ah well, it pays to get or make the right sizes of course and to have a few imperial measuring sticks (glad am I that I lived in the USA for years where all is available in a true market economy) - especially for those of us living in metric-land! Same as it pays to build up over time the right threading tackle to go with, so one doesn't have to confuse Whitworth and UNC, 1/4 Cycle and 1/4 BSF etc.
But thanks to a very nice friend of mine who has a mate etc who runs a technical apprentice shop not a million miles away, I am blessed with loads of stock, and as long as I don't need a bolt more than 30mm diameter or longer than about a foot and a half (how often could that possibly happen this side of an articulated lorry (sorry, semi)!!??) no problem with the making of 'fings wot fit'.
The only things I have to wait for the postman to bring from time to time are extra taps and dies, which I continue to get from Tracy Tools in Devon UK whose price and service are excellent, whether for cheaper stuff in carbon steel or decent HSS tackle for the regularly-needed sizes. It's funny that, for example, it's quicker and cheaper to get even rare metric fine sizes common on many continental marques from them than it is from local sources. And for tricky stuff like large Cycle sizes in the alternate 20tpi, they're just brilliant. Like the proliferation of excellent parts suppliers, a whole host of tooling suppliers nowadays can equip us with darn near anything at far lower cost than in days gone by. So things that couldn't be done once for lack of kit or the wherewithal to acquire it, can be done in a heartbeat these days. Pure joy!
Just for perspective, I'd say that the lifelong cost of the kit I've built up myself represents about the total investment required for one half decent classic motorcycle, with a small lathe the largest single cost and by far the most worthwhile one. Which, over 40 years of messing about, starting with bicycles in my teens, is not really very much.
May we all be spared to keep playing in sheds for ever!
