Do-it-yourself dilemma

[Hawkmoon]

Between Lowe's and Home Despot, all the local lumberyards/hardware stores I used to have access to have gone out of business. There are still Ace and TrueValue stores in the county, but not convenient to me.

[Brad Johnson]

I see a McMaster-Carr account in your future.

Brad

[Hawkmoon]

I see a McMaster-Carr account in your future.

Meh.

I used to have a great fastener store, called "The Nutty Company," that was located about 15 minutes away, about a block and a half from the nearest Home Despot. I could get just about anything there. Then Home Despot opened up, and a couple of years later The Nutty Company relocated. They're now about 45 minutes away. There was also a great, locally-owned lumber yard a block away from the Home Despot location. Also gone within a year or two after Home Despot opened.

Sic transit gloria mundi.

[dogmush]

FWIW, I've had a lot of success buying assortment's online (or at Harbor Freight) when I need a bolt or two, or a nut or two.

You can get a lot of fasteners online pretty cheap if you can wait a day or two, and then you have them the next time.  I have some decent bench stock now.