I'm not sure of the best forum for this thread, but I figured this would be a good start. As I read through the postings, I often see people inquiring about where certain goods or services can be provided. Of course, many can be though varius commonly known places like NAPA or Jimmy Carters, just to name a couple. But sometimes there are needs for custom parts or machine shop services and other things you don't find at the corner auto parts store.
In my job, I am expected to find sources for mechanical items A to Z. We have an extesive listing of suppliers for almost any thing you can imagine. But sometimes they are not able to help or I need assistance with some arcane item from a supplier not in out database. In these situations I use a website called Thomas Net
http://www.thomasnet.com/ (for old timers this used to be the Thomas Register, a huge collection of big green books). Using the seach tool, you search for companies who provide specific goods or servies in your region. You can find virtually any thing you can imagine, which is really good when you're building one of a kind things.
Not every supplier will want to deal with a "bolter" but there are hundreds of small shops and compannies who would be happy to help. Who knows but there are almost certainly bolters whose companies are listed here too.
Give it a try, I think you'll like it.:)
