I needed about 20 pop rivets the other day, not normally stocked by hardware stores.
Went to my local nuts and bolts supplier.
Counter talk -
"Can I have some 6.8 x 20mm Aluminium with Aluminium shank blind rivets please".
"How many are you after"?
"Are you ok with small quantities"?
"I can sell you one rivet, if you want".
Very handy for hobbyist and tinkerers, and they have a huge range of nuts and bolts etc.
Brisbane Fasteners, Brendale, North Brisbane.
No connections whatsoever.
I am in a similar position here on the N.W. Coast of Tasmania Mike, funnily enough the retailer here is called "Nuts & Bolts", and they have in the Burnie branch, 4 blokes on staff, all of whom are helpful and knowledgeable. You can buy a single washer or bagfulls of same, and while you may be lucky to find a LH 9/16" Acme threaded length of all thread stock, in general they have pretty much anything you are after. They also have other branches in Tasmania and also some interstate, so I guess that they might be able to source some of the less frequently asked for items from those branches too. I have even had them give me a small fastener to replace the one lost from some item belonging to my wife, saying that it was not worth the paperwork (true) but not often done just the same. In contrast Coventry Fasteners (who are located on my side of town and who would be more convenient for me to use) have a $10 minimum purchase price, so that small fastener would have cost me $10 there. I think that they have reasonable stock levels, but I have only been there once, as many of my purchases would be less than ten bucks, and the other blokes are so good to deal with.
I also have no connection to Nuts & Bolts other than as a very satisfied customer, they definitely get the :2tsup: from me.
Rob
Small Parts And Bearings
A wonderland of tiny, useful bits.