Had a business trip to Milwaukee in 1998. I played hookie from the tradeshow and went for a drive. I remember trying to find American Surplus, using a folded map in my lap. Bought a GPS built into a serial port mouse body, and I also got a rubber chicken.
Back in the 90's American Science and Surplus published a thick catalog. Several of the items had made up names because the salespeople didn't know where they were from. I recall seeing an item listed as "elastic band from King Kong's underwear." Another item was heatsinks listed as DIY meat tenderizers
AS&S had a lot of funny and exaggerated descriptions of the items they sell. I really enjoyed the catalog and shopping the store, lots of funny descriptions. I’ve shopped both Axman and AS&S, the latter has a lot more new stuff, the 3d mirror bowl was always funny to look at, do they still have those? The flying monkey slingshot? The boxing nun puppet? Ah good times. The Axman always is playing music an the pa, it’s always very obscure and entertaining. My favorite thing was the life sized cutout of Sly from the Family Stone. Someone wrote out a story about Ed McMann and about him “making eyes” at Sly, it was hilarious.
American Science and Surplus also has a modern website with a huge inventory and quick shipping. I buy from them several times a year and didn't even realize that I used to live in driving range of a store.
Their paper catalog is a hoot; great fun to browse and select from. I, too, didn't realize that I live in driving distance of AS&S near Milwaukee. And Ax-Man in St. Paul! OMG yes, I remember afternoons there with my Dad in the early 70's!
@@hamadilawson4471 they have several stores, in St. Paul and suburbs of Minneapolis. St. Louis Park, Fridley. I’ve always been a tinkerer, so AS&S, when I lived in Park Ridge, and Axman just a few miles away in St. Paul have been a great source of parts and inspiration over the years. St. Paul also had a store called Crazy Louie’s, though it closed back in the 1980’s. One year I made my brother in law a leg lamp, like in The Christmas Story movie. Got the leg from Axman, fishnet stockings from the sex store down the block. Great fun.
@@hamadilawson4471 chicago? Sweet. I don't live there currently, I'm in TN unfortunately but I'm from Champaign Ill and dying to go to UI for grad school after I get done here. That's still a couple of years away but if it's still there, its the first place I'm going lol!
Ooh I will check this out right away! Thanks for the tip, although I still really want to go to the actual store one day. I'm a neuroscience student and I'm in love with this place already lol
Living in England, finding places like this are now so hard to come by. I remember in 'youth' (c.1980s) you could pick and choose, now, even the high street is empty of big brands. I'm glad to see its not the case that everything is 'death by mall' - i could spend hours wandering around this place.
was about to comment the same too. never seen any kind of stor like this personally here. I did recently find an oldish used computer/tech store about an hour from where I live. It got new old stock from the 2000s and every laptop ever made as well as all sorts of cool accessories. The guy even gave me a couple old laptops when I said i tinkered with stuff and said it might be a fun project. really wish there where more places run by such legends as buying stuff on the internet takes all the fun from these sorts of hobbies.
I used to frequent the American Science and Surplus store in Geneva, IL. Now I live in Milwaukee and was so happy to be around their store again! So much fun stuff!! They're great people! Totally Love A.S.S.!
That Geneva store was originally on Northwest Highway in Park Ridge. My dad took me there in the late 1950s and 1960s. My dad was the ultimate nerd before nerd were cool. Took my own kids to the Geneva store where they always made me buy the MYSTERY BOX. They learned quickly that was a losing game.
Used to go to the chicago store every week growing up, building robotics. Got spooked when they got ahold of a bunch of spicy radium-dialed oxygen gauges, at least one of which was broken and peppering the bin with powder. It was funny that they disappeared from their offerings a week after they started carrying reasonably sensitive geiger counters.
I remember those pressure gauges . Got a tew of them for geiger counter testers. They were far from the hottest item though. A big lens they had and the DU tank projectiles they had really made the geiger couter buzz.
Been going to AS&S since I was a kid. Essential childhood memories. Now I’m about 10 minutes away. Get to stop in every few months. It’s an amazing place to brainstorm, come up with creative solutions, and find essentials. As others have mentioned, the catalog is also legendary.
Man! I was the assistant manager at the St. Paul Ax-Man ca.2010 and make sure I go there every time I’m in town. I had no idea there was an AmSciSur in Wisconsin. The Chicago one is a little past its prime in the new location, but still amazing.
Glad you took the time to check out the science surplus store in Milwaukee. It's been the store I go to since grade school when my science teacher took us there after going to the science museum in Milwaukee for a field trip we also stopped at some of the weird pet shops there also. .
I've been to wisconsin twice; and both times we made trips here... and both times loaded stuff and shipped it back home! We even made it to the (Just over the line) headquarters for their big annual sale, coincidentally.... I hope to get to check out an Ax-man store at some point!
anytime im in the milwaukee area i love to drop by this place, always find something for a project (also prices are awesome), and i do miss stores like this, sure i can buy random stuff on amazon, but i find it better to physically see things around me to get ideas.
Here in London UK there was a large store like this in the Tottenham Court Road I used to frequent late 1960's. It gained fame in that slap bang in the middle of its window one day was the guidance system of the Bloodhound surface to air missile which just so happened to be on the top secret list. Happy days.
My dad and Aunt would take me to the American Science and Surplus in suburban Chicagoland every few months when I was growing up. I was a computer kid in the 90s and they had the stuff we could afford lol. Sadly, most have closed and there's nothing close-by anymore. Glad you got to experience it!
I used to love stores like this when I was a kid in the 80's. There were so many 'diamonds in the rough' that I could find. I could spend days in here. Thx for sharing.
I remember one of the Illinois stores in the 1970's was like walking into the Edmund Scientific catalog. I don't know if they were affiliated in those days but they carried a lot of Edmund products.
Man its a real shame that Mendelsons in Dayton, Ohio closed. It was a multistory warehouse FULL of crazy stuff. The first floor was all restaurant and office buyouts, so you could get a massive gas range, glass front fridge, office chairs and desks, etc. Then the other floors were all machinery they had bought from places that went out of business. So you could buy parts, or whole machines. There were boxes full of parts, equipment, electronics, all sorts of stuff. Then they just had a couple of old guys that would price things for you based on whatever they thought it was worth. Rumor has it there was an entire helicopter in pieces on one of the floors.
The store next door to this one Lost World of Wonders may as well just be a part 2 to this. I've been going to this specific science and surplus for decades. Absolutely amazing place. Their main warehouse is down in Illinois and there's a few more locations down that way too. Always worth a trip.
We went to the comic shop next door, maybe that's the same one? I had to keep myself from buying ovscure Star Trek action figures that I would just hoard in a box somewhere 😅
That's the one! They used to sell arcade machine components too years ago. Not sure if they still do. Built a ton of MAME machines over the years from parts gathered between each.
...you went to my heaven without having to die?! I am from the hudson valley new york area and I never knew places like this actually still exist! its amazing, I could spend hours and hours looking in a place like that, it just gives one so many new ideas for projects! Thanks for sharing!
I love this store. Pretty lucky to be a local. Was actually just talking to a work friend about how this is one of the only stores I really care to spend time browsing. Always get things I had no idea I needed until I saw them on the shelf. Their website used to feel like one of those old catalogs with hand drawn illustrations and quirky descriptions. More modern and functional these days.
A guy that I used to work with went to this store on a regular basis. He was a full-time high school chemistry teacher and worked at a computer retail store part-time, which is where I met and worked with him. I lost touch with this wonderful guy after the computer store went out of business. This was all quite a while ago now as we are talking back half of the 80s to the early 90s. I know that he very much loved this store! And I do think of him from time to time and hope all well.
The (now) wife took me to that place just once 20+ years ago before we moved cross country, and the memory of the place stuck with me. They had these little 'late model' stock-car toys slightly smaller than micro machines but they had more correct proportions (n-scale?) and detailed livery. I still have one of my little parts-drawers dedicated to the stupid toy cars I bought a fistfull of that day. 🤣
Oh man, I miss AS&S! It was so great when I lived down that way. Such a fun store to go to for an afternoon...and yea, I couldnt walk out of there empty handed either!
So, I drive truck and go within 2 miles of this place every week and never knew it. Today I stopped in there and mentioned your video and the lady working knew exactly who I was talking about!
Awesome video. Always an adventure going into a variety store like that or a mercantile, just to see what they have. Most of the times, you don't know what you need until you get and see it .once again, I'd like to thank you for taking us on another one of your adventures. Please don't stop creating this content so that we may view it for the rest of our lives.
Used to frequent the one on the NW side of the Chicago. Always a great shopping time. Really good for stuff like lab glass. Good to see them get any attention.
amazing to see a store with such interesting merchandise . I would probably spend hours looking and buying electronics from there as well as being a daily customer . Thanks for the video , or eye candy in this case !
It's interesting that so many folks miss the paper catalogues associated with these types of stores. I liked to flick through the RS catalogue and similar and often they'd inspire ideas for small projects or even just inform that certain things existed! I'm not sure that scrolling is an adequate substitute. I wish those old paper catalogues hadn't disappeared... Oh well.
I love that store and I order from them a lot. I love all that neat stuff. I get their catalog in the mail, but live to far away to visit the store. Thanks for sharing!
0:45 Yes, we have one out in the ‘burbs of Chicago, but it’s a smaller store than the one shown in this video. It still has pretty much the same variety of items though.
Been to the Milwaukee store many times. I also receive their catalog every month. If you buy something out of the catalog you are on their catalog mailing list for about six months. Always a welcome treat in my mailbox!!!
@@7000fps Indeed I see on the website that it now looks differently than when I was there... it used to be on a corner and the flying saucer was on the corner of the building. Moving such a place sounds like a nightmare! Good that they pulled it off, wonder how much inventory was discarded then.
Used to give their catalog a lot of business, never knew they had stores. 4-5 decades ago there was a catalog/store in Peabody, MA called Poly-Paks that was a Godsend for young electronics hobbiests on a budget, similar vibe.
Minnesotan here, haven't been to Axman yet but seen commercials. Looks like a fun place. I used to have fun mapping out pawn shops and making a day of going to a bunch of them. I'm out of space though and no money to get more space to put stuff into no matter how good a buy it is. So that's on hold for a while.
Yes back in the early 2000s's I lived in the Midway area in St. Paul.. I would be down I would sometime wonder in to Axe Man . (Or I needed to try to find a part or something) but The sign and art alone would cheer me up. a lot of them were just so funny the androgenic hummer was so great fun! I agree if you see it there and you want it grab it then because when it gone (usually) it is gone! Thank you for this awesome look at another great surplus store.
I remember poring over the American Science and Surplus catalogs back in the 80s. It had fun, whimsical descriptions and illustrations. I never thought about a brick and mortar store. I wish I lived closer so I could visit.
Used to live in Menomonee Falls, nice to see they still have some of the same stuff they did 19 years ago. I remember picking up a bunch of child sized body bags, made great garment bags and freaked people out pretty good.
You really have to flip through one of their catalogs. They are great. I still call this the "new" location. Mom took me to the original 54th and Layton location. My eyes were wide as saucers. It was this giant building.
That looks fun! The AS&S closest to me in the north Chicago burbs moved a couple years back and got more kit and class friendly, at the cost of the random weird stuff. But I’ve found some neat glass pieces there for building lanterns and such.
Stores like this are so amazing! There was, up until about a year ago, a local one called Acme Surplus that was nowhere near as good as Ax Man or AS&S, but it had been around since the 80s and I was really sad to hear that it had closed. They had a lot more art stuff, office supplies, and miscellaneous super-low-quality junk than really cool surplus like they might have back in the day, but it was still worth a visit. I even went on a date there once! Alas, all the good surplus stores have long been gutted by the likes of eBay and, as their owners age out, are closing left and right.
We use to have one of these in Orland Park, Il and me, my brother, and my cousin used to visit it every once in a while after Saturday bowling league. I loved this place. Used to pick up little electronic kits to build and modify for props. Built my first Proton Pack with the robot blinker kit. When they removed that store, I was sad. Now I have to go to Niles and Geneva to get my random crap fix.
Its a fun place to visit to just kill time & find things you dont need, or things you need that you didnt know existed. They used to also have an annual tent sale around Labor Day where they would sell alot of "Surplus" stuff really cheap. Even at Christmas they are a go to for White Elephant gifts, and funny Christmas ornaments like a squirrel in underpants or gravy flavored candy canes. It can really stimulate the brain going in there!
In Phoenix there is Apache Reclamation, or there was, I moved. A football field inside, 3 outside. From lab equipment to room sized x-ray machines, industrial electronics, and anything else you can think of. Good times.
I'm about a half hour north AS&S. I've also been to the Geneva IL, store. If you ever make it to Saint Louis, you need to check out Gateway Electronics. I'm told there is an electronics store with neat stuff in Kenosha WI, but I've never been there.
We used to have some stores like this around, one was a military surplus store and the other was an ag supply/hardware/metal/gov surplus store. The military suprlus store closed 15 years ago and the other one has transitioned over to selling just new stuff. But atleast they are still around at all. Back in the old days my granddad built his entire farm using stuff he bought from these places, motors, hydraulics, steel pipe, etc. You use to be able to go and buy entire pallets of mixed tools per lb.
Oh no! Now I have to do a road trip to Milwaukee! I'm already a Frequent Flyer at Ax-Man (St Paul & Minnetonka). I remember going to Ax-Man and commenting that nothing was missing since my last visit there but I never leave without a rubber chicken & a muffin fan! I'll wave at ya if I can get my head up out of the aisles lol.
Worked there for 7 years as an assistant mgr for the Geneva, IL location. We had a bunch of teachers drive out to us from Indiana on a school holiday, so fun. We were also very close to Pheasant Run before it closed and burned and they would have ham radio conventions there and Delorean conventions too. We knew because they would all end up in the AmSci store afterward. The Geneva location is also close to Fermilab as well and has collaborated alot with people from Fermilab and even contributed alot of parts to their scarecrow for the St.Charles Scarecrowfest You leave there with more than things, you leave with ideas
Been getting their catalog for years! Never knew there was an actual store until now. (Won't do me much good; I live in Florida) Cool catalog, cool place. This is the store that sells stuff you didn't know you needed until you found out it exists. And they sell it!
If you come back to Wisconsin come check out Delaney's. It sounds like Ax Man. It's about 30 minutes from Madison and it has an awesome cyberpunk looking scrap iron park next door. It was on American Pickers!
I am in Ohio, so no chance to visit these stores, but I have ordered stuff off of American Science Surplus for years. I have bought leds for arduino projects and teaching stuff for my GED students. Axman sounds terrific, too. But I love American Science Surplus so much.
Cool. I want to live there. I didnt realize they had physical locations. I mail ordered all my parts from them, MPJA, and all electronics co. as a kid.
When I was a kid in the 80's this was the place my brother and I went on our birthdays. They used to carry more serious military surplus back then. I remember coming home with inactive antipersonnel cluster bombs. They were like 5 bucks and it looked cool. My dad had alot of questions for my mom after that trip lolol. "WHAT is THAT?!?!"
I've driven through this area probably 100 times over the years and I never knew it existed. Going to Fondie from Indiana and I've never really stopped to check out the interesting places on the way there and I wish I would have. Wisconsin is in my top 5 states by far.
Hi from Tennessee, When I was a residence in Illinois, I often visited one of the store in West Chicago. I loved tinker many of stuff there. Missed vising there! Oh, sorry, by the way (B.T.W.) they have a rare powerful earth magnets, it is no joke.
Yeah, I was blown away that they have old broadcast decks too. Stuff I would have LOVED 20 years ago. I think they have DVCPro decks. They had 3/4" u-matic decks in the past too. They are REALLY beat up, but still.
It's not midwest by any stretch, but if you ever find yourself in Orlando Florida we have a place called Skycraft that's a lot like this. Electronics parts, weird items, last time I was there I bought an entire Dell mini desktop computer (2018 model, perfectly usable on light tasks) for only $25.
Happy to see one such place exists somewhere. I remember my buddy and I going to a place called "Weird Stuff" in San Jose (California) in the mid 2000s. I would spend many hours there. Managed to pick up stuff for my storm chasing equipment I'd never find anywhere else. Sadly, they tore the place down. Along with the Frys Electronics there. And built costly urban rental apartments in its place. So sad...
I love this store. I go to one in Illinois. I remember the first time I walked into one with my uncle, I couldn't help but spend hours just going through everything. Science and surplus is great, I wish there were more stores like this. I need to visit it again and start a new project! 🔭🧪 Thanks again for another great video
Had a business trip to Milwaukee in 1998. I played hookie from the tradeshow and went for a drive. I remember trying to find American Surplus, using a folded map in my lap. Bought a GPS built into a serial port mouse body, and I also got a rubber chicken.
The rubber chicken was well worth it!
Back in the 90's American Science and Surplus published a thick catalog. Several of the items had made up names because the salespeople didn't know where they were from. I recall seeing an item listed as "elastic band from King Kong's underwear." Another item was heatsinks listed as DIY meat tenderizers
They still send out a paper catalogue regularly. I love this company!
I got their latest this past week. Their site is great.
Used to get that in the mail
when I had the Print Shop
AS&S had a lot of funny and exaggerated descriptions of the items they sell. I really enjoyed the catalog and shopping the store, lots of funny descriptions.
I’ve shopped both Axman and AS&S, the latter has a lot more new stuff, the 3d mirror bowl was always funny to look at, do they still have those? The flying monkey slingshot? The boxing nun puppet? Ah good times.
The Axman always is playing music an the pa, it’s always very obscure and entertaining.
My favorite thing was the life sized cutout of Sly from the Family Stone. Someone wrote out a story about Ed McMann and about him “making eyes” at Sly, it was hilarious.
i used to obsess over this catalog!
I live down the block from American Science and Surplus, and I am there all the time. Love that place! Glad you got to see it!
@@DaliwolfBacon Me too! I'm out towards New Berlin. Love that place.
@Tiger_Pumper Oh get out! Small world!
American Science and Surplus also has a modern website with a huge inventory and quick shipping. I buy from them several times a year and didn't even realize that I used to live in driving range of a store.
Their paper catalog is a hoot; great fun to browse and select from.
I, too, didn't realize that I live in driving distance of AS&S near Milwaukee.
And Ax-Man in St. Paul! OMG yes, I remember afternoons there with my Dad in the early 70's!
There's also a location north of Chicago. I believe it's Park ridge. Where is Ax-man?
@@hamadilawson4471 they have several stores, in St. Paul and suburbs of Minneapolis. St. Louis Park, Fridley. I’ve always been a tinkerer, so AS&S, when I lived in Park Ridge, and Axman just a few miles away in St. Paul have been a great source of parts and inspiration over the years. St. Paul also had a store called Crazy Louie’s, though it closed back in the 1980’s.
One year I made my brother in law a leg lamp, like in The Christmas Story movie. Got the leg from Axman, fishnet stockings from the sex store down the block. Great fun.
@@hamadilawson4471 chicago? Sweet. I don't live there currently, I'm in TN unfortunately but I'm from Champaign Ill and dying to go to UI for grad school after I get done here. That's still a couple of years away but if it's still there, its the first place I'm going lol!
Ooh I will check this out right away! Thanks for the tip, although I still really want to go to the actual store one day. I'm a neuroscience student and I'm in love with this place already lol
For the record I would watch a 6 hour video no problem. I LOVE this stuff!
...same
🤤
We don't have those in Europe... I'm drooling over their stock
Living in England, finding places like this are now so hard to come by. I remember in 'youth' (c.1980s) you could pick and choose, now, even the high street is empty of big brands. I'm glad to see its not the case that everything is 'death by mall' - i could spend hours wandering around this place.
I was thinking exactly the same, I wish we had places like this
Tandy? Remember those in 80's
was about to comment the same too. never seen any kind of stor like this personally here. I did recently find an oldish used computer/tech store about an hour from where I live. It got new old stock from the 2000s and every laptop ever made as well as all sorts of cool accessories. The guy even gave me a couple old laptops when I said i tinkered with stuff and said it might be a fun project. really wish there where more places run by such legends as buying stuff on the internet takes all the fun from these sorts of hobbies.
Same in the Netherlands... It's a shame...
In Mankchester in the 1970s/80s we had new cross radio. I still have things from there.
I used to frequent the American Science and Surplus store in Geneva, IL. Now I live in Milwaukee and was so happy to be around their store again! So much fun stuff!! They're great people! Totally Love A.S.S.!
That Geneva store was originally on Northwest Highway in Park Ridge. My dad took me there in the late 1950s and 1960s. My dad was the ultimate nerd before nerd were cool. Took my own kids to the Geneva store where they always made me buy the MYSTERY BOX. They learned quickly that was a losing game.
An all-time FAVORITE store for the last 45 years. So much so now my son & grandson go there
I live in Milwaukee and I didn't even know the store was still open, it is a nerd Paradise.
Used to go to the chicago store every week growing up, building robotics. Got spooked when they got ahold of a bunch of spicy radium-dialed oxygen gauges, at least one of which was broken and peppering the bin with powder. It was funny that they disappeared from their offerings a week after they started carrying reasonably sensitive geiger counters.
I still have a couple of those.
I remember those pressure gauges . Got a tew of them for geiger counter testers. They were far from the hottest item though. A big lens they had and the DU tank projectiles they had really made the geiger couter buzz.
Been going to AS&S since I was a kid. Essential childhood memories. Now I’m about 10 minutes away. Get to stop in every few months. It’s an amazing place to brainstorm, come up with creative solutions, and find essentials. As others have mentioned, the catalog is also legendary.
Man! I was the assistant manager at the St. Paul Ax-Man ca.2010 and make sure I go there every time I’m in town. I had no idea there was an AmSciSur in Wisconsin. The Chicago one is a little past its prime in the new location, but still amazing.
Glad you took the time to check out the science surplus store in Milwaukee. It's been the store I go to since grade school when my science teacher took us there after going to the science museum in Milwaukee for a field trip we also stopped at some of the weird pet shops there also. .
We used to get their catalog years ago. I remember as a kid being stuck inside on rainy days pouring over those catalogs. Some of my fondest memories.
Me too
Very cool, looks like the shelves don’t end! Lots of interesting stuff to see, impossible to leave without something. Thanks for sharing!
I've been to wisconsin twice; and both times we made trips here... and both times loaded stuff and shipped it back home! We even made it to the (Just over the line) headquarters for their big annual sale, coincidentally.... I hope to get to check out an Ax-man store at some point!
anytime im in the milwaukee area i love to drop by this place, always find something for a project (also prices are awesome), and i do miss stores like this, sure i can buy random stuff on amazon, but i find it better to physically see things around me to get ideas.
Here in London UK there was a large store like this in the Tottenham Court Road I used to frequent late 1960's. It gained fame in that slap bang in the middle of its window one day was the guidance system of the Bloodhound surface to air missile which just so happened to be on the top secret list. Happy days.
😅🛠🤝👍
My dad and Aunt would take me to the American Science and Surplus in suburban Chicagoland every few months when I was growing up. I was a computer kid in the 90s and they had the stuff we could afford lol. Sadly, most have closed and there's nothing close-by anymore. Glad you got to experience it!
As a kid, my hobby was collecting mail order catalogs. This place was by far my favorite catalog! Thanks for sharing your trip to their store!
Edmund Scientific was also very cool.
I used to go to American Science and Surplus all of the time back in the day. There was always something weird to find.
How have I never heard of these kinds of wonderful places?
My next road trip.
I used to love stores like this when I was a kid in the 80's. There were so many 'diamonds in the rough' that I could find. I could spend days in here. Thx for sharing.
really awesome! thank you for bringing this to all of us..I didn't know ax-man even existed...-John
I remember one of the Illinois stores in the 1970's was like walking into the Edmund Scientific catalog. I don't know if they were affiliated in those days but they carried a lot of Edmund products.
Man its a real shame that Mendelsons in Dayton, Ohio closed. It was a multistory warehouse FULL of crazy stuff. The first floor was all restaurant and office buyouts, so you could get a massive gas range, glass front fridge, office chairs and desks, etc. Then the other floors were all machinery they had bought from places that went out of business. So you could buy parts, or whole machines. There were boxes full of parts, equipment, electronics, all sorts of stuff. Then they just had a couple of old guys that would price things for you based on whatever they thought it was worth. Rumor has it there was an entire helicopter in pieces on one of the floors.
Ive seen pictures of that place i wouldn't be surprised if it was 2 helicopters in parts strewn all over
I would love more stores like this. I prefer to get things in person.
The store next door to this one Lost World of Wonders may as well just be a part 2 to this. I've been going to this specific science and surplus for decades. Absolutely amazing place. Their main warehouse is down in Illinois and there's a few more locations down that way too. Always worth a trip.
We went to the comic shop next door, maybe that's the same one? I had to keep myself from buying ovscure Star Trek action figures that I would just hoard in a box somewhere 😅
That's the one! They used to sell arcade machine components too years ago. Not sure if they still do. Built a ton of MAME machines over the years from parts gathered between each.
And next to Lost World of Wonders, is a thrift store but a high end one as thrift stores go!
In portland, Oregon we had a store like this called Wacky Wllies Surplus. Sadly closed in 2006.
...you went to my heaven without having to die?! I am from the hudson valley new york area and I never knew places like this actually still exist! its amazing, I could spend hours and hours looking in a place like that, it just gives one so many new ideas for projects! Thanks for sharing!
Cool stuff! I wish they had these shops in Europe.
I love this store. Pretty lucky to be a local. Was actually just talking to a work friend about how this is one of the only stores I really care to spend time browsing. Always get things I had no idea I needed until I saw them on the shelf. Their website used to feel like one of those old catalogs with hand drawn illustrations and quirky descriptions. More modern and functional these days.
A guy that I used to work with went to this store on a regular basis. He was a full-time high school chemistry teacher and worked at a computer retail store part-time, which is where I met and worked with him. I lost touch with this wonderful guy after the computer store went out of business. This was all quite a while ago now as we are talking back half of the 80s to the early 90s. I know that he very much loved this store! And I do think of him from time to time and hope all well.
I absolutely love that store and grew up going there with my dad. That place has a little bit of everything! Cool video, welcome to Milwaukee!
The (now) wife took me to that place just once 20+ years ago before we moved cross country, and the memory of the place stuck with me. They had these little 'late model' stock-car toys slightly smaller than micro machines but they had more correct proportions (n-scale?) and detailed livery. I still have one of my little parts-drawers dedicated to the stupid toy cars I bought a fistfull of that day. 🤣
Oh man, I miss AS&S! It was so great when I lived down that way. Such a fun store to go to for an afternoon...and yea, I couldnt walk out of there empty handed either!
So, I drive truck and go within 2 miles of this place every week and never knew it. Today I stopped in there and mentioned your video and the lady working knew exactly who I was talking about!
Awesome!
My daughter and I love that store! Any time we make it back home I always try to stop in, but I do get get the catalog frequently to order from.
I wish I'd know of Ax-Man when I was in Minneapolis visiting family late last year. It would have made a fun day out.
Also stop at Ginko coffee shop and check out their gift area.
I live down the block from here! LOVE this store. Hasn’t changed a bit in years!
Awesome video. Always an adventure going into a variety store like that or a mercantile, just to see what they have. Most of the times, you don't know what you need until you get and see it .once again, I'd like to thank you for taking us on another one of your adventures. Please don't stop creating this content so that we may view it for the rest of our lives.
Used to frequent the one on the NW side of the Chicago.
Always a great shopping time. Really good for stuff like lab glass.
Good to see them get any attention.
Those sine-wave rafters remind me of the elementary school I went to. When they rebuilt & modernized it almost 40 years ago, they reused some of them.
amazing to see a store with such interesting merchandise .
I would probably spend hours looking and buying electronics from there as well as being a daily customer .
Thanks for the video , or eye candy in this case !
Years ago I use to get their catalogs.. totally forgot about this store. Thank you for the video!
It's interesting that so many folks miss the paper catalogues associated with these types of stores. I liked to flick through the RS catalogue and similar and often they'd inspire ideas for small projects or even just inform that certain things existed! I'm not sure that scrolling is an adequate substitute. I wish those old paper catalogues hadn't disappeared... Oh well.
I ordered toys from their catalog pre internet, cool to see they are still around
I love that store and I order from them a lot. I love all that neat stuff. I get their catalog in the mail, but live to far away to visit the store. Thanks for sharing!
0:45 Yes, we have one out in the ‘burbs of Chicago, but it’s a smaller store than the one shown in this video. It still has pretty much the same variety of items though.
Been to the Milwaukee store many times. I also receive their catalog every month. If you buy something out of the catalog you are on their catalog mailing list for about six months. Always a welcome treat in my mailbox!!!
Having American Science in the city is a godsend
Long ago I visited Skycraft Surplus near Orlando, FL. Now that store had a lot of surplus!
There also were similar stores in CA that I visited...
Skycraft has moved a few miles over in Orlando. cool place
@@7000fps Indeed I see on the website that it now looks differently than when I was there... it used to be on a corner and the flying saucer was on the corner of the building.
Moving such a place sounds like a nightmare!
Good that they pulled it off, wonder how much inventory was discarded then.
Loved visiting this store as a youth in the 90's. Where else could a 12 year old get a boxing nun puppet and a box of 80 empty pipets in one location!
😅
Used to give their catalog a lot of business, never knew they had stores. 4-5 decades ago there was a catalog/store in Peabody, MA called Poly-Paks that was a Godsend for young electronics hobbiests on a budget, similar vibe.
I remember poly-paks, tried to place an order but they went bust from the time I got the catalog and the time I placed the order, around 1 month.
Minnesotan here, haven't been to Axman yet but seen commercials. Looks like a fun place. I used to have fun mapping out pawn shops and making a day of going to a bunch of them. I'm out of space though and no money to get more space to put stuff into no matter how good a buy it is. So that's on hold for a while.
So cool! I used to love their catalog, too far to visit the store. Thanks for this video.
Yes back in the early 2000s's I lived in the Midway area in St. Paul.. I would be down I would sometime wonder in to Axe Man . (Or I needed to try to find a part or something) but The sign and art alone would cheer me up. a lot of them were just so funny the androgenic hummer was so great fun! I agree if you see it there and you want it grab it then because when it gone (usually) it is gone! Thank you for this awesome look at another great surplus store.
I remember poring over the American Science and Surplus catalogs back in the 80s. It had fun, whimsical descriptions and illustrations. I never thought about a brick and mortar store. I wish I lived closer so I could visit.
Used to live in Menomonee Falls, nice to see they still have some of the same stuff they did 19 years ago. I remember picking up a bunch of child sized body bags, made great garment bags and freaked people out pretty good.
One of my first mail order stores from when i was a child. I visited once about twenty years ago.
This was the only place that sold magnet wire, it was helpful to see the wire in person instead of a screen.
I agree, I find it hard to buy certain things just based on the written specs, I have to eyeball it!
You really have to flip through one of their catalogs. They are great.
I still call this the "new" location.
Mom took me to the original 54th and Layton location. My eyes were wide as saucers. It was this giant building.
I think this backdrop looks a lot better! keep up the great work.
That looks fun! The AS&S closest to me in the north Chicago burbs moved a couple years back and got more kit and class friendly, at the cost of the random weird stuff. But I’ve found some neat glass pieces there for building lanterns and such.
I'm Milwaukee area and love this place! ThanX for sharing.
Stores like this are so amazing! There was, up until about a year ago, a local one called Acme Surplus that was nowhere near as good as Ax Man or AS&S, but it had been around since the 80s and I was really sad to hear that it had closed. They had a lot more art stuff, office supplies, and miscellaneous super-low-quality junk than really cool surplus like they might have back in the day, but it was still worth a visit. I even went on a date there once! Alas, all the good surplus stores have long been gutted by the likes of eBay and, as their owners age out, are closing left and right.
I grew up going to this place all the time with my dad growing up. I’m pretty sure I gained consciousness in this store as it’s my earliest memory
We use to have one of these in Orland Park, Il and me, my brother, and my cousin used to visit it every once in a while after Saturday bowling league. I loved this place. Used to pick up little electronic kits to build and modify for props. Built my first Proton Pack with the robot blinker kit. When they removed that store, I was sad. Now I have to go to Niles and Geneva to get my random crap fix.
Never even knew about this place! Next time I venture over to the east coast I will have to check it out!
I've been going to AS&S since they were on Layton Ave. At least once a month I stop in there to pick up stuff for projects.
Its a fun place to visit to just kill time & find things you dont need, or things you need that you didnt know existed. They used to also have an annual tent sale around Labor Day where they would sell alot of "Surplus" stuff really cheap. Even at Christmas they are a go to for White Elephant gifts, and funny Christmas ornaments like a squirrel in underpants or gravy flavored candy canes. It can really stimulate the brain going in there!
In Phoenix there is Apache Reclamation, or there was, I moved. A football field inside, 3 outside. From lab equipment to room sized x-ray machines, industrial electronics, and anything else you can think of. Good times.
I'm about a half hour north AS&S. I've also been to the Geneva IL, store.
If you ever make it to Saint Louis, you need to check out Gateway Electronics.
I'm told there is an electronics store with neat stuff in Kenosha WI, but I've never been there.
We used to have some stores like this around, one was a military surplus store and the other was an ag supply/hardware/metal/gov surplus store. The military suprlus store closed 15 years ago and the other one has transitioned over to selling just new stuff. But atleast they are still around at all. Back in the old days my granddad built his entire farm using stuff he bought from these places, motors, hydraulics, steel pipe, etc. You use to be able to go and buy entire pallets of mixed tools per lb.
In the late 90s, i bought some vintage Fallout Shelter signs from their catalog. They came in wax paper and seemed genuine.
They are, I still have one.
I bought one of those signs from them back in the 90's. Cost like $8.95. They are a lot more than that now, if you can find one.
This is literally the coolest store I have ever seen
Oh no! Now I have to do a road trip to Milwaukee! I'm already a Frequent Flyer at Ax-Man (St Paul & Minnetonka). I remember going to Ax-Man and commenting that nothing was missing since my last visit there but I never leave without a rubber chicken & a muffin fan! I'll wave at ya if I can get my head up out of the aisles lol.
I loved going to these stores. Jefferson park chicago and West Chicago Illinois. I also used to visit a place called "Creative Reuse" as an artist.
I think I made one order back in high school. I pored over their catalogs and showed them to friends.
Worked there for 7 years as an assistant mgr for the Geneva, IL location.
We had a bunch of teachers drive out to us from Indiana on a school holiday, so fun.
We were also very close to Pheasant Run before it closed and burned and they would have ham radio conventions there and Delorean conventions too.
We knew because they would all end up in the AmSci store afterward.
The Geneva location is also close to Fermilab as well and has collaborated alot with people from Fermilab and even contributed alot of parts to their scarecrow for the St.Charles Scarecrowfest
You leave there with more than things, you leave with ideas
Been getting their catalog for years! Never knew there was an actual store until now. (Won't do me much good; I live in Florida)
Cool catalog, cool place. This is the store that sells stuff you didn't know you needed until you found out it exists. And they sell it!
There's a really cool surplus store in Florida called Sky Craft. They've had some interesting aerospace related surplus before.
I have taken MANY trips to the Chicago store!!
If you come back to Wisconsin come check out Delaney's. It sounds like Ax Man. It's about 30 minutes from Madison and it has an awesome cyberpunk looking scrap iron park next door. It was on American Pickers!
That's a cool place. They have some great deals there but also some things that are just as expensive as new retail.
I am in Ohio, so no chance to visit these stores, but I have ordered stuff off of American Science Surplus for years. I have bought leds for arduino projects and teaching stuff for my GED students. Axman sounds terrific, too. But I love American Science Surplus so much.
I used to order from here thru catalog in the mid 90s! Cool stuff, hasn't changed.
Liking the new set. Well done!
Yooo I went to AS&S in Milwaukee when visiting my grandparents not long ago! Nearly bought a Finnish mountaineer hat.
Cool. I want to live there. I didnt realize they had physical locations. I mail ordered all my parts from them, MPJA, and all electronics co. as a kid.
Their ceramic coffee mugs with the light blue or orange insides are very sturdy. They never chip. Also their Amish soap is good.
When I was a kid in the 80's this was the place my brother and I went on our birthdays. They used to carry more serious military surplus back then. I remember coming home with inactive antipersonnel cluster bombs. They were like 5 bucks and it looked cool. My dad had alot of questions for my mom after that trip lolol. "WHAT is THAT?!?!"
you need to visit The Yard, in Wichita Kansas. lots of cool stuff and project materials! 😊
good to see you here, personal favorite of mine
I used to read the American Science & Surplus catalog cover-to-cover.
Delany's surplus near North Freedom WI
I've driven through this area probably 100 times over the years and I never knew it existed. Going to Fondie from Indiana and I've never really stopped to check out the interesting places on the way there and I wish I would have. Wisconsin is in my top 5 states by far.
Stop by there then go to Oscar's on 108th for a burger, rings, and custard.
Hi from Tennessee, When I was a residence in Illinois, I often visited one of the store in West Chicago. I loved tinker many of stuff there. Missed vising there! Oh, sorry, by the way (B.T.W.) they have a rare powerful earth magnets, it is no joke.
Wild, man! Saw some AV switchers, if I’m right. Great place!
Thanks for the tour 🏴☠️
Yeah, I was blown away that they have old broadcast decks too. Stuff I would have LOVED 20 years ago.
I think they have DVCPro decks. They had 3/4" u-matic decks in the past too. They are REALLY beat up, but still.
It's not midwest by any stretch, but if you ever find yourself in Orlando Florida we have a place called Skycraft that's a lot like this. Electronics parts, weird items, last time I was there I bought an entire Dell mini desktop computer (2018 model, perfectly usable on light tasks) for only $25.
Happy to see one such place exists somewhere. I remember my buddy and I going to a place called "Weird Stuff" in San Jose (California) in the mid 2000s.
I would spend many hours there. Managed to pick up stuff for my storm chasing equipment I'd never find anywhere else.
Sadly, they tore the place down. Along with the Frys Electronics there. And built costly urban rental apartments in its place.
So sad...
I love this store. I go to one in Illinois. I remember the first time I walked into one with my uncle, I couldn't help but spend hours just going through everything. Science and surplus is great, I wish there were more stores like this. I need to visit it again and start a new project! 🔭🧪
Thanks again for another great video