Getting Started - BBS's, RCM FAQ et. al.
Mail-order and Other Resources
Homebrew Phase Converter Information
Homebrew Machine-Moving Carriages
Send mail to bobp@dogpatch.com
Useful places to get your bearings, ask questions, meet folks with common interest:
Our local group, the Seattle Metalheads, a Yahoo Group of western Washington and other interested hobby and professional metalworkers.
Home Shop Machinist BBS, hosted by Village Press / Home Shop Machinist magazine. Good place to get started.
Practical Machinist BBS Another machining BBS, more professional oriented than HSM but also a great resource.
The Usenet newsgroup rec.crafts.metalworking, the oldest Internet metalworking group, less… structured than the BBS’s.
Did you know that you can search the rec.crafts.metalworking archives at Google Groups ?
Metalworking.Com has the "Drop Box" for free hosting of photos associated with postings to r.c.m. (and BBS’s). Also check out their Links to Clubs and Links to Learning.
Metal Web News has an archive of interesting metalworking articles, broad scope of material from making an anvil to making carbide insert tooling.
When I first put up this page in 1995, this was a rich list of local used machinery dealers and surplus outlets with a diverse range of goods. Of that list only Boeing Surplus remains in anything resembling the same form. On the other hand, in 1995 only a few places actually had web sites :-) and now most places do. Many local stores have small tools and new materials. For used machinery, a handful of new dealers of new and used machinery are listed below, but for a home shop, you're better off contacting the Metalheads, and using eBay and Craigslist. The live auction market has changed, some links are below but it's no longer such a convenient way to supply a home shop.
Please check for yourself that a place listed here still exists and is open before you drive 30 miles ... and send me an email if this page needs a change or addition. thanks.
Local sites in alphabetical order:
Alaskan Copper & Brass 3223 6th Ave S., Seattle, WA 98134. 206-623-5800. National supplier of copper, brass, bronze, stainless steels and other non-ferrous metal products. Has a limited “shorts” area behind the main office on the west side of 6th Ave.
Alphatronics / Supertronix 1073 Andover Park E, Tukwila, WA 98188. 206-957-5550. Retail electronic components.
Aronson-Campbell Industrial Supply 1700 136th Pl. NE, Bellevue, WA 98005. 425-372-2000. Supplier of cutting tools and other machine shop supplies, top-dollar, not exactly retail friendly.
Boeing Surplus Sales
(Click for larger image)
Boeing Surplus Sales, 20651 - 84th Ave S. (East Valley Rd), Kent, 253-393-4060. From I-405, take 167 to S. 212 St., right on 212th, right on 84th, Surplus is the next light. Check the web site for store days and hours – changes frequently. Surplus metal stock, tooling, cabinets, furniture, hand tools, electrical. Think of what's left over from building airplane factories, not building airplanes. IF you can shop regularly, and arrive at opening, you’ll probably find a steady supply of good stuff, but one-time visitors are usually disappointed.
Capital Equipment Inc. 14613 Canyon Road East, Puyallup, WA. 253-584-7500. New and used machine tool dealer.
Capital Press Auctions Page The auction listings from the Capital Press, an Oregon ag paper. Farm and small shop auctions, mostly in NW Oregon and eastern WA.
Coast Woodworking Machinery 17120 Tye St., Monroe, WA 98272, 866-481-2622. Used industrial woodworking machinery - call for appointment.
Crosscut Hardwoods 4100 - 1st S., Seattle, 206-623-0334. Top selection, quality, top dollar hardwood supplier.
Eastside Saw Sales, 12880 Bel-Red Rd., Bellevue, 425-454-7627. The only industrial woodshop dealer left around Seattle far as I know; full-line Delta, Jet etc., blades, bits, abrasives, hand power tools; sharpening service (drop-off and mail back); bandsaw blade welding. Good folks, decent prices for retail.
EF Bailey Company 5610 4th Avenue S, Seattle, WA 98108. 206-607-4840. Machine shop and industrial supplies. Not particularly retail-oriented.
Fastenal Retail locations around western WA. National tools, hardware and… fastener supplier.
Floyd Equipment, 2208 Pacific Hwy E, Tacoma, WA 253-922-0200. Steel yard, industrial surplus etc. South-end alternative to Pacific Industrial.
Grainger Eight locations in Western WA. National facilities maintenance, electrical, material handling supplier. Not retail friendly – sells only to registered businesses.
Grizzly Imports Bellingham WA, 800-541-5537. Taiwan and Chinese stationary metal & woodworking tools; some accessories. The showroom is worth the drive from Seattle, once, at least. Call to make sure they are open and have what you want to see. Good values but not always the best choice.
Hallidie Machine Tool Sales 2002 W Valley Hwy. #400, Auburn, WA 98002. 253-939-9020. New and used machine tools.
Hardware Specialty Co. 3419 11th AVE SW Seattle, WA 98134. 206-624-5785. New and surplus industrial electrical supplies including connectors, contactors and enclosures at good prices. On Harbor Island, hard to find.
Hardwicks 4214 Roosevelt Way NE, 206-632-1203. In the U. District. Classic, huge, comprehensive hardware store with everything and then some. Great selection of unusual hand and power tools, including machinists' hand tools, and some used tools. A great place, highly recommended.
James G. Murphy Auctioneers Kenmore, 206-486-1246. Get on their mailing list (or check their web site) for machine shop and other industrial auctions. Much of my shop was obtained via their auctions.
Marshall Tool and Supply. 4453 S 134th Pl, Tukwila, WA.206-244-8888. Machine shop supplies.
Metal Shorts 4101 W Marginal Way SW, Seattle, 206-382-0305. New steel and aluminum stock.
Metal Supermarkets 1. 22029 70th Ave S, Kent, WA98032. 253-395-1835. 2. 4425 100th St. SW, Lakewood, WA 98499. 253-722-5335. 3. 19628 144th Ave NE, Woodinville, WA 98072. 425-487-0556. Aluminum, copper, brass, steel, stainless. Not cheap, but good retail service, no minimums.
McLendons Hardware Rainier Ave S, Renton and other locations. 425-235-3555. Hardware, tool and building materials supplier, best hardware and contractor's tool supply around Seattle, usually more satisfying than shopping Home Depot.
Online Metals 1138 West Ewing, Seattle, WA 98119. 206-285-8603. Online company selling a variety of different materials (Brass, Aluminum, Steel, Stainless, Copper, Tool Steel, etc). They specialize in small quantities. They have a good selection of materials, and a large inventory. You can order online, and pick it up in Seattle if you wish. They don't have a storefront, so you need to order online. Pricing is OK, but they make up for it with selection.
Pacific Industrial Supply Note new location: 1231 S. Director, Seattle. 206-682-2100. They auctioned off and moved in Dec '06; I don't know if they're still in the surplus business. This used to be the handiest place near downtown Seattle to buy hobby quantities of steel & aluminum stock; presumably it stil is. Don't confuse with Pacific Irons.
Pacific Irons 2250 4th Ave S, 206-628-6256. Surplus building material supplier with a small metal sales area out back.
Pacific Tool and Gauge PO Box 2549 – 598 Ave C, White City, OR 97503. 541-826-5808. Reamers, gages and other custom tooling particularly for gunsmithing.
Seattle Times / PI Auction Listings Most area machine shop and other interesting auctions are listed here.
Second Use 7953 Second Ave S, Seattle. 206-763-6929. Building materials salvage-recycle store: old doors, sinks, cabinets.
Summerville Steel 7010 S. 188th St, Kent. 800-552-5030. Commercial supplier of new steel, specializing in tool steels. Reasonable prices and minimums.
Sumner Woodworker Store 908 Cherry Ave, Sumner. 253-891-9413. An independent store similar to Woodcraft but with a wider selection in some areas. Also has classes.
Swift Tool Co. 1. 633 Central Avenue S., Kent, WA 98032.253-854-7777. 2. 7709 5th Ave. S., Seattle 98108 (South Park). 206-763-9280. Retail machine shop supplier. Also a Sherline dealer.
Tool Town, various locations. 425-821-3007. Contractors' and mechanics' tool store, good selection of specialty hand tools, automotive tools.
Tacoma Screw Products Ten locations in Western WA. Fasteners, tools, other hardware items.
UW Surplus Auctions Boat St. in the U district. Occasional deals on used machine tools, lab tools, office furniture et. al.
Vintage American Woodworking Machinery Olalla, WA (Gig Harbor area), 253-857-5088. Used woodworking machinery.
Whiteside Steel & Salvage, 17702 Hwy 9, Snohomish, 360-668-0533. Convenient if you live in the north end, I have found them difficult to deal with, but they have a lot of material stock. Whiteside purchases most of the mystery metal at area machine shop auctions.
Woodcraft Supply 5963 Corson S., Seattle, 206-767-6394. Near the intersection with Michigan, at the north end of Boeing Field. Large home-shop woodworking store, nice selection of Neanderthal tools, hand power tools, Shopsmith, Delta, books & video, some lumber & veneer, instruction classes.
Woodworker's Store / Rockler, 3823 Stone Way N., Seattle, 206-634-3222. 345 Tukwila Parkway, Tukwila, WA 98188, 206-244-9161. The other major home-shop woodworking store, near the U. District, just west of the Tukwila Lowes.
Home Shop Machinist / Projects in Metal / Live Steam (Magazines) Village Press, 800-447-7367. HSM and PIM are project magazines with a little how-to and useful advertisements.
Guy Lautard, 2750 Rosebery Ave, West Vancouver, BC Canada, V7V 2Z9, 604-922-4909. Guy publishes unusual books and tool plans for amateur machinists. His "Machinist's Bedside Reader" series is one of the more popular and useful resources for the metalworking hobbiest. He also sells an eclectic line of tools and accessories and is the Canadian sales rep for Myford and Sakai lathes.
Lindsay Publications, 815-935-5353, fax 815-935-5477. Reprints of unique out-of-copyright technical books, much material that's hard to find in-print today such as hobby machine shop, forge, blackmith practice, and technology history.
McMaster-Carr Co. Full service supplier of maintenance, repair & operations goods including fasteners, hand tools, common and exotic industrial materials and basic machine shop supplies. Great service, reasonable shipping, no minimum orders, reasonable prices. My preferred source for high-grade fasteners, electrical components and hand tools. Unless you do a high volume business with them, forget about getting a catalog – shop the web site and use your credit card.
MSC Industrial Supply 800-645-7270. Maintenance, repair & operations supplier with a broader line, more oriented toward machining and manufacturing. At present they send a ~ 4000 page catalog to anyone who asks. The catalog is an education in itself.Order by phone or web site. The things I buy tend to be cheaper at McMaster.Your mileage may vary.
Powell's Books, Powell's (no relation) main store is a new and used book store spread out over a city block in Portland, OR, with over a million books in stock. The technical store, two blocks away, has many interesting out of print machinery and metalworking books.
Sobel Machinery of Closter, NJ, (201) 768-9645.
Click Here to see photos of David Sobel's shop. One
of the few remaining old-line dealers of used home shop machine tools and
accessories, including parts for older American machinery.
(Burden's) Surplus Center 800-488-3407. New and used motors, hydraulics, pneumatics, electrical parts including capacitors and contactors for phase converters, mechanical power transmission.
Purely for nostalgia, here’s a list of the warehouse dealers and other favorite haunts that closed down over the last decade or so. These were all interesting places, with a variety of daily arrivals and “specials”, always good for an enjoyable long lunch hour.