|
You need something and you need it yesterday. What's new?
Who do you call? Some useful info follows, IMHO. If there
is some useful info on this that you know, please inform me via my comment
form.
Basically, can you drive out and get it or not? It depends what
you need. The following lists identify some possible sources that
have worked for me in the past:
Online Vendors
OK, so you can't find it locally. Other than using a search engine,
like Metacrawler or Alta
Vista, you can often make good use of the Thomas
Register. Some vendor contact info that I have found handy:
- Atomic Force Microscopy - see my page on AFM.
- Books
- Ceramics
- Ceramics.com - Info on
cermics as well as a few dozen links to vendors of various sorts
for ceramic materials and furnaces.
- Chemistry-related
- Cryo Products
- Apiezon - high vacuum and
cryo lubricants and sealants
- Data Acquisition
- Electronics
- Furnaces
- Gases
- General Lab Equipment & Supplies
- Highly Ordered Pyrolized Graphite (HOPG)
- Lasers
- Melles Griot - their focus seems to be optics, so bear that in
mind. See their listing.
- Lubricants and sealants
- Magnets
- Magnet Web - a collection
of suppliers and links, "your link to the world of permanent magnet
design"
- Magnet Sales & Manufacturing
- they sell magnets, we used the Austin sales rep for our stuff.
- Metals
- Alfa-Aesar - good source of
research quality metals, e.g. high purity gold and silver.
- Mechanical positioning
- Microscopy supplies
- Ted Pella, Inc. - a good
supply of tweezers and other sundries for AFM and EM.
- Optics
- Melles
Griot - Primarily an optics company, they provide solutions
for motion control of optics as well as some lasers. They
seem to be a little more expensive (cf. Newport) and in many cases
their components are too specifically designed to work with Melles
Griot components only. This tends to lead to long lead times
and often times the only holder in stock is that really expensive
one with all of the bells and whistles you did not want. The
quality of their components seems to be good, however. Their
components are designed with the metric system and they provide
adapters for English system needs.
- Newport
- Primarily an optics company, they provide a variety of solutions
for motion control of optics and some photonics gear. Good
quality, affordable (cf. Melles Griot), and usually lead times are
good or nonexistent. They seem to offer a little more variety
in a number of components that I have used, cf. Melles Griot.
- Photonics
- Sonicators
- Tubing Components
- Vacuum Products
- Apiezon - high vacuum and
cryo lubricants and sealants
Rice University
/ Houston area vendors
Be forewarned that this list reflects what stores had of what I needed
in my research.
- Books - yes, those thing with words on paper that you use to hold
up your coffee mug
- Borders Books Music &
Cafe - Time and again, this location has the book I am looking
for when others don't, e.g. Cohen-Tannoudji's Quantum Mechanics,
a good selection of books on thesis writing, etc.
- Majors Scientific Bookstores
- good for technical books, like Mark's Standard Handbook
for Mechanical Engineers, Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, etc.
- Barnes & Noble - a decent
selection of normal books.
- Half Price Books - if you need
old books
- Electronics Supply (Not consumer electronics; these are places that
sell things from the wires up.
- Hobby Stores
- Industrial Equipment & Supplies
- Grainger - they have lots of stuff, from
casters to leveling screws to tools. They also have safety
gear.
- Insulating Fasteners - see Fasteners,
Nylon.
- Fasteners, Nylon - be sure that you
check the resistance of nylon to any chemicals that will come into
contact with your fasteners. There are solvents that will degrade
nylon. I usually needed tiny ones for some miniature apparatus,
so the following list stresses the availability of small fasteners.
- Non-conductive Fasteners - see Fasteners,
Nylon.
- Nylon Fasteners - see Fasteners, Nylon.
- Nylon Screws - see Fasteners, Nylon.
- Screws, Nylon - see Fasteners, Nylon.
- Plastics
- Laird Plastics - they are helpful
and have a lot of plastics to choose from.
- PVC Pipe - It is important to note that PVC
- Home Depot - PVC pipe in various sizes,
e.g. 1.5" dia and 2" dia.
The info on the stores (distance from Rice University, Gate 13):
- Ace Electronic Parts (713.688.8114;
0800-1700 M-F; 8.7 miles) - 3210 Antoine, Houston. From Rice,
take 59 S, 610 N, 290 NW, and get off at W 34th & Antoine exit.
Left on West 34th, left on Antoine, about one block down Antoine.
- Barnes & Noble (713.349.0050;
0900-2300 M-S, 1000-2200 U; 1.7 miles) - 3003 West Holcombe Boulevard,
Houston.
- Bering's (713.665.0500; 2.4 miles) - 3900
Bissonnet Street, Houston. Located in the shopping area at Bissonnet
and Wesleyan. Hardware and gift store.
Borders
Books Music & Cafe (713.661.2888; 4.6 miles) - 570 Meyerland
Plaza Mall, Houston.
- [Closing
31DEC2001] City Electronic Supply (713.663.6066; 5.5 miles)
- 7015 Atwell Drive, Houston. Take Bellaire to Atwell and turn
south, it's on the east side of Atwell a few block down. A cluttered,
medium-sized place, it has an interesting variety of electronics equipment.
-
Electrotex Inc - no longer
sells electronic parts.
- EPO (713.784.0140; 8.0 miles) - 3753 Fondren Road,
Houston, TX 77063. Electronic parts supply. "A lot better prices
than Electrotex"
- Grainger (713.783.9012; 5.7 miles) - 6050
Southwest Freeway, Houston. Located on the "south bound" access
road of Hwy 59, west of Fountain View.
- Half Price Books (713.524.6635)
- In the Rice village.
- Hobby Lobby (713.665.2666; 6.7 miles)
- 8715 West Loop South, Houston, TX 77096
- Home Depot (713.662.3950; open 24 hours;
3.5 miles) - 5445 West Loop South, Houston. Located on the north
bound access road, just north of Fountainview and south of Westpark.
Because of their operating hours, they are definitely something to
note for any experimentalist that needs to build macroscopic equipment.
- Laird Plastics (713.785.3040) - Stafford,
TX.
- Light Bulbs Unlimited (713.521.0330; 1.8 miles) 1203 Westheimer
Road, Houston, TX 77006.
- Majors Scientific Bookstores
(713.799.9922; 1.5 miles) - 7205 Fannin Street, Houston.
- Wagner Hardware (713.528.7582; <1 mile) - 6111 Kirby Drive. They
are very close, but also small enough that their selection is often
limited.
Last Updated
2009-07-30
|