am

You need to go to ACE Hardware, Do It Best Hardware, True Value Hardware, or some other actual hardware store not Home Depo/Lowes or a home improvement store. Real hardware stores will be smaller but they have more since they only sell hardware and not lumber/toilets/windows and junk. You will also be able to buy the pieces individually instead of the generic stuff in pre sorted bags at home depo. So get out the yellow pages and look under hardware then go to the stores you see there

egomine · Post by **egomine** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 10:54 am

Thanks for the tip I will give ACE a try this weekend.

egomine · Post by **egomine** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 2:54 pm

Thanks Electro Ace was the place as it would seem.

The only other thing I noticed as a newbie was that even ACE does not have just size 4 or 6 of anything. There were choices like 4-40 and 4-32. One of the guys there looked at the book and told me it most likely needs 4-40 and thats what I bought. Might be helpful to address that under the book FAQ/Error section for the NES (or version 2 of the book).

TheTooth · Post by **TheTooth** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 7:18 pm

I get my cheap alluminum from thrift stores. I bet you can find an old cookie sheet, or something, for a buck or two at most. They are normally about 1/16". Just don't cut it with normal scissors like I did... Now I need more scissors.

Post by **benheck** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 10:30 pm

Yeah, I was at a Home Depot with some friends and wandered to the "screw section" They had NOTHING! I don't even have to check Menards.... DITTO! (assuming)

Ace Hardware or True Value are you best bets. Some stores don't have all the stuff, so it's best to shop around.

A.J. Franzman · Post by **A.J. Franzman** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 2:32 am

egomine wrote:The only other thing I noticed as a newbie was that even ACE does not have just size 4 or 6 of anything. There were choices like 4-40 and 4-32. One of the guys there looked at the book and told me it most likely needs 4-40 and thats what I bought. Might be helpful to address that under the book FAQ/Error section for the NES (or version 2 of the book).

The second number in those screw sizes is the thread pitch (number of threads per inch of screw length). Only machine screws have those numbers; if you are getting wood screws or sheet metal screws, thread pitch is not important and you only need the gauge and length. I don't have the book yet so I can't say if you got the right screws or not, but if you are using machine screws and nuts, you just need be sure their gauge and thread pitches match - any available pitch will do.

Brycel · Post by **Brycel** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 2:02 pm

The Home Depot in my town didnt have much so i went two towns over to Lowes. I actually had pretty good luck with lowes. They had everything except for the spacers. Here in my area you have to look to find a real hardware store. The truevalue in my town closed down, after home depot moved in. Luckily there are some left but you have to go out of the way to get to them you can't just stop by there on the way to get something in town. I also had problems finding balsa wood, our town used to have a great crafts store which had all kinds of stuff but they closed last year. Heck, I had to go to Fort Worth, (I live about 30 miles south of DFW) to get Ben's book since the only real bookstore in town had to close due to rent issues. So to build anything you have to drive around, or in my case have my parents drive me around. My dad said he can take to Truevalue so maybe i can get the spacers today.