You got to have a good magnifying glass(es) and a steady hand! I've lost a good deal of near sighted vision, I'm afraid. My eyes lenses have frozen into a single mild-nearsighted position that is not good enough to allow me to do the sub milimetric work I used to do when I started my shop.
I see Firemountain is your friend. I did a fair amount of small work, but that was 13 years ago before I started my SP shop. I'm the end, I curtailed the level of complexity of my work towards concentrate on woodwork. I could and did use a good amount of findings, but my policy was to only buy local from brick and mortar shops, to ensure quick availability. Firemountain was good, but really never ordered from them..
As for eyesight for close work, typically a person would use reading glasses. I am quite nearsighted requiring glasses for driving, watching [theatre] movies and even TV.
I cannot recognize people if they are more than 20 feet away.
However, that myopia is what has has enabled me thus far to avoid having to use reading glasses.
When I considered getting Lasik surgery to correct my nearsightedness and thus do away with glasses for driving, sports etc, the optometrist asked me for what activities do I want to wear glasses: for driving etc, or for reading, because [he said] you
shall have to wear them for one or the other: for distance, or for closeness.
I.e., forego the Lasik and continue to wear specs for distance, or have the surgery to dispense with the glasses for distance but now have to wear them for close viewing.
I opted to go without the specs for reading, meaning, no surgery.
I read far too much to want to be bothered to wear glasses for it. Nor do I want to have to wear them for woodworking or the metal work (such as the USB cable)
I don't drive much, haven't been to the theatre or concert in over a decade, and only watch TV about once a month and that is a DVD/BD movie.
As for the findings and related material, I do not buy locally because local merchants have little (read 'nothing') of what I need.
The selection is abysmal, and of low quality, even at Michaels.
Hobby Lobby is a little better... I have bought a fair amount of metal stock (K&S Engineering products) at Hobby Lobby.
The process usually goes as follows: I have a picture in my head of what I want the final work to look like.
I look online for the materials I need to realize the vision. What I'm looking for at the moment is simply to see if such materials exist.
An example would be side glow fibre optic filament.
I had no idea it existed (and would have wagered that it didn't exist) but I thought, "I wonder if Side Glow FO exists, because it would be perfect."
And, lo and behold, it does exist. .... and there is no where in the Phoenix metro area you can buy it in small amounts. I'd have to buy a hundred feet, minimum.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. So the next thing I look for is sources for the materials.
And 98% of the time, no local brick and mortar store has what I want, either in selection or quantity.
Those brass trapezoidal shapes that I used to house the connector?
I have found those in one place and one place only: Etsy, from a shop in Turkey that deals in lots of brass findings (for cheap costume jewelry.)
The only place in Phoenix that had something even remotely like it (and it was way too heavy of a gauge) wanted $500 for something like 50 feet.
So yes, Firemountain Gems is one source, but I use maybe a half dozen beading suppliers, 3 metal stock suppliers who specialize in small size/volume orders, a half dozen hobby shops across the country that carry a good selection of model railroad supplies, and foreign suppliers in Turkey, Slovakia and China for brass findings.
Those #0-80 brass machine screws? (I also have #00-90 along with the taps for both sizes). Try finding those screws at HD, or Lowes or Ace Hardware.
If they can order them (and that's a big 'if') you'd have to order 100 for not less than $40, often with an added shipping charge.
I plan my work and and batch my materials orders so that
1) I can build up a stock supply so as to avoid having to order piecemeal at a later date, which can nickel-and-dime you into excessive expense, and
2) I can work on something else while waiting for the material(s) to arrive.
That is the only way I can do my projects (1) the way I want to do them (realize my vision) , and (2) within my "hobby" budget.
