Materials & Resources
Suggestions from Maker Works staff and members on where to buy supplies for your projects.
If you have a favorite supplier, please submit your own recommendation at the bottom of the page.
Local Businesses
SolD At Maker Works
1/8” Baltic birch plywood - 24”x18”, 24”x12”, 12”x12”, 24”x5.5”, 5’x5’ sheets
various colors of sign vinyl & heat transfer vinyl for fabric - by the foot
paper premask transfer tape for sign vinyl designs - by the foot
ABS filament - per gram used
PLA filament - per gram used
Form 2 Resin - per gram used
investment for casting - by the 813 gram bag or by 100 gram loose
pewter for casting - per gram used
rubber stamp - by inch square
sandpaper rolls for the thickness sander (80, 120, and 180 grit)
cut-away, tear-away, and cap backing for embroidery - by the foot
Hardware Stores
Stadium Hardware - 2177 West Stadium Blvd, Ann Arbor, MI 48103 (734)663-8704
A great many, if not all, of your hardware needs. Has a large assortment of "small parts" bins. Very knowledgeable staff.
METAL, WELDING & Plastic SUPPLIERS
Alro Steel - 2466 S. Industrial Hwy, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 (734)213-2727
In house: vast selection of metals (steel, stainless, aluminum, brass, etc.) and plastics, some tools. Be sure to check out their “drops” section for cheaper prices on great material.
Special order: any plastic or metal you can imagine.
Alro Plastics - 1750 Heights Dr, Madison Heights, MI 48071 (517)787-5500
In house: Similar selection to the Alro in Ann Arbor, but larger selection of metals (steel, stainless, aluminum, brass, etc.) and plastics, some tools. Be sure to check out their “drops” section for cheaper prices on great material.
Special order: any plastic or metal you can imagine.
Ann Arbor Welding Supply - 4811 Carpenter Rd., Ypsilanti, MI 48197 (734)572-0444
Welding, plasma cutting, and general metal working supplies. Highly recommended, nice folks. We get all our gas and many consumables there.
Airgas - 780 State Circle, Ann Arbor, MI 48108 (734)668-9859
Welding and plasma cutting supplies. Nearby.
E.W. Duffy Mechanical Tubing - 222 Park St, Troy, MI 48083 (313)841-8600
Steel, stainless, aluminum tube & pipe.
Metal Mart - 31164 Dequindre, Warren MI 48092 (586)977-5820
Hard-to-find and exotic materials, precision cutting services.
Cortar Laser - 12828 Emerson Drive, Brighton, MI 48116 (248)446-1110
Laser cutting flat metal blanks, steel forming and weldments.
Superior Cutting Service - 13181 Driesenga Dr, Holland, MI 49424 (616)399-3400
Laser cutting metal, wire EDM, EDM drilling, and fabrication.
Bean's Best LLC - 1240 Jewett Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 (734) 585 4634
Powder & Ceramic Coating, and Sandblasting (They assisted with MW’s Powder Coating Setup)
Richard Brothers Painting & Sandblasting - 7730 Jackson Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48103 (734) 424 1406
Industrial Painting and Sandblasting (Apparently they will even take care of your rusty pans)
CRAFT SUPPLIES
Scrap Creative Reuse Ann Arbor - 5567 Washtenaw, Ann Arbor, MI 48108 (734) 800-4137
A store filled with hundreds of interesting objects: ribbons; buttons; beads; paper; colorful rip-stop nylon; sturdy paper tubes; bamboo-like sticks; yellow spongy cylinders; and little foam squigglies. Constantly-changing inventory. They also provide a range of educational opportunities.
Model Cave - 103 W Michigan Ave, Ypsilanti, MI 48197 (734)316-2281
Specialty tools and supplies for crafts, scale modeling and war games. Styrene shapes and sheets (Evergreen), brass structural shapes (K&S), airbrushes. Lots of small pliers, jewelers files, tiny drill bits, and similar hard-to-find items. Jon and Melissa are helpful and will gladly special-order items they don't stock.
Adams Outdoor Advertising -880 James L Hart Parkway, Ypsilanti, MI 48197-9790 (734)327-8999
48' x 15' 'tarps' that are printed with advertising on one side, leftover from printing billboards.
WOODSHOP SUPPLIES
All America Plywood - 18840 John R., Detroit, MI 48203 (313)891-6880
Hardwood plywood, MDF, and a variety of other specialty materials. You can get delivery to Maker Works. We can also add you to our orders.
Mans Lumber & Millwork - 2275 S. Industrial Hwy, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 (734)217-3260
Plywood & lumber.
Johnson's Workbench - 563 North Cochran Avenue, Charlotte, MI 48813 (800)292-5937
Lumber (including exotics), plywood (including specialty), veneer, panels, marine lumber.
B&B Heartwoods - 5444 Whitmore Lake Rd, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105 (734)332-9525
Rough-sawn lumber, milling & sanding services.
Toledo Plywood - 1011 N Westwood Ave, Toledo, Ohio 43607 (800)686-1684
Hardwood plywood, lumber, particle board, MDF.
Armstrong Millworks - 3039 W Highland Rd, Highland, MI 48357 (248)887-1037
Milled and shaped wood products made from all domestic hardwoods, as well as around 20 exotic woods.
KenCraft Company - 821 N Westwood Ave, Toledo, OH 43607 (419)536-0333
Domestic & exotic lumber, tools and accessories.
General Hardwood Company - 7201 East McNichols Rd, Detroit, MI 48212 (800)239-6077
Hardwood lumber & mouldings.
Tree-Purposed - 13340 Merriman Road, Livonia, MI 48105 (734)506-8583
Michigan live-edge slabs.
Woodcraft - 42102 Ford Rd, Canton, MI 48187 (734)981-6808
Tools, hardware, wood & finishing supplies.
Rockler - 26160 Ingersol Dr, Novi, MI 48375 (248)543-5110
Tools, hardware, wood & finishing supplies.
The Lumberjacks - 8205 Jackson Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 (734) 663-0808
Monthly/Quarterly Lumber Sales!
The Hardwood Edge - 680 E. Industrial Drive, Chelsea, MI 48118 info@thehardwoodedge.com
Thin hardwoods, well suited for laser engraving and cutting!
ELECTRONIC SUPPLIES
TinkerTech - 216 W Michigan Ave, Ypsilanti, MI 48197 (734)707-8019
Electrical components for electronics! Things like resistors, capacitors, 555 timers, Arduino, Raspberry Pi, small motors & servos, etc.
JEWELRY SUPPLIES
Stadium Hardware - 2177 W Stadium Blvd, Ann Arbor, MI 48103 (734) 663-8704
Wet/dry sandpaper, brass wool, base metals, drill bits #60 and bigger
Armstrong Tool & Supply - 31541 Eight Mile Rd, Livonia, MI 48152 (248)474-1600
Jewelry supply store
C R Hill Co - 2734 W Eleven Mile Rd, Berkley, MI 48072 (248)543-1555
Jewelry supply store
Alro Steel - 2466 S. Industrial Hwy, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 (734)213-2727
Base metals and interesting things
BUILDING MATERIALS
Habitat ReStore - 6241 Jackson Rd, Ann Arbor, MI 48103 (734)323-7028
New and gently used building materials, furniture, appliances.
BIG BOX STORES
Lowe’s - 3900 Carpenter Rd, Ypsilanti, MI 48197 (734)477-5980
Home Depot - 3300 Carpenter Rd, Ypsilanti, MI 48197 (734)975-1029
Menards - 6405 Jackson Rd, Ann Arbor, MI 48103 (734)997-0603
Online-only Suppliers
OSH Park - online orders
PCB production.
PCB production. Startlingly low prices, good quality. We use for our Learn to Solder badges.
Tape Jungle - (877)284-4781
Every kind of tape imaginable.
McNichols.com - online orders, (877)232-6865
Various types of expanded and perforated steel, metal and fiberglass grating .
TaDaaStudio.com - online orders, (734)926-8329
Felts, felt balls, hand sewing projects.
eStreetPlastics - online orders, (972)722-2513
Plastics - clear & colored plexiglass, ploycarbonate, acrylic rods, tubes, non glare plexi, and styrene sheets
Inventables - online orders, (312)775-7009
Wood, plastics, waxes, foams, metals and more materials for carving and laser-engraving
US Plastic Corp (Lima, OH)
Plastics of many kinds in sheet, rod, pipe, etc., including acrylic, HIPS.
Contractors Steel Co. - (No retail store, order only) (734)464-4000
Steel tubing, rounds, square, sheet, plate, etc.
Rio Grande Jewelry Supply - 7500 Bluewater Rd, Albuquerque, NM 87121 (800)545-6566
All your jewelry needs
The Contenti Company - 515 Narragansett Park Dr, Pawtucket, RI 02861 (401)305-3000
All your jewelry needs