I’m a young mechanical engineer, 24 years old. I started using McMaster-Carr in an internship to help redesign farm equipment that a hometown company made and sold. In that catalog, just browsing, I found perfect tools and parts for my applications that I would’ve never in a million years thought existed. From in set/lo profile rollers, to corrosion resistant heavy duty casters, to latches, to bolts of every size and rating. And everything has free downloadable 3D models.. This site singlehandedly allowed me to find my niche in the mechanical engineering world, R&D/product design roles. That’s the kind of work I wake up for in the morning and go to bed sleeping about. This “tool” has been a staple for every job I’ve had since then. So glad you enlightened the audience on this fantastic company. Thank you Adam.
Hi Jake. I started using them in '95. Bear this in mind- McMaster will sell you the item pictured and described. Not always from the same manufacturer though. In industry, my firm bought some hand tools from McMaster- carbide tipped- that we had to then mill down to work in a hybrid machine. Knipex brand, and they were cutters you could take apart with a screwdriver, and then install different internal springs. Suddenly we started getting non-carbide tipped with no manufacturer name, that were riveted together. Was a major deal. McMaster part was the same, but they changed suppliers. The 'new' tool met the description, but was not as good as the 'old' tool; essentially they had been over-delivering on that tool and we just didn't realize. Had to go find a Knipex distributor for what turned out to be a speciality cutter. But we had "always gotten those from McMaster" before. Oh well. Twice the cost from somebody else...Also, be very careful when ordering to a spec. Mil spec parts for example, can be purchased from McMaster. Things like socket head cap screws. They *meet* the mil spec in some cases, but are not *certified to* the mil spec in others. It can matter, obviously, and when a lot with the cert gets mixed in with a lot that doesn't at your company...and you must submit a First Article Inspection Report to a customer...your ISO folks can start twitching and stammering and your Quality folks start purging stock.
@@bbb462cid Hi, quality here. McMaster is incredible for getting parts, but pretty wishy-washy on paperwork. Better for paperwork than some other suppliers, though...
@@DrakonIL they only cert you get from McMaster is one that says "yep, we sold you the part number we sold you". Lot control? Ha! Mill reports? Haha! Chemical reports? HAHHAHAHAHA! IPC 620 cert to ANY class? BWAAAHHHHAHAHAHAH! Beleive me, I get it. Quality here, too. Although sometimes, you can actually get a drawing from their site that will state a spec is met, and you can trace it back via their part number. Sometimes, lol
@@bbb462cid We get a lot of mileage from their statements that their part number meets the specifications in their catalog. Wish we'd get a better RoHS statement than that, just to save time cross-checking the catalog in inspection, but it's better than nothing. Of course, when an engineer leaves the RoHS requirement on a drawing and then specifies a part from a supplier whose blanket RoHS statement specifically excludes that product line, you really want to tear your hair out. I also loved the time we got stuff that came with a slip in the package that says "Not for medical use" (not McMaster this time) and we're a med device company. Aaaarrrgggh.
As a McMaster-Carr employee, thank you so much for the love. I'm still amazed on a daily basis by things I run across I've never seen before (and some of them I have no clue what they are and have to read the description). I remember watching your video about the Apollo capsule door build and seeing all the small parts laid out in McMaster-Carr bags (which a lot of people save for storing stuff in their shops). Thanks again and keep ordering!
Best part about this is when using McMaster parts 3D models of their website in your solidworks assemblies you end up with a bill of materials you can just order when it’s time to build your design. Huge life hack/timesaver and the First thing I taught and new designer back when I did this for a living.
Been there...screws and stuff...don't make it from scratch if you don't have to...download it from McMaster and drop it in SolidWorks, and order it; or if you are close go to the will call they'll have it in about 1/2hr.
My first day in college working in the scene shop in my theatre, someone handed me the McMaster catalog and told me to put a hardware order together to replenish our stock. I finished the order and then spent another 4 hours just going through the catalog. It is the bible. Now I realize I know nothing about the company, it's history, who is behind it etc. I guess it's time for a trip down that rabbit hole. Thank you!
Good luck, I call them the illuminati of hardware stores. I can tell you it's been a family/privately owned business for over one hundred years. And that they are based out of the Chicago area. Also, McMaster and Carr were the names of the previous owners before the family that owns it now bought it in the early 1900s.
@@da-ka666 I figured there would be a RUclips doc on them the instant I searched... I found almost nothing. Haven't looked any further than that though tbh. Thanks for the info!
McMaster-Carr is like having a warehouse next door. I can order anything and it will be on my desk the next morning. Prices are a bit higher perhaps, but the quality is dependable and it is worth it. Best catalog and best website bar none.
As someone who works with 3D CAD all day, my favourite thing about their online catalog is that they have CAD drawings for everything! It can be so hard to find detailed dimensions of some small parts. Love these guys!
I watched this a couple days ago and just today I received my copy of 127. I learned about McMaster Carr when I started work on MTV's Silent Library. During that time I once spent three days straight flipping through it single page by single page. It is one of the greatest print books I have ever had the pleasure of using. Over the years l have built all kinds of crazy contraptions with nearly daily deliveries from McMaster. I bonded with my uncle who builds spacecraft headed to Mars, I don't have a lot in common professionally with a machinist from JPL, but a love and appreciation for McMaster-Carr was the overlap in our Venn diagrams. After watching this episode I promptly mailed 123 to my 8 year old nephew, and promised 126 to an old and dear friend. Thank you for putting a spotlight on my favorite tool.
Or MSC. MSC is good but their website often claims a part is in stock and it is not. McMaster has always been accurate and they get the stuff out of the warehouse ON TIME! WOOHOO!
I hate Grainger honestly. Not only do they overcharge but they specifically go out of there way to drive away non commercial clients. I went to a Graingers because they had the perfect size shipping boxes on Google shopping. When I visited the location they only sell in bundles of 5 and had only one bundle that was damaged with 3 units intact. They literally refused to sell off the 3. Stupid is stupid does 🙄
Speaking of their web presence, a few years back I consulted with their web team to help them up their CSS game, and they’re every bit as brilliant as you’d expect. They went above and beyond to recreate the experience of the physical catalog on the web**, doing things I hadn’t thought possible. And it was great to see that the company really did take good care of their employees. I became a fan as a result of that gig. ** Nerd note: This will mostly make sense to those who are web-design-savvy, but the web team essentially wrote a lightweight headless browser rendering engine to figure out how the requested page components should be sized and placed in the requesting browser window, and then custom-generated the CSS to make that happen. And they did this in the early days of the 2000s. I was blown away by what they’d accomplished.
I'm even more impressed McMaster-Carr hired Eric Meyer for CSS consulting! Game recognizes game. I've been reading your articles / books since the late 90s! And yeah, their website (and iOS app) was delightfully smooth.
I am a recently graduated mechanical engineer , I can't tell how much McMaster Carr online catalog which has CAD models which you can import into your CAD software has helped me save time and its really impressive and after watching this video I want a physical copy of this catalog so badly.
I used to work for them....it was a really great experience! Probably the best job I will have ever had. And their online catalog / app really are a cut above. Watching this love letter to the catalog made me so happy!
I had a similar experience when I was younger and I requested an Allied Electronics catalog. It's a similar size and at the time you didn't need to be a customer to be sent one and it was free. I was like a kid in a candy shop flipping through it for hours on end.
Starting off in the aerospace field at 20 i had no idea how i could ever gain the knowledge the old guys had. Then a few years in i found that catalog. In my free time i would flip to random pages and just start reading. The amount of information is mind blowing and it taught me more that i though a catalog could. I suggest to all the young engineers i work with now to just start reading and picking up random facts you might never know you needed.
I am glad to see the quality continues. My own copy of the McMaster-Carr catalog is from the mid 1980s, when my job setting up a test lab for machine tool control development and support required it. I haven't looked at it in years, but remember all the good things about it that Adam mentions. It's a shopping catalog, a reference manual, an educational textbook and a general "wish book". Now I'll have to dig it out, see what edition it is compared to Adam's 126. More nostalgia: the old Edmund Scientific catalog from the 70s and 80s.
I had never heard of the McMaster Carr Catalog before your video Adam. But of course once your video was over I head to their website and quickly understand why you did a video in their business. I love how when you click contact us, it has the normal fields and a note that they will respond within 2 hours. TWO HOURS. I'm blown away in a time when so many businesses have lost the way to truly do business and take care of the customer.
I work for McMaster and except for the boulder I think we probably have almost everything he's ever ordered from Acme (and we'd get it to him quicker).
@@KhakiShorts I'm looking forward to the news after that build. "And in other news, Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame was arrested today for violating the airspace of Coast Guard Island utilizing unlicensed projectile footwear."
The physical catalog is cool in that it's a massive book but the website is just incredible. One of the most user friendly interfaces on any website anywhere plus almost every single part has CAD drawings and 3D models which you can download and use in your CAD work. Within seconds you can find exactly what you're looking for, even the most obscure parts, and drop it right into your model to see exactly how it would look in context. Seriously one of the single most powerful tools a mechanical engineer will ever use.
I love your videos so much. I work in healthcare and its really stressful right now and I cant tell you how nice it is to relax and watch one of your videos after work. :) Your like chaotic Mr. Rogers and ots amazing.
Ayee this is where my father works! They have a HUGE variety of things and the benefits for the workers is honestly pretty great! Ps they also sell candy now? Last I saw was gum and Swedish fish? Weird.
@@jeffgayzose8129 he actually picks and packs orders. I know its not much but since my sister and I are first gen college students, they help us out financially quite a bit. I'm not too sure what the other guy is on about. They're actually one of the better companies when it comes to treating employees well... my step mom worked for granger and they were pretty hard on the warehouse employees. And we all know how amazon is...
@@julietkaltschmid8148 I'm surprised thay have people packing orders, with so many items and customers I was thinking they used robots like Amazon for packing and shipping. Thanks for sharing
I'm one of those industrial equipment people. I was the SMT for an injection department in utah. Now I'm the SMT for a LGV (laser guided vehicles) department in texas. I can say McMaster is a resource necessary for effective/efficient operation. Even if you're not ordering from them. I definitely chuckled a bit when seeing the thumbnail for this video. It really hit home. And for 3d printers its a massive tool. All parts can have detailed 3d cad models downloaded. It is a work of utter beauty.
A few years ago I was going on and on about the McMaster catalog, and my wife didn't understand the fuss. I told her it had "EVERYTHING." She said, "Oh yeah? How about tampons?" *cut to me thumbing through the index in the back* "Here you go! Would you like a box of 500? I can get you a wall-mount dispenser too!"
Back when I was but a youth, in the USN, as a Builder in the SEABEES, stationed on Guam, I managed the "tool room" at the Self Help shop, procuring all the building materials for base projects. The McMaster-Carr was my best resource, I learned so much beyond my own trade using that book. It's truly an amazing resource.
I spent 29 years in the power industry and McMaster Carr was my go to source for what we needed! Now that I have retired I still use them! I’m still amazed that I can order something and 99% of the time it will be here the next day without extra charges!
Adam!!!! Thank you Thank you Thank you. When I first got out of industrial design school in 1999 I was working for a furniture designer/maker who introduced me to the McMaster Carr catalog. My mind was utterly blown. I loved calling them with questions. I still remember the day that my boss gave me the previous years' catalog I treasure it to this day. This is where I learned everything I needed to know about clevises
I remember the first Mcmaster catalog I received. Maybe 2008-2009. It made everyone else in the shop I worked at jealous. I am a website power user and every year I donate my catalogs to friends and family.
Catalogs like this are also great for just finding out what the technical name is for a specific part. Say you've seen a thing that will help you on a project, but no idea how to even begin to search for it on Google, you can flip through the pages of the catalog, the ones that you think it might be in, and find it based on its appearance. Then you can dive deeper in the catalog or go deeper in an online search. As a working engineer in the entertainment industry, I use this ALL of the time and I have an extensive reference collection of all types of catalogs at home. I'm an electronics engineer, but I keep all sorts of catalogs because it's amazing how much of other things you can use.
Remember that myth about it being impossible to pull apart two interleaved phonebooks? Imagine that but scaled up with a pair of McMaster-Carr catalogues. :o
I work for a material handling automation supplier and we use McMaster-Carr all the time. They are truly one of the great supply houses in the world and their catalog is gold. Auto companies couldn't build vehicles without equipment like ours and we couldn't build our equipment without McMaster-Carr. 👍
2:31 - Adam flipping randomly through the catalog and naming just the items that catches his eye, here's what I heard: ruclips.net/video/sN-ZX8-IXYI/видео.html
I got my McMaster-Carr catalog on eBay because I don’t ever order enough to qualify for one, but it was the best $20 I’ve spent on eBay in a while. Their smartphone app is also exceptional. It’s the whole catalog in an ingenious flowchart kind of layout.
They are not intended for production use though. Licensing wise you are limited to using them for evaluation only. I personally guess that they don't really care about makers and hobbyists though, but something to keep in mind. And if you are worried, ask a lawyer.
@@bartvanhalder11325I dissagree, If you are a modelist, many instructions now include a MC part number and a downloadable 3d rendering that you can use to digitally match with your piece. Hows that for hobbyists and nonengineers?
@@bartvanhalder11325 Well I mean that's kinda what I figured. You print out the part you need in plastic and use it to check for fitment and such, and if it'll work, you order the real one in metal. Makes perfect sense to me. Keeps you from ordering the wrong parts and wasting time with returns.
As a buyer for manufacturing, McMaster-Carr has been a staple of my work life. Thier online ordering is fantastic. We are very lucky to have a McMaster-Carr warehouse in my county. We could get items same day, which my engineers always loved.
The wonderful thing about people like Adam Savage and Neil DeGrasse Tyson is that their excitement is so genuine that you can't help but be affected by it. Even when it's something as simple as a merchandise catalog.
Try to find an obscure part on the Grainger catalog, then find the same thing at McMaster.com. A catalog is not "simple" or "easy" at all even if McMaster.com makes it look easy.
adam, thank you. my brother is an electrician who likes to do lots of work around his new house and my dad likes to work and build stuff for my house all the time. you have given me a long term gift idea for both of them once i am well enough off financially. this was a perfect video for me.
Exactly! McMaster-Carr is useless for anyone outside of the USA... We're stuck with garbage big box retailers, or small specialist retailers that never have stock, aren't open for walk-ins (or at all on weekends!), don't have websites, or charge a fortune (and often a combination of those awful properties).
You are correct, McMaster-Carr have huge variety of products, tools, parts, etc’ One of the greatest thing is that this company have on the online catalog 2D and 3D models that for me as a mechanical designer is a huge time saver, thanks Adam
I work as a mechanical engineer in commercial machine design, and use McMaster-Carr on a weekly basis for products we design and build. Their website is, at least to everyone I've talked to, the Gold Standard of design and layout for a hardware and equipment supplier. The fact that it so closely mimics the printed catalog, as well as the fact that you can pull up and print the catalog pages, means you can actually understand and find matrices of products far better than any mere list of search results. The fact that many parts have freely downloadable solid models for parts is icing on the cake.
As a machine designer I'm a heavy user of McMaster-Carr, but Misumi has to be the #1 catalog of choice. They don't have quite as much random stuff as McMaster, but their machine components are so configurable, that I can almost design an entire machine out of it.
That is the most important catalog ever. Not only do they list parts it explains why you need them or why you need that on over another one. The list help to know all the different types but why. I can not say how many times McC has saved me, not buying but able to reference things to learn about them. Love the website but the catalog helps to learn more about everything. .
Their site ALWAYS has an open tab on every browser of every device that i use...work and home computers...work and personal cell phones. This is the best Favorite Tools vid yet. Thanks Adam!
My armament shop Chief in the Army introduced me many years ago. Life changer. I was fortunate to live and work in CA and IL near 2 of their distribution centers. Live saver!
As a former buyer in a tool and die shop, this was my bible. Their website is phenomenal, downloadable cad models are a huge win, and the quick delivery made McMaster the go to choice for me.
I love McMaster-Carr we order stuff from them all the time just for the fact they have the odd and unusual ideas and we can usually have it the next day
I was mechanic for industrial glass plant, I came across mcmaster after dealing with NALCOMIS and the Publications from the USMC for BOEING F18 structural maintenance.... Mcmaster was fucking dope man. I learned so much at 27yrs old and felt like a little kid again learning how to code for my old myspace page hahaha. I love this side of youtube.
In the electronics arena, I'd agree. But for just about anything mechanical or facilities related...I think they've got an edge. I mean Digikey don't carry coffee pots.
Adam's really right that they have some really esoteric stuff in their inventory. Just take a look at their large wrenches! I've used McMaster professionally and privately for years. The fact that they ship same day and deliver the next day is incredible.
Everything about McMaster-Carr is amazing. The breadth and width of their offerings, the fact that if you live in NYC you can get many of their products the next day (sometimes the same day you order!), these are wonderful. But in my experience, the best part about McMaster-Carr is their customer service. Their service people know everything about everything in the catalogue and they are more than happy to help you. These people are exquisitely knowledgeable. And they are super nice as well.
Hearing Adam talking about the wire rope slings and chain slings is pretty cool because the company I work for buys alot of unique products from McMaster-Carr and we actually fabricate the wire rope slings, chain slings, web slings, round slings, etc.
This is the level of nerdy about making that I love. Who doesn’t want a cup of tea looking through parts catalogues? I haven’t found anyone locally that does it too but I’m glad I’ve got you guys to geek out with.
I have been ordering from them for decades, I run all the orders for my work through my account, thousands and thousands of dollars..... I STILL don’t have a physical copy!!
This is amazing. I spend a fair amount of time watching build and home improvement videos; the content covering materials, fasteners, hardware, etc. always leaves a lot to be desired. This is going to be immensely helpful!
No kidding! I live about 60 miles from the Atlanta-area warehouse and a number of times I've ordered in the morning and gotten the shipment on my doorstep that afternoon! I guess it helps that they have UPS trucks there frequently, with a UPS hub just a couple of miles away.
Punished Props first introduced me to McMaster-Carr just back in 2020. A month later, after making my first order, this video came out. Both of your endorsements told me I found something awesome for parts and materials. Even better, I found out I live in the same state as one of their warehouses! To top that....I live less than 10 minutes away from it!!! I'm simply a hobbyist maker but I order from them all the time for specific or unique items They even let me pick up my orders from the warehouse myself to save on shipping costs! It is the best and they have greatly changed the way I can make things!
I looked high and low all over the internet for shims for my bandsaw... if only I had known about McMaster Carr. Thanks Adam, most useful tool so far :-)
As Mechanical Maintenance Planner for a utility, I couldn't have done my job without the McMaster-Carr catalog on my desk. If they don't have it, you don't need it, truly One Stop Shopping.
I have literally spent hours browsing their online catalog for the same reason you say - the educational aspect. I love reading through all their engineering descriptions. I have had to use them a lot at work and it's just. Awesome.
i was in high school work experience when one of the engineers handed me this 2inch catalog for "blackwoods". he told me it is a great honour to have one so early in life. i try to explain this to my friends but no one understands just how cool it truly is
Been ordering from McMaster since 1984. The most amazing thing is a quote I saw in one of their books that said 96% of our products ship within eight hours.
McMaster-Carr is the absolute BEST! I am very blessed to live near the headquarters, outside Chicago, which means... most orders placed before 9am result in SAME DAY delivery. Their website has CAD drawings as well. An amazing resource.
McMaster-Carr's online catalog: www.mcmaster.com/
McMaster-Carr's mobile app catalog: www.mcmaster.com/mobileapps/
I have the app, and the Grainger industrial supply app
As a bonus, the online catalog also offers 3D models of most of their hardware.
I've been using ULINE for years!.. Thanks tho it's nice to have resources ya know.. "If I cant find it in one..." =)
The mcmaster app is awesome 😎
Thanks for posting this just downloaded the app. Way cool
A patron sent me a McMaster-Carr catalog and I am now the envy of the three people I know who understand its majesty.
I’m a young mechanical engineer, 24 years old. I started using McMaster-Carr in an internship to help redesign farm equipment that a hometown company made and sold. In that catalog, just browsing, I found perfect tools and parts for my applications that I would’ve never in a million years thought existed. From in set/lo profile rollers, to corrosion resistant heavy duty casters, to latches, to bolts of every size and rating. And everything has free downloadable 3D models.. This site singlehandedly allowed me to find my niche in the mechanical engineering world, R&D/product design roles. That’s the kind of work I wake up for in the morning and go to bed sleeping about. This “tool” has been a staple for every job I’ve had since then. So glad you enlightened the audience on this fantastic company. Thank you Adam.
Hi Jake. I started using them in '95. Bear this in mind- McMaster will sell you the item pictured and described. Not always from the same manufacturer though. In industry, my firm bought some hand tools from McMaster- carbide tipped- that we had to then mill down to work in a hybrid machine. Knipex brand, and they were cutters you could take apart with a screwdriver, and then install different internal springs. Suddenly we started getting non-carbide tipped with no manufacturer name, that were riveted together. Was a major deal. McMaster part was the same, but they changed suppliers. The 'new' tool met the description, but was not as good as the 'old' tool; essentially they had been over-delivering on that tool and we just didn't realize. Had to go find a Knipex distributor for what turned out to be a speciality cutter. But we had "always gotten those from McMaster" before. Oh well. Twice the cost from somebody else...Also, be very careful when ordering to a spec. Mil spec parts for example, can be purchased from McMaster. Things like socket head cap screws. They *meet* the mil spec in some cases, but are not *certified to* the mil spec in others. It can matter, obviously, and when a lot with the cert gets mixed in with a lot that doesn't at your company...and you must submit a First Article Inspection Report to a customer...your ISO folks can start twitching and stammering and your Quality folks start purging stock.
@@bbb462cid Hi, quality here. McMaster is incredible for getting parts, but pretty wishy-washy on paperwork. Better for paperwork than some other suppliers, though...
my short stent as an engineer (yay covid but I turn wrenches on space stuff now) yep! I stole quite a few CAD models lol
@@DrakonIL they only cert you get from McMaster is one that says "yep, we sold you the part number we sold you". Lot control? Ha! Mill reports? Haha! Chemical reports? HAHHAHAHAHA! IPC 620 cert to ANY class? BWAAAHHHHAHAHAHAH! Beleive me, I get it. Quality here, too. Although sometimes, you can actually get a drawing from their site that will state a spec is met, and you can trace it back via their part number. Sometimes, lol
@@bbb462cid We get a lot of mileage from their statements that their part number meets the specifications in their catalog. Wish we'd get a better RoHS statement than that, just to save time cross-checking the catalog in inspection, but it's better than nothing.
Of course, when an engineer leaves the RoHS requirement on a drawing and then specifies a part from a supplier whose blanket RoHS statement specifically excludes that product line, you really want to tear your hair out. I also loved the time we got stuff that came with a slip in the package that says "Not for medical use" (not McMaster this time) and we're a med device company. Aaaarrrgggh.
As a McMaster-Carr employee, thank you so much for the love. I'm still amazed on a daily basis by things I run across I've never seen before (and some of them I have no clue what they are and have to read the description). I remember watching your video about the Apollo capsule door build and seeing all the small parts laid out in McMaster-Carr bags (which a lot of people save for storing stuff in their shops). Thanks again and keep ordering!
Best part about this is when using McMaster parts 3D models of their website in your solidworks assemblies you end up with a bill of materials you can just order when it’s time to build your design. Huge life hack/timesaver and the First thing I taught and new designer back when I did this for a living.
Been there...screws and stuff...don't make it from scratch if you don't have to...download it from McMaster and drop it in SolidWorks, and order it; or if you are close go to the will call they'll have it in about 1/2hr.
A few months ago at my University, I found one in the trash. Someone just discarded it, thinking it was meaningless. It was such sacrilege.
My first day in college working in the scene shop in my theatre, someone handed me the McMaster catalog and told me to put a hardware order together to replenish our stock. I finished the order and then spent another 4 hours just going through the catalog. It is the bible. Now I realize I know nothing about the company, it's history, who is behind it etc. I guess it's time for a trip down that rabbit hole. Thank you!
They are located in .
L.A. called them many times to order parts.
Good luck, I call them the illuminati of hardware stores. I can tell you it's been a family/privately owned business for over one hundred years. And that they are based out of the Chicago area. Also, McMaster and Carr were the names of the previous owners before the family that owns it now bought it in the early 1900s.
@@da-ka666 I figured there would be a RUclips doc on them the instant I searched... I found almost nothing. Haven't looked any further than that though tbh. Thanks for the info!
If "Every Tool is a Hammer" that book would be a mallet!!
A mallet that is somehow also a store where you can buy a hammer
Ha!
@@tested cast it in resin and put a hammer handle on it.
Sledgehammer!
It's got the weight for it.
McMaster-Carr is like having a warehouse next door. I can order anything and it will be on my desk the next morning.
Prices are a bit higher perhaps, but the quality is dependable and it is worth it. Best catalog and best website bar none.
The slap of hefty catalogue against a workbench when you finally remember what part you needed to order.
As someone who works with 3D CAD all day, my favourite thing about their online catalog is that they have CAD drawings for everything! It can be so hard to find detailed dimensions of some small parts. Love these guys!
I’ve really been enjoying spending my weird 2020 geeking out about tools and machining with Adam.
I watched this a couple days ago and just today I received my copy of 127. I learned about McMaster Carr when I started work on MTV's Silent Library. During that time I once spent three days straight flipping through it single page by single page. It is one of the greatest print books I have ever had the pleasure of using. Over the years l have built all kinds of crazy contraptions with nearly daily deliveries from McMaster. I bonded with my uncle who builds spacecraft headed to Mars, I don't have a lot in common professionally with a machinist from JPL, but a love and appreciation for McMaster-Carr was the overlap in our Venn diagrams. After watching this episode I promptly mailed 123 to my 8 year old nephew, and promised 126 to an old and dear friend. Thank you for putting a spotlight on my favorite tool.
I present you the “bible of parts”
we call them "sacred texts"
The bible for materialism. Be careful not to let science-fiction become your religion or things become your god.
@@Chungustav That's not what materialism is. And if you want to bleat on about materialism, look to the Joel Osteens of this world.
LOL, bibles be jealous of McMaster's truth, accuracy & utility.
@@kwanarchive No doubt. What a scammer that guy is. His suits must cost a fortune! Talk about a fake.
Cheers
Me: *never going to order from that catalogue ever*
Also me: I need that
Am I going to spend ten minutes watching Adam Savage doddle around a catalog? You bet I am!
f*ck yeah! Totally with you! Ill bring the popcorn
Heck no. I'll spend 4 and a quarter at double-speed and use the rest to go browse mine.
It felt like 2 minutes
Makes even the most seemingly of boring of things sound interesting!
Love the McMaster-Carr catalog! The 9 downvotes must be from Grainger employees?
McMaster blows Grainger out of the water. No comparison.
Cheers
Grainger is SO expensive.
@@dubba07 yup it sure is.
Or MSC. MSC is good but their website often claims a part is in stock and it is not. McMaster has always been accurate and they get the stuff out of the warehouse ON TIME! WOOHOO!
I hate Grainger honestly. Not only do they overcharge but they specifically go out of there way to drive away non commercial clients. I went to a Graingers because they had the perfect size shipping boxes on Google shopping. When I visited the location they only sell in bundles of 5 and had only one bundle that was damaged with 3 units intact. They literally refused to sell off the 3. Stupid is stupid does 🙄
Speaking of their web presence, a few years back I consulted with their web team to help them up their CSS game, and they’re every bit as brilliant as you’d expect. They went above and beyond to recreate the experience of the physical catalog on the web**, doing things I hadn’t thought possible. And it was great to see that the company really did take good care of their employees. I became a fan as a result of that gig.
** Nerd note: This will mostly make sense to those who are web-design-savvy, but the web team essentially wrote a lightweight headless browser rendering engine to figure out how the requested page components should be sized and placed in the requesting browser window, and then custom-generated the CSS to make that happen. And they did this in the early days of the 2000s. I was blown away by what they’d accomplished.
I'm even more impressed McMaster-Carr hired Eric Meyer for CSS consulting! Game recognizes game. I've been reading your articles / books since the late 90s! And yeah, their website (and iOS app) was delightfully smooth.
I am a recently graduated mechanical engineer , I can't tell how much McMaster Carr online catalog which has CAD models which you can import into your CAD software has helped me save time and its really impressive and after watching this video I want a physical copy of this catalog so badly.
Love this catalog one of the reasons I went into engineering. My uncle left his book out and I was 12 I found it to be amazing.
I used to work for them....it was a really great experience! Probably the best job I will have ever had. And their online catalog / app really are a cut above. Watching this love letter to the catalog made me so happy!
If you don't mind me asking. Why did you leave?
we had to move / I got this idea in my head that I should use my degree- that did not end up working out lol
What a predicament. You never know how things work out.@@chelseajewell9291
I had a similar experience when I was younger and I requested an Allied Electronics catalog. It's a similar size and at the time you didn't need to be a customer to be sent one and it was free. I was like a kid in a candy shop flipping through it for hours on end.
Starting off in the aerospace field at 20 i had no idea how i could ever gain the knowledge the old guys had. Then a few years in i found that catalog. In my free time i would flip to random pages and just start reading. The amount of information is mind blowing and it taught me more that i though a catalog could. I suggest to all the young engineers i work with now to just start reading and picking up random facts you might never know you needed.
I am glad to see the quality continues. My own copy of the McMaster-Carr catalog is from the mid 1980s, when my job setting up a test lab for machine tool control development and support required it. I haven't looked at it in years, but remember all the good things about it that Adam mentions. It's a shopping catalog, a reference manual, an educational textbook and a general "wish book". Now I'll have to dig it out, see what edition it is compared to Adam's 126.
More nostalgia: the old Edmund Scientific catalog from the 70s and 80s.
If you can't built it out of stuff in the McMaster-Carr catalogue, it wasn't worth building in the first place.
OR you have invented something new!
@@3.k thats’s what I was going to say, unless you make something that goes into the catalog
It would be difficult to buy everything needed to make the catalog from the catalog itself...mind blown
Yeah but their sh** can get so expensive
I had never heard of the McMaster Carr Catalog before your video Adam. But of course once your video was over I head to their website and quickly understand why you did a video in their business. I love how when you click contact us, it has the normal fields and a note that they will respond within 2 hours. TWO HOURS. I'm blown away in a time when so many businesses have lost the way to truly do business and take care of the customer.
This seems like the real world equivalent to the Acme catalogue Wile E Coyote was always ordering from.
It is. It really is.
I work for McMaster and except for the boulder I think we probably have almost everything he's ever ordered from Acme (and we'd get it to him quicker).
@@KhakiShorts I looked on the website but couldn't find the rocket skates. Maybe I need a paper copy. :)
Merennulli Oh, sorry. I meant we have all the parts to build them from scratch. Maybe that can be Adams next one day build. 😀
@@KhakiShorts I'm looking forward to the news after that build. "And in other news, Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame was arrested today for violating the airspace of Coast Guard Island utilizing unlicensed projectile footwear."
McMaster-carr and Misumi are my first stops when seeing if anything specific can be bought. Such a great resource.
Greatest catalog ever.....I have ordered them for many, many years!
Ahhhh. Nice to be surrounded by so many fellow catalogue junkies - thank you Adam.
The physical catalog is cool in that it's a massive book but the website is just incredible. One of the most user friendly interfaces on any website anywhere plus almost every single part has CAD drawings and 3D models which you can download and use in your CAD work. Within seconds you can find exactly what you're looking for, even the most obscure parts, and drop it right into your model to see exactly how it would look in context. Seriously one of the single most powerful tools a mechanical engineer will ever use.
I love your videos so much. I work in healthcare and its really stressful right now and I cant tell you how nice it is to relax and watch one of your videos after work. :) Your like chaotic Mr. Rogers and ots amazing.
Ayee this is where my father works! They have a HUGE variety of things and the benefits for the workers is honestly pretty great! Ps they also sell candy now? Last I saw was gum and Swedish fish? Weird.
Does your dad think they're cruel, heartless people too?
What dose he do there?
@@jeffgayzose8129 he actually picks and packs orders. I know its not much but since my sister and I are first gen college students, they help us out financially quite a bit. I'm not too sure what the other guy is on about. They're actually one of the better companies when it comes to treating employees well... my step mom worked for granger and they were pretty hard on the warehouse employees. And we all know how amazon is...
@@julietkaltschmid8148 I'm surprised thay have people packing orders, with so many items and customers I was thinking they used robots like Amazon for packing and shipping. Thanks for sharing
@@julietkaltschmid8148 your dad is essential!!! The company couldn’t operate without him. ❤️
I'm one of those industrial equipment people. I was the SMT for an injection department in utah. Now I'm the SMT for a LGV (laser guided vehicles) department in texas. I can say McMaster is a resource necessary for effective/efficient operation. Even if you're not ordering from them. I definitely chuckled a bit when seeing the thumbnail for this video. It really hit home. And for 3d printers its a massive tool. All parts can have detailed 3d cad models downloaded. It is a work of utter beauty.
A few years ago I was going on and on about the McMaster catalog, and my wife didn't understand the fuss. I told her it had "EVERYTHING." She said, "Oh yeah? How about tampons?" *cut to me thumbing through the index in the back* "Here you go! Would you like a box of 500? I can get you a wall-mount dispenser too!"
Hysterical!!😄😄
Back when I was but a youth, in the USN, as a Builder in the SEABEES, stationed on Guam, I managed the "tool room" at the Self Help shop, procuring all the building materials for base projects. The McMaster-Carr was my best resource, I learned so much beyond my own trade using that book. It's truly an amazing resource.
On the farm we call it the "Yellow Bible" lol
I spent 29 years in the power industry and McMaster Carr was my go to source for what we needed! Now that I have retired I still use them! I’m still amazed that I can order something and 99% of the time it will be here the next day without extra charges!
I was recently introduced to the Misumi USA catalog. 4000 glorious pages of gears, bearings, and other mechanical parts.
Adam!!!! Thank you Thank you Thank you. When I first got out of industrial design school in 1999 I was working for a furniture designer/maker who introduced me to the McMaster Carr catalog. My mind was utterly blown. I loved calling them with questions. I still remember the day that my boss gave me the previous years' catalog I treasure it to this day. This is where I learned everything I needed to know about clevises
I remember the first Mcmaster catalog I received. Maybe 2008-2009. It made everyone else in the shop I worked at jealous. I am a website power user and every year I donate my catalogs to friends and family.
Can I be your friend?
@@johnglave7958 Sure.
Catalogs like this are also great for just finding out what the technical name is for a specific part. Say you've seen a thing that will help you on a project, but no idea how to even begin to search for it on Google, you can flip through the pages of the catalog, the ones that you think it might be in, and find it based on its appearance. Then you can dive deeper in the catalog or go deeper in an online search. As a working engineer in the entertainment industry, I use this ALL of the time and I have an extensive reference collection of all types of catalogs at home. I'm an electronics engineer, but I keep all sorts of catalogs because it's amazing how much of other things you can use.
Remember that myth about it being impossible to pull apart two interleaved phonebooks? Imagine that but scaled up with a pair of McMaster-Carr catalogues. :o
Its no myth though, even works with small (by that i mean number of pages) books;) try it!
Blasphemy
@@dr.doppeldecker3832 oh absolutely. I used to do it to my colleagues postit note decks
I work for a material handling automation supplier and we use McMaster-Carr all the time. They are truly one of the great supply houses in the world and their catalog is gold. Auto companies couldn't build vehicles without equipment like ours and we couldn't build our equipment without McMaster-Carr. 👍
2:31 - Adam flipping randomly through the catalog and naming just the items that catches his eye, here's what I heard:
ruclips.net/video/sN-ZX8-IXYI/видео.html
That’s great, thanks for the link!
I love browsing through hardware stores as well, and this is the Hymn for makers. :)
Lol, even at that speed, it would take Weird Al several days to rap the entire McMaster-Carr catalog
This! This comment wins! That is exactly what that catalog is.
Thank you for this! I knew I couldn't be the only one!
Never heard that song before - love it! Thanks for the link.
I got my McMaster-Carr catalog on eBay because I don’t ever order enough to qualify for one, but it was the best $20 I’ve spent on eBay in a while. Their smartphone app is also exceptional. It’s the whole catalog in an ingenious flowchart kind of layout.
Didn't even talk about the fact that they give out free 3d printable models of all of their parts
I had no idea, that's awesome.
They are not intended for production use though. Licensing wise you are limited to using them for evaluation only. I personally guess that they don't really care about makers and hobbyists though, but something to keep in mind. And if you are worried, ask a lawyer.
@@bartvanhalder11325 or it isn't as strong. Plus they could make a sale later as well
@@bartvanhalder11325I dissagree, If you are a modelist, many instructions now include a MC part number and a downloadable 3d rendering that you can use to digitally match with your piece. Hows that for hobbyists and nonengineers?
@@bartvanhalder11325 Well I mean that's kinda what I figured. You print out the part you need in plastic and use it to check for fitment and such, and if it'll work, you order the real one in metal. Makes perfect sense to me. Keeps you from ordering the wrong parts and wasting time with returns.
As a buyer for manufacturing, McMaster-Carr has been a staple of my work life. Thier online ordering is fantastic. We are very lucky to have a McMaster-Carr warehouse in my county. We could get items same day, which my engineers always loved.
The wonderful thing about people like Adam Savage and Neil DeGrasse Tyson is that their excitement is so genuine that you can't help but be affected by it. Even when it's something as simple as a merchandise catalog.
Try to find an obscure part on the Grainger catalog, then find the same thing at McMaster.com. A catalog is not "simple" or "easy" at all even if McMaster.com makes it look easy.
adam, thank you. my brother is an electrician who likes to do lots of work around his new house and my dad likes to work and build stuff for my house all the time. you have given me a long term gift idea for both of them once i am well enough off financially. this was a perfect video for me.
Meanwhile in Australia: Bunnings... "Do you have screws?" "Ummm... not sure. Maybe over there near the paint."
Gotta go to the small specialist retailers. RS components isnt bad. Thats a 2 inch thick catalogue.
Exactly! McMaster-Carr is useless for anyone outside of the USA... We're stuck with garbage big box retailers, or small specialist retailers that never have stock, aren't open for walk-ins (or at all on weekends!), don't have websites, or charge a fortune (and often a combination of those awful properties).
ha - yes, and in the States, see also: Home Depot
You are correct, McMaster-Carr have huge variety of products, tools, parts, etc’
One of the greatest thing is that this company have on the online catalog 2D and 3D models that for me as a mechanical designer is a huge time saver, thanks Adam
I get my Catalog Every year! I love McMaster-Carr. Not the cheapest option but I'm close to one and they offer same-day delivery if you order by Noon.
Wanna get rid of an old 1?
@@Ty_N_KC same here. I buy from them a few times a year. Would love to have a catalog
@@swandonovan I believe you can buy them on eBay if you're really looking for one
Are you in L.A? They are located there.
Cheers
@@Ty_N_KC If I still have my old one sitting. I will gladly get rid of it
I work as a mechanical engineer in commercial machine design, and use McMaster-Carr on a weekly basis for products we design and build. Their website is, at least to everyone I've talked to, the Gold Standard of design and layout for a hardware and equipment supplier. The fact that it so closely mimics the printed catalog, as well as the fact that you can pull up and print the catalog pages, means you can actually understand and find matrices of products far better than any mere list of search results. The fact that many parts have freely downloadable solid models for parts is icing on the cake.
That was a go-to when I was a service manager for a repair company.
As a machine designer I'm a heavy user of McMaster-Carr, but Misumi has to be the #1 catalog of choice. They don't have quite as much random stuff as McMaster, but their machine components are so configurable, that I can almost design an entire machine out of it.
RIP Grant.
That is the most important catalog ever. Not only do they list parts it explains why you need them or why you need that on over another one. The list help to know all the different types but why.
I can not say how many times McC has saved me, not buying but able to reference things to learn about them. Love the website but the catalog helps to learn more about everything. .
@3:38 When the briefcase full of diamonds arrived--compliments of McMaster-Carr's CEO.
Their site ALWAYS has an open tab on every browser of every device that i use...work and home computers...work and personal cell phones. This is the best Favorite Tools vid yet. Thanks Adam!
PS...you can download the STEP files from the site and 3d print some parts that are printable. Youre welcome. lol
The solar car team I am apart uses the Mcmaster Carr's website for a lot of the materials!
McMaster Carr is amazing!!
Found this video the day I got my first catalog! You never know when they show up. 127 just appeared in my office and my day was made.
In the late 90's I was gifted one, I still have it today as I never order enough to get my own new one.
OMG I'm watching Big Hero 6, and I just noticed that near the end of the movie, Hiro has the McMaster-Carr catalog on his shelf in the background.
7:12 Adam licks his right pointer, then proceeds to turn the page with his left hand. I DO THIS ALL THE TIME.
My armament shop Chief in the Army introduced me many years ago. Life changer.
I was fortunate to live and work in CA and IL near 2 of their distribution centers. Live saver!
Another one I like is the Machinery's Handbook Toolbox by Industrial Press. It’s currently on 31st edition.
As a former buyer in a tool and die shop, this was my bible. Their website is phenomenal, downloadable cad models are a huge win, and the quick delivery made McMaster the go to choice for me.
I love McMaster-Carr we order stuff from them all the time just for the fact they have the odd and unusual ideas and we can usually have it the next day
I was mechanic for industrial glass plant, I came across mcmaster after dealing with NALCOMIS and the Publications from the USMC for BOEING F18 structural maintenance....
Mcmaster was fucking dope man. I learned so much at 27yrs old and felt like a little kid again learning how to code for my old myspace page hahaha. I love this side of youtube.
Was just on the phone with McMaster-Carr today placing an order! Would love one of these!
Adam thank you for continuing to make videos for all us builders out there.
The old days, it used to be the sears catalog.
Now its McMaster Carr.
One of the fastest delivery services available too.
I think digikey is the only one that has them beat. Everything is next day shipping.
In the electronics arena, I'd agree. But for just about anything mechanical or facilities related...I think they've got an edge. I mean Digikey don't carry coffee pots.
Adam, Just turned 70 (still 26 at heart) and I heard you use a word I have never heard before !!! Compendium ! Love ALL your videos !
Adam's really right that they have some really esoteric stuff in their inventory. Just take a look at their large wrenches! I've used McMaster professionally and privately for years. The fact that they ship same day and deliver the next day is incredible.
Everything about McMaster-Carr is amazing. The breadth and width of their offerings, the fact that if you live in NYC you can get many of their products the next day (sometimes the same day you order!), these are wonderful. But in my experience, the best part about McMaster-Carr is their customer service. Their service people know everything about everything in the catalogue and they are more than happy to help you. These people are exquisitely knowledgeable. And they are super nice as well.
Back in the day The RS catalogue. I took up a whole shelf by its self . I forget how many volumes.
That and Element 14 / Farnell. Required reading of any technically-minded person. Also, the much-missed Maplin catalogue
@@BottleBass1977 Yes, I miss the Maplin Catalogue.
Aw man, I remember reading through the Maplin catalogues and planning what I could build!
@@CamTarn Yep, the Maplin catalogue to a 13-year old electronics noob was like nirvana. Sooo many kits!
Hearing Adam talking about the wire rope slings and chain slings is pretty cool because the company I work for buys alot of unique products from McMaster-Carr and we actually fabricate the wire rope slings, chain slings, web slings, round slings, etc.
Now I have a new goal, be sent a catalog
*few are chosen...fewer are worthy*
Good luck with that! I quit trying after 10 years... If you don't buy $10,000 or more a year from them, they're really not interested.
@@paulfeist do they have a credit line 😂
@@paulfeist *not likely to happen then... that's a LOT of chicken nuggets and french fries*
@@scottmantooth8785 I know, right? Took me a few years to make peace with the idea that a company didn't want to do business with me.
This is the level of nerdy about making that I love. Who doesn’t want a cup of tea looking through parts catalogues? I haven’t found anyone locally that does it too but I’m glad I’ve got you guys to geek out with.
I have been ordering from them for decades, I run all the orders for my work through my account, thousands and thousands of dollars..... I STILL don’t have a physical copy!!
Now you are giving away my secrets! Next day delivery of anything to complete a job like a magician! Love it!
When you're expecting a delivery and the door bell in the video is the same as home 😔
I worked in the maintenance department of a big hotel. I loved looking through the Granger and Mc master catalogs and drooling over the stuff.
Welp, there goes the rest of my Tuesday [opens new browser tab]
This is amazing. I spend a fair amount of time watching build and home improvement videos; the content covering materials, fasteners, hardware, etc. always leaves a lot to be desired. This is going to be immensely helpful!
should have said something about the unbelievable shipping times!
No kidding! I live about 60 miles from the Atlanta-area warehouse and a number of times I've ordered in the morning and gotten the shipment on my doorstep that afternoon! I guess it helps that they have UPS trucks there frequently, with a UPS hub just a couple of miles away.
Punished Props first introduced me to McMaster-Carr just back in 2020. A month later, after making my first order, this video came out. Both of your endorsements told me I found something awesome for parts and materials. Even better, I found out I live in the same state as one of their warehouses! To top that....I live less than 10 minutes away from it!!! I'm simply a hobbyist maker but I order from them all the time for specific or unique items They even let me pick up my orders from the warehouse myself to save on shipping costs! It is the best and they have greatly changed the way I can make things!
As a swede I get Elfa vibes of that catalog. Great stuff! 😎
Yupp, hours has been spent in the Elfa catalog, many times without ordering anything!
Elfa is awesome!
I looked high and low all over the internet for shims for my bandsaw... if only I had known about McMaster Carr. Thanks Adam, most useful tool so far :-)
That book always makes my wallet hurt.
As Mechanical Maintenance Planner for a utility, I couldn't have done my job without the McMaster-Carr catalog on my desk. If they don't have it, you don't need it, truly One Stop Shopping.
Sears catalog of old for the maker,
I have literally spent hours browsing their online catalog for the same reason you say - the educational aspect. I love reading through all their engineering descriptions. I have had to use them a lot at work and it's just. Awesome.
I dare somebody to edit the video to The Twelve Days of Christmas song!
I loved browsing my Dad’s McMaster-Carr catalogs as a kid growing up!! Thanks for the walk down memory lane!!
grandma approved
i was in high school work experience when one of the engineers handed me this 2inch catalog for "blackwoods". he told me it is a great honour to have one so early in life. i try to explain this to my friends but no one understands just how cool it truly is
Been ordering from McMaster since 1984. The most amazing thing is a quote I saw in one of their books that said 96% of our products ship within eight hours.
McMaster-Carr is the absolute BEST! I am very blessed to live near the headquarters, outside Chicago, which means... most orders placed before 9am result in SAME DAY delivery. Their website has CAD drawings as well. An amazing resource.