For want of a screw (not that kind)

On 11/6/2012 11:50 AM, MJ wrote: ...

Can't think it can be _that_ unusual; certainly they didn't dream up a non-standard size (even if it isn't terribly common)

Surely there's a thread gauge at the Fastenal or hardware or auto parts store that you could use to determine the size/thread pitch if you can't just from a parts bin???

I'd venture if a common machine screw doesn't fit it's metric (and actually I'd have ventured that as a guess, anyway).

Reply to
dpb
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dpb wrote in news:k7bm2p$k6k$ snipped-for-privacy@speranza.aioe.org:

*snip*

My standard procedure is to try the usual sizes, and if they don't fit or the fit is sloppy to give metric sizes a try.

Puckdropper

Reply to
Puckdropper

If the thread size is any where near standard your local hardware store should be able to supply that. Or go in and start trying different sizes. What you may be running into is an odd pitch size and or a different kind of thread, for instance an acme thread.

Reply to
Leon

But if it's a metric screw it isn't an odd size at all.

DeWalt sell to a world market. Why should they make a special version for you Yanks just because you still live in the dark ages and insist on using old fashioned imperial size screws?

Reply to
Stuart

DeWalt appreciates the fact the we Yanks can still work with fractions. They dumb it down for those that can only figure out whole numbers.

Reply to
Leon

Reply to
Stuart

Excellent excuse to buy a metal lathe - at least a small one. Then you can make your own screws !

Reply to
HeyBub

Well that would work but the screw that holds the the carbide bit would be missing. ;~((

Reply to
Leon

Excellent excuse to buy a metal lathe - at least a small one. Then you can make your own screws ! ======================================================================================== To make the screw, he would have to know the specs on the original. If he knew that, he could go down to the hardware store and buy one.

Reply to
CW

Re:"shipping/handling costs on purchase" Using this concept, why shouldn't a grocery store have a lot of hidden charges added at the register? Trucking/shipping - local and often international Electricity, wages from manager to cart boys, etc. Property taxes... No, the price is as stated - Tomatoes - $0.88 per lb. The store has to accurately project its costs and incorporate that into what the customer sees as a final price. Otherwise, why not sell everything at a penny apiece and throw in the markups at the register? And, 'oh, you want the bleach bagged?' 'and separately from the meat, at that?' - that's extra. I don't think so. Makes price shopping easy. Shipping - where we used to think of FedEx and UPS delivery involving the nice guy getting out of a truck and handing us a package, both have something now that involves 'final delivery by USPS'. I got one yesterday from a popular WWing store via 'UPS Surepost'. The package appears to have transferred carriers about 50 miles from here - the same town the trucks come from that pass my house twice a day. Go figure. Got a FedEx one last week the same way. Since I tracked it and knew about where it should be, I even checked with the drivers during two deliveries next door. It came in the mail two days later. Last- bought an air tool that in the catalog showed a quick connect on it and one was not included in the box. The company wanted me to FedEx it back (their expense) and ship me another when it got there. This part costs less than a dollar. After two hours on the phone with India and one hour with a US rep, I convinced the guy it was in in his company's best interest to mail me the part. Companies could immensely reduce their overhead by getting employees to think. End of rant. Thank you.

Reply to
Joe

Joe store have a lot of hidden charges added at

The store has to project the cost of doing business in to the price charged for an item. This is true. It also has a limit to possible costs of doing business. Throw in another one that was not in the original equation and the net profit goes down. And while on the subject, have you seen any price increases at the grocery store?

This has been common for a few years now. This method of shipping is used when "the slow boat from China" method of shipment is selected. :-)

A heads up here. Many manufacturers want to see the original packaging to help determine cause. If the retailer does not supply this he gets no credit for the return of improperly packaged merchandise. If you contact the manufacturer directly they get the reason directly from you and will normally ship the missing part to you. Have you ever seen the statement with certain merchandise that says that if you have a missing part or problem with the product to not return it to the place of purchase and call the manufacturer direct for the solution? Retailers could provide all of this information back to the manufacturer and some do with each and every item that has a problem but then that increases the cost of doing business and price increases.

We certainly do not have to like the reasoning but you can rest assured that you are not the first to suggest a different way a company should conduct an aspect of their business. They get plenty of suggestions and some are taken and used. Most are not cost effective.

Reply to
Leon

End of rant. Thank you.

Not a specific criticism intended here but from an economics perspective:

When it comes to transactions, I look at total opportunity costs... My time is worth way more than the $.33/hr "earned" by spending 3 hours on the phone to gain the air fitting. If I didn't happen to have a fitting laying around I'd drive to the local hardware store and buy one. I'd also probably buy a couple extras for "inventory" as I will likely need one again in the future. In my case that would be about 2 miles round trip, maybe 15 minutes of my time and, including the cost of operating my vehicle, about $4.50 expenses. My time is worth way more than the $1.50/hr it cost me to solve the problem ($4.50 against 3 hours on the phone).

I try not to cut off my nose to spite my face... even if on principle the other party was wrong. I'd rather solve the problem and use the tool sooner rather than later at the lowest opportunity cost...

As an aside, assuming this thread is a continuation of the one from a while back, personally I'd probably make a screw if there were none to be had and I had a sample of what is needed... Again, it would be cheaper in terms of opportunity costs to make one than to spend hours/days trying to find one.

When it comes to postage and handling charges, especially for items not available locally, the opportunity costs of obtaining the item by other means, such as driving to another town, would likely exceed the postage and handling charges. At which point those charges are a comparative bargain. If they are still deemed too high then the question becomes do you actually need whatever it is you are ordering...?

What may change the opportunity cost equation is the amount of discretionary time you have available. I know one retired guy who spends days and weeks looking for things to save a couple dollars... he doesn't have anything else to do. He has also been known to go to multiple car dealerships, test drive cars and light trucks and haggle deals with no intention of buying anything. He likes the game and it kills time... I know another retired guy whom has $millions and has more money every month due to his investment income. He "shops" constantly for the latest PC equipment for possible use with his music (his only vice), drives a Prius, and uses Happy Jack for his phone... It isn't that he lacks money, it's that he is looking for the lowest cost of ownership and he has lots of time to kill. Keeping their minds active and filling up time is their primary goal to the point of it being an almost obsessive compulsion. Perhaps this is something to aspire too... beats the Hell out of what I see other retired guys do... sit around, drink, and complain. ;~)

John

Reply to
John Grossbohlin

On Wed, 09 Jan 2013 13:41:49 GMT, Joe store have a lot of hidden charges added at

Like the $0.01 products on eBay with $23.99 shipping fees, for a 2 ounce part?

They're not in business to make it easier for us to shop. But good companies do it because it brings in more customers.

Yeah, I get a lot of those nowadays. Evidently, the USPS is learning how to save money (imagine that!) by using other carriers.

Only the better companies know how to do the extremely efficient and very INexpensive advertising called "good customer service". It results in many more orders over the years. Lee Valley, LL Bean, and Nordstrom are 3 exceptional companies who practice it.

-- All I want is a warm bed, a kind word, and U N L I M I T E D P O W E R ! --anon

Reply to
Larry Jaques

----------------------------------------------------------------- Increases in food costs are real and directly attributable to the price of corn which finds it's place in many places in the food chain.

Last year's corn crop took a hit due to drought in many areas.

Drought can be attributed to global warming affecting the weather patterns.

Global warming is making a better case each day it is the result of excess CO2.

Sooner or later, it's going to really bite us in the ass if we don't get serious and do something about it.

Off the box.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

How about the $1 thing (an iPod wire) that was shipped from HK, for free, but required a signature? The note in my mailbox had no details at all, so I swing by the post office Saturday morning and sign, Only when I see the envelope did I realize that was what it was.

Reply to
JoeTaxpayer

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