Aluminum Wheels

[iscrc2]

So what is not clear to me now is the FRCtech2002 message 461 where they say:

A) If Small Parts usually carries something you want but is
backordered or out of stock, you can go any where you want to obtain
it. It must be an exact match to what SPI would have carried. You
cannot buy anything that you could not have found in the Small Parts
catalog. FIRSTsnow

I do think that they mean you can still buy additional hardware from the list that SPI does not carry (e.g. plywood). But what about gears that are not in the SPI catalog?

The additional hardware lists Sprockets, Gears, and Pulleys - Any size any amount...

but from the FRC post it sounds like they are saying you can ONLY get the types of items you can find in the catalog.

I must be misinterpreting this. McMaster-Carr is listed as a supplier in Appendix F. That must make them a legit source of things like gears.

What do others think?