Some projects start because we want a thing, others because we love a thing.

Since 2009 we’ve worn perfectly sized McMaster-Carr High-Temperature High-Purity Silicone O-rings on our fourth fingers . Taylor’s is part no. 9396K21, Che-Wei’s part no. 939K28. In our basement, tool cabinets brim with screws, o-rings, springs, washers, rivets, etc. Some purchased as on-hand stock of useful parts, others vestiges of past projects. Treasures to be rediscovered.

One time I accidentally bought too much stuff from McMaster-Carr. After just 4 rings, a lovely rep answered my call. “Just put them in a box and send them back” she said. A refund was processed the next day. Another time I was sent the wrong length aluminum tube, a day later the correct length arrived.

After years of avoiding buying a real Nerf gun for our kids, in 2021 I built the McMaster Nerf Blaster out of pneumatic fittings. Here is the BOM.

An artist once made a bronze cast of the McMaster-Carr catalog. One day the artist happened to be in the gallery and we overheard him explaining the piece to a collector. Thinking about that conversation still makes me smile.

McMaster-Carr items are many things, from rubber boots to indicator lights to pallet racks. No matter the scale, all easy to find. We've bought stairs from McMaster-Carr, hunks and rods of brass, aluminum and steel. Fabrication tools, suction cups, measuring instruments, everything down to connectors; which as someone who makes stuff quickly learns, a project is only as good as the things that hold it together.

love + hugs,

CW&T

P.S. If you want a pack, reply with YOUR love letter to McMaster-Carr in this reddit post, or here on instagram.