I’m having trouble finding 2 1/2 inch OD brass tube with around .049 wall thickness (or slightly less). I’m in Ontario, Canada, and Metal Supermarket does not carry anything less than .065 thickness.
Does anyone either have some they’d be willing to sell or know of a supplier?
Paul
Small Parts inc. in florida has it, pricey, but quick service.
Tansy
Hmmm…
…according to their website they only have 2.5 inch OD brass in .065 wall thickness, which is too thick for my purposes.
After 10 years and checking with MANY suppliers and trying to get quotes for special runs I was never able to get that size o.d. with a wall thickness less than .065. The Metals Supermarket is pretty limited and carries the most common sizes.
Also try McMaster Carr. They are a GREAT company and resource.
If you want thinner walls you have two options. One is to actually machine the .065 down to what you need. The benefit there is that you have a lot of material there for a little free-hand decorative turning which is easily do-able with a wood lathe. Another option is to roll your own. If you choose to roll your own, good luck and enjoy the learning process. The best advice (aside from specific methods, measurements etc.) is to be SURE to use (jeweler’s) hard silver solder. NOT soft or medium. And whatever you do DON’T use plumber’s solder.
Hmmm… it also looks like the Small Parts people only offer the 2.5" stuff in 330. I’d would strongly recommend c260 (cartridge brass) over the 330 (hard temper) The 330 is tough on tools and more expensive. The 260 is very forgiving, easy to work with and I personally prefer the appearance.
I have a couple feet of it that I found in the trunk of my car after I sold off the shop and moved. You are welcome to it.
In Dec. 2007 I bought 2 1/2" od brass tube, .032 wall from Sequoia Brass & Copper of Hayward Ca, USA. 12 feet, $150.00, no waiting.
Nick Whitmer
Mr Whitmer…you are The MAN. My hat’s off to you. Guess you just need to ask the right guy!
After several calls and web searches I did find a place that carries a good supply of 2 1/2 inch OD tube in several wall thicknesses:
The stuff I was looking for will be stocked end of May!
There ya go,
Paul
Wow! They have a great selection in some uncommon sizes. Thanks for doing the legwork.
hmmm… we are the supplier, and could supply brass tube what you want. but our locate in China. If you are still interested in them, you could contact with me.
If you have a great deal of trouble finding a supplier of thin brass/bronze tubing, you may want to learn how to spin brass or bronze tubing on a small lathe. This Technique, and others, are fairly simple but books can be hard to find on the subject. Alternate terms for this are Roller Forming, Shear Forming and Flow Forming. These techniques can be used to make conical tube and stepped tuning slides as well as change the thickness.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_spinning
If you don’t want or need these skills, maybe you can find a local machinist who can make the tubing you need in the dimensions you seek.