Where do you guys buy your consumables from? (Roloc discs, grinding wheels, welding supplies etc) I know this is a truck forum but most of us still have shops and work on our own stuff. My family having a large dairy operation and a larger crop operation we spend almost all winter in the shop getting ready for next season. I have been buying everything at the parts store in town but it is becoming expensive ($4,000 in November at the parts store alone) and i'm beginning to wonder if there are better options. If this post is not appropriate feel free to take it down. i figure i'll try a forum i like before i go elsewhere though.
Thanks,
Dillan
dillan-
you won't get hammered for asking questions like yours. at least not at this place. i would generally like to see this in the "lounge", but this can be a IDI specific question too, soooo it can stay. if another moderator wants to move it later, they can just so things stay uncluttered.
as far as consumables, I shop around constantly. products are constantly evolving, as well as application techniques. I tend to favor locally owned independent suppliers, even if they cost a little more. why? many of my local referrals to my business is from another business I buy from. there are some things the large corporations do exceedingly well at, and I do use them too, but online/mail order if there are no local distributors.
let's use abrasive papers as an example. my local Klingspor distributor is my number 1 source for most things in bulk. BUT....let's say one of my guys was hanging out with his buddies from another shop after work and they're talking about a "new" product that currently only 3M has that cuts production time by at least half. I'll buy from whichever local supplier has the product. there's even a few door-to door salesmen who will get the nod if what they sell makes sense.
bottom line, price is not everything. an open mind is.
