My source for brass

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lampy

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The closest metal supply place to me is 40 miles away, when ever I go that way I stop in and pick thru their drops. They usually have plenty of aluminum and steel round and flat drops to pick through but they dont have any brass :mad: Another place I like to stop in is the Habitat for Humanity Restore, about a month ago I was looking at their bins of drawer pulls and noticed some nice heavy solid brass handles. I paid $1 each for them, not sure if it's a good deal or not but now I have some brass bits in my scrap box ;D I now keep an eye out at second hand stores for cheap pieces of brass to supplement my meager supply of brass. My daughter works for a flooring installer and got me some of their out dated flooring samples to use as bases for my projects in case I ever finish one and feel the need to mount it on a nice piece of lumber..... Just thought I'd share.
fingermotor001.jpg

My second hand store brass bracket, Restore brass handles sitting on my flooring samples. Yup I'm a scrounger....
 
I found some brass stock like that at my local scrap yard a couple years ago.

They had dozens of steel and wooden doors there from an old building that had been demolished.
All of them had a handle like this one.

BrassHandle.jpg


I've chopped up several of those solid brass handles and made parts from them.

Rick
 
Brass kick-plates for doors are a great source of sheet brass, but be very careful to check it's really solid brass and not plated steel or anodized aluminum as most are these days.
 
Both Ricks,

I too am a 'scrounger', and always have been. I hate buying material from metal retailers.

What we do in our shops is not aerospace technology, so your choice of materials is not limited to specialist stuff, almost anything is fair game.

It comes with experience, being able to visualise what is inside a piece of metal. It may not be the right shape that you want, but the shape that is required is in there somewhere. It might take a little extra time to get the part out of what you have, but that is half the fun in what we do.

I ask friends and neighbours not to throw any metal based products away until I have had a good look at it. In fact most look at it as a favour to them, it saves them the journey to the local dump, but you do end up with a load of junk sitting in your yard until you can make a journey to the dump yourself, but it is definitely worth it over time. That rusty bit of bar can easily become a nice looking part once it is cleaned up a little.

It is amazing what people have lurking in the back of their sheds and garages, or even at the bottom of their garden.

It is a resource that definitely shouldn't be overlooked.


John
 
SWIMBO like to go to Goodwill or some other recicling store. I am usually bored there but do look at the array of junk with a "metal content" calibrated eye. Usually an item has more metal content value that as its intended function. Pots, SS trays, Golf Club and other undescrivable junk.
 
Discarded photocopiers, printers and computers at the local recycling centre have a wealth of goodies in them for our use - motors, bearings, springs ground st. steel rods to name just some of the items. Washing machines and other white goods yield a plentiful supply of sheet steel and larger motors. Compressors from fridges and freezers are good also, but don't let the elfin safety wallahs catch you taking those!

Dave
The Emerald Isle
 
Oh boy, another small machine shop opened up on the farm across the street from me. Couple of Hardinges and B'ports, etc., and a big rack/pile of materials, steels, stainless, brass, alum., with a large bin of cutoffs!!!! Let's see now, some donuts and coffee on Saturday morning....after all, it's polite to introduce yourself to the new neighbors and welcome them.
 
Mosey said:
Oh boy, another small machine shop opened up on the farm across the street from me. Couple of Hardinges and B'ports, etc., and a big rack/pile of materials, steels, stainless, brass, alum., with a large bin of cutoffs!!!! Let's see now, some donuts and coffee on Saturday morning....after all, it's polite to introduce yourself to the new neighbors and welcome them.
Click to expand...

Take a couple of your engines with you - preferably ones that can be run in their shop. I find that people are far more willing to donate materials once they have seen what said materials will become.
 
Mosey
you are a man after my own heart :big: :big:
pete
 
Check your local glass shops for door handles and push bars from take outs or remodels. Usually 1" dia brass or alum. from 12" to 36".
Usually hauled off to the scrapyard, I think they would be happy with anything better than scrap price.
I do commercial constuction and they are the first things I grab during a remodel If I get there before the glass contractor.

GUS
 
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