The Glade 4.0

**** you.

When I go in a hardware store, I do not want to have to ask 3 different people for a soldering gun and have every one of them look at me like I just asked for some mysterious piece of technology, nor do I want to be unable to find one either A) where the solder is located B) in the electrical section or C) in the power tools section, especially after asking your aforementioned incompetent staff.

I also might like to be able to find 1"x4" lumber, or common plywood sizes like 3/8" easily rather than bizarre thicknesses like 19/32" prominently displayed in the front.. and by the way, I like my plywood flat, thank you very much, not with a visible warp in the center.

If your corporation has a response, you'll find me in the lumber section at Lowes.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

Given 2x4 & 1x4 etc are usually actually lesser sizes, (1x2 is closer to 19mm x 38mm, 2x4 is 1 1⁄2 in × 3 1⁄2 in (38 mm × 89 mm)) is it possible some lawyer forced them to put actual dimensions instead of the generic 2x4 etc?

No. I found 2"x4" in the standard size, labelled as 2"x4" lumber, in large quantities. To see their selection you'd think no one built anything out of anything except 2"x4".

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

I almost never use Home Depot or Lowes anymore.

We've got a couple of good lumber yards, but getting to them is a real pain.

Last straw for me was when they stopped carrying any non-treated, non-edge rounded 4x4s. I needed to build a work bench, and they had nothing I could work with. They definitely don't carry any good non-treated 4x6s anymore....

Local lumberyard is great, but it's open contractor hours. Which means it closes at 4... And isn't open on the weekend. Which just makes it harder to get to.

They also had no idea what I meant when I asked for a drift punch, or hardened wirecutters.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

That sucks, DE. I've always had a pretty great experience at Home Depot when I've gone in the past.

I hate Home Depot, the layout is totally retarded and the staff is like the B Team from Walmart. I always shop at Lowe's or the local True Value Hardware (which is way more expensive but the most competent).

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I agree, big box stores are bad. Unfortunately some times they are the only choice for some items where people live. I've found that I only use them when I must. The rest of the time I find other stores to shop locally or order online.

Find local stores that sell building supplies. Most populated places have stores that contractors lean towards over the big box stores. Down here we have a place called Marvin's, which is better for buying purely construction goods and lumbar. They have a drive in lumbar yard on site.

Search your area for alternatives. Look for lumbar yards that sell to the public. Ask local contractors where they buy.

Here lately, I've been doing stuff that requires me to buy specialty tools, and nobody really carries the stuff in store. So......I will buy it online. Sears has basic tools in stock, but I've found they have to "order" odd things, so I just do it myself on their site.

I'm pretty sure making things hard to find is a marketing strategy to get you to walk around the store and buy things you don't need.

Well, that worked today at Lowe's, except that we actually found everything we needed. My wife, however, also discovered she needed extra hooks for something or other.

At least Lowe's actually had soldering irons available (no gun-style ones, but that's minor), not just blowtorches, and the lumber was easily located. I also needed hex bolts and nuts, and unlike Home Depot, Lowe's actually had the right size in the right bin. At Home Depot, the size of bolt bore no actual relation to the sign on the front of the bin; it looked like customers had thrown whatever bolt back into whatever bin for years with no attempt by the staff to organize anything. Lowe's had a few out of place, but I was able to find all the bolts I needed; 16 1/4"x5" and 3 1/4"x3".

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

Real men solder with blowtorches.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Blowtorches are for shaving. Soldering irons are for soldering.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

Blow Torches, when not used for shaving, are for plumbers...

Real Men (tm) solder with something like this..

/stands in cleaning aisle

Me: Excuse me where is Draino?

Eyerolling troll: Plumbing aisle duh!

Me: Oh ok... I guess...

/standing in cleaning aisle

Me: Where is CLR surface cleaner?

Eyerolling troll 2: Plumbing aisle duh!

Me: Oh **** you hard Home Depot, **** you hard.

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A) Solder and soldering guns are located in the Tool Corral next to the welding and dremel crap. There should be a couple of different models available from cheapass pencil ones to a gun type kit that's like 40 bucks if I recall correctly.
B) Its in hardware
C) Yes. There.

19/32 plywood is sanded on one side. Its close enough to 5/8 for government work. The warpy stuff? Yeah, you gotta dig a bit

The employees at Depot suck because they pay for **** and cut people's hours on a whim. When I was there, I made 10 bucks an hour and averaged 28 hours a week. Not to mention the corporate bullshit that employees have to deal with on an hourly basis.

Which is why I, also shop at Lowes.

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Holy shitsnacks!

Yes. This is the case.

HD's bolt aisle is serviced by the vendor. It depends on the employee that goes in once a week to sort the bins whether or not it gets straightened out.

My Depot... was terrible. The CB guy cared, and did his best, but the customers... ugh. The HD employees simply don't have the time to do everything they were required to do *and* sort through hundreds of buckets of loose nuts to ensure they were straight.

I *hated* the Crown Bolt aisle. It wouldn't have been so bad if people used the bucket that was set up to put the slosh. Nooo. People just put **** anywhere. Its not always the easiest thing in the world to tell at a glance that a 1/4 X 3 and a 1/4 X 3.5 bolt is in the wrong bin with a 3/8 X 3.

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Holy shitsnacks!

In order to avoid any accidental getting of the wrong bolts (at least in terms of diameter), I put the nuts I'm buying along with them on the bolts they go to in order to take them to the checkout counter. This also makes it easier to carry them.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

Because you have at least a semi functional set of neurons.

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Holy shitsnacks!

Not to mention that my dad (if he were still alive) would whup my *** if I came home with nuts and bolts that didn't match. When he was done my grandpa would probably start in.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

There have been explosive devices found in a HD not too long ago. Would any of you like to come clean now?

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Raell Kromwell

We spent more money at Menards than everywhere else during the cabin build. Almost all the wood that wasn't part of the kit came from there. (Thank you free delivery). All of the windows too, including the custom triangles for the solarium. Lowes came in second. Carter (local chain for you non-Ohioans) Third (due to proximity) and we might have spent a couple hundred at Home Depot.

Lowes probably has the most horror stories when it comes to dissatisfaction. This was mainly having to take multiple bathroom fixtures back multiple times because of damage. Complaints about Carter and Depot were solely about price and selection. We didn't spend as much money there by far so its not the best gauge of the last two.

Complaints about Menards had largely to do with mis-rings and mis-ships though when you spend tens of thousands of dollars that will happen. Also they were happy to fix it including picking up stuff that was shipped to us we didn't ask for.

Also after about four months of "complaining" about seeing my Dad in a Lowes hat every time he walked in, they finally sprung for a hat for him as well.

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I prefer to think of them as "Fighting evil in another dimension"

19/32 isn't a bizarre size. It's 5/8.

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Buckle your pants or they might fall down.

That's been sanded on one side.

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Holy shitsnacks!

Exactly. If I'm looking for 5/8", that means I'm looking for 5/8".

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

So go to the next aisle over, where the unsanded plywood is

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Holy shitsnacks!

Too late. I already went to Lowe's and found it.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."