Many, many LeTourneau engineering students have learned to despise Lowe's. We were often in need of parts for projects and one of the few places to get hardware was Lowe's. The problem we often experienced was something a fellow student of mine coined as "pop hardware". At Lowes', you can't buy pieces very easily, you can really only buy kits (which is what I'm assuming most people in home improvement love about it, thus "pop hardware.") More often than not, though, we just needed the pieces. Actually, it was usually just a piece, just one little knob, gear, rod or tube. Usually economic restraints prohibited us from purchasing the kit so a less than ideal replacement was found or the part was ordered out of a specialty catalog. This last solution was far from ideal: $0.25 for the part, $3.00 for shipping, five days down the toilet. It was just so....frustrating. We just need this little thing, this little nothing. Why is it so hard to get a hold of such a simple object?
As I have continued my tinkering hobby projects post-college I have continued to run into the same problem. No luck at Lowe's or Home Depot, Joann's Craft and Fabric could sometimes help out, and every once in a while I'd get lucky at the R/C or model rocketry store.
Today, this all ends; I have found The Yard.
The Yard is everything Lowe's is not. Its a surplus, used, new, scrap everything store that would make a killing from LeTourneau students if it were located in Longview. If you are a do-it-yourself kind of person then this is THE place you need to be going for your next project. A few of my personal favorites I found today during my first peruse through the establishment:
-Insulated jump-suits
-Ammunition cases (not just those old metal tins, either)
-Socket sets sold by the pound!
-LARGE DC motors
-Everything you could possibly use on a lathe (I'm not joking even a little bit).
-Plexiglass
-Dental picks
It's Wichita's version of American Science and Surplus (without the science). Its a craft store for guys. Its four acres of potential.
Its a dream come true for me.
Sounds exciting. If I liked to build and make things I'd be very excited. As it stands, your salesmanship of The Yard is enough to make me wish I enjoyed making things...I'm glad you've found what you're looking for. At least you're one step ahead of 1980s Bono...
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