Tech Q: Where Do You Source Screws From?

[oathmark1]

I get units that are missing screws and every other reason to have extra screws around.

I ordered a cheap little combo kit off the internet with several sizes of little screws, but the most of them are useless to me.

So where do you guys source your screws at, and what sizes do you get the most of? I doubt that anyone here gets the combo kits much since they'd be oversupplied on near obsolete screws.

 

[WildCard999]

Local hardware stores, I typically lose the screws that hold down the motherboard so I bring one of the standoffs with me and go through the bins until I find something that works, and buy a few extra.

 

[Zerk2012]

Save your screws from each build and you don't need to buy any. I have a box full of all kinds.

 

[USAFRet]

30 yrs of building systems carries over a LOT of spares.
I probably have left over screws from a drive swap in 1992.

To get started, this: https://www.amazon.com/VAPKER-Computer-Screws-Standoffs-Assortment/dp/B01FWEX90Q
or this: https://www.amazon.com/Phillips-Computer-Assortment-Motherboard-Screwdriver/dp/B06XYB4YY8

 

[The Paladin]

@ USAFRET I am in the same boat, my screw "toolbox" contains at least 300 screws of all types, and so much so I have them by type of metal (hp/dell use cheap aluminum screws" to the stainless through the silver, black blue or red colours.

like other said, we all started collecting every screw we found when building/repairing/tearing apart dead systems.
Hell in you should see my "Cables" boxes and my "hardware component boxes" lol


BTW this is a great little kit: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA5B55MN0511&cm_re=computer_screw_kit-_-1W8-005F-00034-_-Product

 

[oathmark1]

How do you guys wind up with so many dead units that you strip for screws and parts?

 

[USAFRet]

How do you guys wind up with so many dead units that you strip for screws and parts?

Corporate castoffs, dead laptops from family members, dumpster diving (yes!)...

 

[oathmark1]

Dumpsters? Sounds smart. Where do you go for that action?

 

[The Paladin]

never did dumpster diving but I used to have small side business a decade ago buying palette of corporate desktop/laptops sold in bulk, get 30 pcs make 20 good ones, scraps rest keep screws, connectors, cables, doodads of all sorts that could be useful later.
becomes habit, hell when I upgraded someone 's computer (new system ) they often give me the old one in payment for the work to make/install/test for them , so when I get an older system often I have HDD, video cards and ram to pump it up, turn it over and more often than not sell it for 100$ or donate it all to a charity to get computers in low income homes.

 

[oathmark1]

How do you find corporate castoffs?

 

[USAFRet]

Dumpsters? Sounds smart. Where do you go for that action?

'dumpster diving' would imply....dumpsters.
Dumpsters, behind business parks.

Some years ago, tossing out piles of christmas wrapping and crap (too much for my garbage can), I went around the corner to the business park next door.
Open the dumpster....ooohhh...whats that.
A Toshiba laptop, right on top.

30 minutes later....3 laptops, a HP laser printer, a couple of server boxes, etc, etc.
All mostly working hardware.

A company right there had gone out of business, and just tossed it.

The laptops were refurbed by me, and found their way to families who would not have had a system otherwise.

 

[USAFRet]

How do you find corporate castoffs?

Just recently, I came into possession of two older HP systems. XP era.
My son works at a local major chain hotel, and they were getting rid of them.
Wipe and install Linux, they will be donated to people who otherwise would not have a system.

 

[oathmark1]

Sounds good. I need to figure something out.

 

[The Paladin]

Speaking to people telling them what I am doing, schools, and business get dell/hp/Lenovo in bulk for their business and usually rotate every 3-5 years. You get a tip about the next auction... and you go bid. easy some are every online auctions...

10 years ago this used to be easy bidding, now 10-30 bidders are sitting to buy the pile of hardware, sometimes at more than cost value of the metal.. those are those recycling guys getting the rare metals from the motherboards.

 

[Zerk2012]

10 Years ago you could make money building PC's now it's just a (insert word for women of the night) game of who can use the cheapest parts...
I work a full time job and build/ repair / upgrade on the side.
I have 6 motherboards, 6 cheap processors different sockets, 6 sets of memory, 2 video cards, 4 power supplies, a large box of cables, coolers, screws and that is about all I keep anymore.

 

[oathmark1]

10 Years ago you could make money building PC's now it's just a (insert word for women of the night) game of who can use the cheapest parts...
I work a full time job and build/ repair / upgrade on the side.
I have 6 motherboards, 6 cheap processors different sockets, 6 sets of memory, 2 video cards, 4 power supplies, a large box of cables, coolers, screws and that is about all I keep anymore.

This is hilarious, and I actually assumed this somewhat early on when I had seen repair shops out in the industrial complexes where they rent a cheap block office, and the complex park is all cookie cutter sidentical all of the way through it coming and going out of business. I was in another business about 7 years ago, and I google all of the PC repair shops in the city. They were EVERYWHERE. I figure that the market had to be saturated, and the only way anyone could make it here in this metro was under the table.

The phenomenon of "computing" fascinates me, and over the next decade I'm aiming at seeing more about its implications than I can see now.

 

[USAFRet]

10 Years ago you could make money building PC's now it's just a (insert word for women of the night) game of who can use the cheapest parts...
I work a full time job and build/ repair / upgrade on the side.
I have 6 motherboards, 6 cheap processors different sockets, 6 sets of memory, 2 video cards, 4 power supplies, a large box of cables, coolers, screws and that is about all I keep anymore.

This is hilarious, and I actually assumed this somewhat early on when I had seen repair shops out in the industrial complexes where they rent a cheap block office, and the complex park is all cookie cutter sidentical all of the way through it coming and going out of business. I was in another business about 7 years ago, and I google all of the PC repair shops in the city. They were EVERYWHERE. I figure that the market had to be saturated, and the only way anyone could make it here in this metro was under the table.

The phenomenon of "computing" fascinates me, and over the next decade I'm aiming at seeing more about its implications than I can see now.

And weekly, we get a highschool or college kid in here, wanting to start a business building/selling "custom PC's".
After having the depth of experience of building "2" for himself...:lol:

 

[jankerson]

30 yrs of building systems carries over a LOT of spares.
I probably have left over screws from a drive swap in 1992.

To get started, this: https://www.amazon.com/VAPKER-Computer-Screws-Standoffs-Assortment/dp/B01FWEX90Q
or this: https://www.amazon.com/Phillips-Computer-Assortment-Motherboard-Screwdriver/dp/B06XYB4YY8

Same here I have tons of screws, standoff's etc.

 

[The Paladin]

funny, this thread reminded my daughters 660s Dell wasn't Wi-Fi performant, when in shed.. looked in boxes, oh look Intel N600 Wi-Fi card, screwed it in, now she's happy... yep many of us have too much hardware hidden.

 

[jankerson]

funny, this thread reminded my daughters 660s Dell wasn't Wi-Fi performant, when in shed.. looked in boxes, oh look Intel N600 Wi-Fi card, screwed it in, now she's happy... yep many of us have too much hardware hidden.

I need to get rid of some of my very old stuff that I still have.

Have a case of SMC 10/100 nics. LOL

Very old CPU's, HD's etc.

GPU's, Sound cards, controller cards and all that sort of stuff.

Tons of old ram....Sdram and even old 30 pin memory.

 

[The Paladin]

laughs I cleaned my inventory (do it once a year) and somehow Between 2 routers I found an old "token ring card from IBM." lol

 

[jankerson]

laughs I cleaned my inventory (do it once a year) and somehow Between 2 routers I found an old "token ring card from IBM." lol

I have one or two of those still around I think.

Who knows, I haven't looked at it all in so long.

I have a whole cabinet full of stuff and more in a few spots.

And two complete boxes of OS2 Warp, one Floppy vers and the other CDROM.

 

[USAFRet]

Recently resurrected from a laptop I had in the garage:

1993, Week 44.
130MB.

 

[jankerson]

 

[oathmark1]

Now we're floppin'. Hehe.

That's great that you guys were already working on the new wave thing back then. Back then I was just using the old paper thin floppies with green characters and later on that loud internet sound. I wasn't as futuristic thinking then.