I need a small piece of brass

[Dave Westover]

I need a small piece of brass rod cut fairly thin. Im waiting to hear back from a metal vendor but I thought Id ask if anyone knows any other options where I could get such a thing? Ideas?

[Keith Westfall]

Depending on the size - go to a hobby store.

[Bill Huber]

I need a small piece of brass rod cut fairly thin. Im waiting to hear back from a metal vendor but I thought Id ask if anyone knows any other options where I could get such a thing? Ideas?

Ace Hardware has all kinds of small brass, rods, flats, squares.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Check for local metal suppliers. We have one. I would also call machine shops in the area.

I once needed some 0.003" brass shim stock to shim a mechanical part on an MR scanner. I went to a local machine shop. The manager walked out into the shop and came back with an 8"x10" sheet of said shim stock. He told me I was welcome. I asked the price. He said we'd get it the next time. You can bet, I have taken business to him and steered business to him.

Met him later at a Christmas party. His wife and mine are co-workers and good friends. Hmmmmmm.

[Paul Atkins]

What is 'small' and 'fairly thin'? Something small for an earthmover or small for a Rolex?

[Dave Westover]

The size I need is 7/8" diameter, 1/16" thick. Ill check the hobby store, but I dont believe our little Ace has brass rod. Thanks.

[Brian W Evans]

I'll second what others have said but, if you're this is something you might need again, you might order from speedymetals (http://www.speedymetals.com/). I bought what is probably a lifetime supply of brass and copper rod and bar stock from them for about $75 IIRC. They have a great selection and their web site is very easy to use.

I have no affiliation with them - just a positive experience.

[Rick Lizek]

www.mcmaster.com and I get it the next day on a regular ground ups charge and I can order up until 5:30 and still get it the next day. Metal prices are fair. For larger quantities I have other sources.

[Louie Ballis]

What about using brass welding rods cut to the length you need?

[mike holden]

Dave,
If what you need is 1/16" thick, try a brass door kickplate. You can often find them in the damaged section at the BORG, and a bent corner wont affect your needs at all.
Mike

[Paul Atkins]

You will never find brazing rod at 7/8" thick. Get a piece of 1/16" thick sheet and rough cut it with whatever and turn it between two blocks on your lathe. You can turn this stuff by hand on a wood lathe. Another idea is a brass tag for keys or animal collar.

[Bill Huber]

Ok, could you go with 1 in. x 1/16 disc.

http://www.smallparts.com/Brass-Type-ASTM-B16-Thick-Diameter/dp/B000FN0O9Y?ie=UTF8&qid=1273165370&sr=1-4&pf_rd_r=1VB81MX46P4WBWE81SAN&pf_rd_m=A2LPUKX2E7NPQV&pf_rd_t=301&pf_rd_i=0&pf_rd_p=1261382322&pf_rd_s=center-3

[Mark Ball]

My little Ace Hardware carries such brass.

[John Downey]

If bronze will work I can just part a piece off some bearing stock for you. Looks about the same maybe a touch redder looking.

[Chad Stucke]

Sometimes if our looking for schims and the like a old feeler gauge set works well.
I would just look in the plumbing section for something brass or go to a lock shop they have alot of brass tags that would work well.
Chad

[kenneth kayser]

Enco has a very large selection of sheets, rods, bars, etc.

[Chip Lindley]

Sawing off a thin section of brass rod, and smoothing it to exact thickness is lots of work. The suggestion of using flat brass such as a door kick is much more user friendly.

Mark a center line and scribe the 7/8" diameter with dividers. Invest in a little jeweler's saw (small specialized coping saw that uses very fine-toothed 5" pinless scroll saw blades) to saw out the blank just larger than the finished diameter. Drill a center hole and attach a bolt through the hole with a couple of nuts. Chuck the bolt in a drill press and file your washer to exact diameter. WaaLaa!!

[Russell Sansom]

Dave asks a good question. I, too, have been searching for a couple brass items over the last month and have found that our Ace hardware stores in Northern California absolutely do not carry a variety of brass. There is a bit of 1/8" threaded rod. I might have seen some 1/4" rod, and a couple sizes of thin-walled tubing. I've gone up the aisles of stores big and small.
I was looking for 1) stock for saw nuts and 2) ferrules for a variety of chisels from 1/4" - 7/8". Found 1/4" slotted toilet bolts that could possibly be distorted into saw nuts, but could find nothing else at all in the plumbing section or anywhere else. I found some 1/4" and some 3/8" tubing for marking knife ferrules.
The only source of thin sheet I found was, as noted, door kick plates. 8" X 34" for about $20. if memory serves.
I do have a couple local metal stores, 15 miles away, so it's possible to buy a couple pounds of chunks and machine it down, but I was hoping for a quick Sunday afternoon solution, then got fixated on it for a while. Thanks to priority shipping, fishing for stock on EBAY proved to be the cheapest way to get precisely what I wanted. The look on the mailman's face is priceless when he almost needs two hands to lift one of those little $5. boxes packed full of brass rod!

[Jerry Solomon]

The Hobby Lobby (craft stores) in our area carry some brass items.

[Jim Heffner]

Here is an idea..just another idea. If you have a local locksmith that you know...have him or her order some round brass key tags from his supplier.
They are available in different diameters up to 1 1/4" or maybe larger.
These are the type of tags that are used in a large industrial/ commercial
plants where marked metal tags are usually stamped with numbers or locations or whatever info. is needed for permanent location identification.
this should do what you need for a brass disc 3/4" x 1/16" thickness.

[Roger Pozzi]

When I tired of "shopping" 1/4" round brass in less than 36" lengths at a ridiculous price locally, I found 6" lengths on E-Bay, attractive price, and shipping was reasonable.