• Hi - We're having intermittent forum issues. Posts, alerts, and anything involving email like signing up or password changes are having problems but not for everyone or everywhere. Josh is working on it. No ETA right now. Thanks Josh - BTW this is a volunteer forum so SLA's are just best effort. EDIT -> I manually batch updated about 25 people stuck on the email notification. Try logging in now with your password. EDIT -> May 8/23. I updated another bunch of users stuck on email notifications. Try to login if you are stuck. If you really can't get in contact us on facebook or if you know a forum member get them to ask us.
  • [Ad-Free Experience]
    Register Today, Craft a Post, and Enjoy an No-Advertising Experience.
    Click Here to Register

CA-ON McMaster-Carr

Ontario
Type
Supplies

Felis

Member
Any business that is unwilling to sell / honour the non-business hobbiest, willing to spend hundreds of dollars or more, can stick their ideology where the sun doesn't shine......

I would never, honour such a business with a single dollar, based upon principal alone, period.
Nor do care less if i am missing out on any savings, etc, with doing so.
My principals are not "for sale".

And those are my thoughts on businesses such as Master-Carr.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

David_R8

Scrapper of metal
Moderator
Premium Member
For what it's worth MMC will sell to individuals in the US no problem. So they are not totally horrible ;)
 

kstrauss

Member
Any business that is unwilling to sell / honour the non-business hobbiest, willing to spend hundreds of dollars or more, can stick their ideology where the sun doesn't shine......

I would never, honour such a business with a single dollar, based upon principal alone, period.
Nor do care less if i am missing out on any savings, etc, with doing so.
My principals are not "for sale".

And those are my thoughts on businesses such as Master-Carr.
Is it the fault of McMaster that Canada's government makes it so difficult to import goods? What about our "free trade" agreement?

I'd be happy to do the same if there were an alternative supplier. Suggestions?
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Doggggboy

Ultra Member
Any business that is unwilling to sell / honour the non-business hobbiest, willing to spend hundreds of dollars or more, can stick their ideology where the sun doesn't shine......

I would never, honour such a business with a single dollar, based upon principal alone, period.
Nor do care less if i am missing out on any savings, etc, with doing so.
My principals are not "for sale".

And those are my thoughts on businesses such as Master-Carr.
I don't see where ideology or principles come into play here. Lots of businesses have decided to not sell to individuals. Some of them legally can't sell to individuals. Sometimes it's regulatory requirements imposed by govt or by professional governing bodies.
Simply having the money to spend and the willingness to spend it doesn't get you what you want from a business all the time.
Luckily, more often than not, you can take your wallet someplace else and be happy, principles intact.
No harm, no foul, on either side.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Arbutus

Active Member
Premium Member
As a MMC customer for over 30 years, I absolutely rely on them for correct high quality parts. Amazon has its place, but when you must be certain about the product it should be traceable and replaceable. McMaster is IMHO the premier supplier of engineering parts.

In Western Canada, an order on Friday before 3pm EST will arrive Monday at 10:00 am PST by Purolator.

An order placed on Monday morning will arrive Tuesday am or at the latest, Wednesday am.

Small packages are about $22. There are no additional fees involved.
 

Degen

Ultra Member
Here it is from Money Inc. about MMC business model.


There are a few Canadian suppliers that are just like that too, that only do B2B.
 

Chicken lights

Forum Pony Express Driver
Premium Member
Is it the fault of McMaster that Canada's government makes it so difficult to import goods? What about our "free trade" agreement?

I'd be happy to do the same if there were an alternative supplier. Suggestions?
Spaenaur is pretty good, when you can’t find it elsewhere

It depends on what you’re looking for, I’ve had good luck with Bolts Plus and Fort Gary stores, Traction and Napa too
 

kstrauss

Member
My needs tend to be slightly exotic. For example, a current requirement is 4mm (M3 threads) socket head shoulder screws. Suggestions for a Canadian supplier willing to sell a few dozen with delivery tomorrow?
 

gerritv

Gerrit
From the TSME supplier pdf:
or
Mini Bolt Company 540 Fife's Bay Road
Peterborough, ON
705-876-8645

Round, flat and socket head screws
and nuts in small sizes (0-80 and up).
No Hex sizes. In steel, alloy steel,
brass and stainless steel

and
 

PeterT

Ultra Member
Premium Member
My needs tend to be slightly exotic. For example, a current requirement is 4mm (M3 threads) socket head shoulder screws. Suggestions for a Canadian supplier willing to sell a few dozen with delivery tomorrow?

Takes a few weeks to ship, but lots of hardware like this on AliExpress
 

Attachments

  • SNAG-1-19-2023 000.jpg
    SNAG-1-19-2023 000.jpg
    187.8 KB · Views: 2

Susquatch

Ultra Member
Moderator
Premium Member
My needs tend to be slightly exotic. For example, a current requirement is 4mm (M3 threads) socket head shoulder screws. Suggestions for a Canadian supplier willing to sell a few dozen with delivery tomorrow?

Fastenal has been very good to me.

Bolts depot is also good.

So is Amazon.

If you live close enough to a member with a business account they might be willing to order from MCarr for you. I certainly would.

For your needs, I'd get longer than you need with a full threaded shank and buy a box knowing they can be easily shortened to whatever length you need that day.
 

kstrauss

Member
Fastenal has been very good to me.

Bolts depot is also good.

So is Amazon.

If you live close enough to a member with a business account they might be willing to order from MCarr for you. I certainly would.

For your needs, I'd get longer than you need with a full threaded shank and buy a box knowing they can be easily shortened to whatever length you need that day.
Shorten shoulder screws?

There is a Fastenal a few miles from me but sadly they stock almost nothing in the way of small screws (#4 or M3 and smaller).
 

kstrauss

Member
Hopefully suppliers know the needs of their customers and that is not metric stuff. Of course there is considerable demand for 1219x2438mm pieces of plywood and drywall.
 

Chicken lights

Forum Pony Express Driver
Premium Member
For being a country that is supposedly metric, I've always found it funny how a lot of the supply places stock very little of it lol.
That’s funny, but you make a good point. If I’m building something there’s zero chance I’m using metric fasteners. I don’t understand metric threads or grades, so I avoid them when possible. Much easier to have grade 8 and stainless in imperial instead
 

Susquatch

Ultra Member
Moderator
Premium Member
Shorten shoulder screws?

Nope, I said get full thread (ie no unthreaded shank) and shorten those as required.

Maybe I misunderstood what you are after.

There has been the odd time they had to bring something in for me but it's usually two business days. Buying longer thread seems to improve the odds that it is in stock. I have purchased m4 in stock, but never m3 or smaller.

In case it matters, I find it a lot easier to find #6 or smaller imperial instead of metric in stock.

Last but not least, some members on here have had bad experiences with Fastenal. Especially them not wanting to help non-commercial customers. My experiences have all been great.
 

kstrauss

Member
I'm not a real "commercial" customer but my Fastenal experience has generally been excellent. Particularly their closeouts have included some amazing bargains over the years. My purchases have been mostly fasteners but have also included Lista cabinets, saw blades and other items.
 
Top