Where to by brass?

[Rick47]

I hope someone can help me, I am on the South Coast NSW and want to make a couple of marking gauges. I am trying get some brass angle/ plate for wear strips and to make them look a bit fancy. I have tried the local metal dealers, engineering firms and scrap metal dealers with no luck. Does anyone know where I might be able to get some short pieces.
I also am trying to find an article I seem to remember reading somewhere about making a mortice gauge using basic brass fittings bolts etc available from hardware stores. I have read the posts by Ian on here about his gauges but the one I am after included using brass fittings for the adjustment of the movable spur.
Thanks for any help you can provide.

Rick

[auscab]

I buy mine here Rick (Below). They post it out .
Ive seen some sold on ebay as well .

Non Ferrous Metals Suppliers | George White Co & Pty Ltd (https://georgewhite.com.au/)

[Potts]

Hobbytools.com.au has brass profiles, they are an online hobby supplies store.

[woodPixel]

Not local, but Ive found AliExpress excellent for a bunch of small doodads.

10pcs Brass Round Rod Bar 100mm Length 3mm Diameter Mayitr For RC Model Airplane (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32819741871.html)
2 5PCS M3 M4 M5 M6 GB834 Brass Knurled head or Nickel plating hand thumb screw computer chassis with high step knurled screws (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000065766049.html)

10pcs M2 M2.5 M3 M4 Knurled Nut Brass Thumb Nut Cylindrical Adjust For Water Cooling PC Case Model|Nuts (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000207915413.html)
3 10pcs M3 M4 M5 M6 DIN653 GB835 Brass Thumb Screw Knurling Flat Head Thumb Screw Hand Tighten Computer Screws|Screws (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000291469994.html)
508438 508439 508440

Brass sheets and plates are plentiful as well....

H62 Brass Copper Plate Sheet of CuZn40 2.036 CW509N C28000 C3712 H62 Cu Laser Cutting CNC Frame Model Mould DIY Contruction|Tool Parts (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000603089725.html)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32911458307.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32964913235.html


I'll dig up my links for Aussie suppliers...

[IanW]

Rick, I guess I can't help any more than the suggestions already posted, I buy my brass from a brass & non-ferrous metal dealer here in Brisbane (George Weston & Sons). I don't think they post small orders and the minimum purchase has gone up to $50 (pick-up in store) so that is no help to you. I've been buying more on the internet lately, too, a bit cheaper but limited range of sizes/thicknesses. Brass prices just keep going up & up!

Most readily-available brass from dealers in this country is "machineable" grade, good for machining but not good for cold-working metal dovetails, etc. because it starts to flake & split quite quickly when hammered. You can get away with it if careful, but just for the record, the Chinese brass I've been getting has been excellent for peening, it will tolerate much more hammering.

If you manage to find the article on making a mortise gauge with commonly-available brass bits I'd be grateful if you would post it here. I'm always interested in new/better/cheaper/simpler methods of gauge making & have collected quite a few different ways of going about it, but I haven't seen anything like you mention.

Cheers,
Ian

[D.W.]

not sure how much goes by on ebay, but it's generally far more reasonable here than most other places as people dump older stock on it. The metals suppliers here are generally pretty competitive in tool steel if they are dealing in any significant volume, even the industrial suppliers for certain things like O1.

But when you go to brass, the price in some places can be triple, and the supply limited.

I've gotten all of the brass I've used off of ebay, though (I think 260 and 360 alloy, depending on the need).

[Andy_B]

I've picked up small brass strips from Miniature Bearings Australia (Please Wait... | Cloudflare (https://www.minibearings.com.au)).
Their website is a bit difficult to navigate, I usually just type "brass" in the search box at the top right hand corner.

Cheers,
Andy

[China]

Only problem with ebay is it is a lucky dip suppliers just tell you it is what you want and sell you any bits of yellow metal they have laying around.

[IanW]

Only problem with ebay is it is a lucky dip suppliers just tell you it is what you want and sell you any bits of yellow metal they have laying around.

Well, China, it's certainly a bit of a lucky dip in the sense that there are limited sizes of small sheets available (unless you want to buy a container load), & you can't specify the type (alloy) of brass - but so far I've got what the ad said it was & is definitely brass! When the alloy type is specified, which only a small number of sellers do, it is usually "H62", which according to a table I found is supposed to be much the same as 360 in copper/zinc content. However, all of the bits I've bought (~ a dozen separate lots from several sellers) have been far more malleable than the 360/380 machinable brass I buy locally, you can peen it out maybe 3 times more than 380 without it breaking up.

For rivet material, I've been getting brass rod from RC world (https://rcworld.com.au/product-category/accessories/building/materials-equipment/k-s-metals/) (no affiliation!). The alloy isn't specified on the packets they come in. but it peens nicely. It costs about 4 times per lineal metre compared with buying the (360) rod from the local non-ferrous merchant, but in small sizes like 3.2mm diameter I have to buy a full 3.6M length, they won't cut anything smaller than 1/4" diameter. The K&S brass peens better & the amount needed to fix the stuffing in a plane is less than a packet's worth (much less for the miniatures I've been making lately) so the extra cost is negligible in this case.

It really depends what sizes you need & what you intend to do with it. For a "full-sized" plane like this 1.25" shoulder plane, I buy from the local supplier:
508519

It's the only way to get the specific sizes needed and it will cost more than their minimum purchase requirement (~$60 all-up, iirc), plus I can have it immediately, no waiting 2 months for stuff to be shipped from o/seas... :)

For whimsical projects I've been mucking about with lately, like this miniature coffin smoother:
508518

The sheet brass for sides was bought via ebay, but scan the ads carefully, prices can vary by ~100%. There is a wide range of thicknesses available up to about 3mm, occasionally 4mm (2.5mm suits these tiddlers very nicely). As I said, it's easier material to work with because it peens so well. Fortunately, I have lots of scraps of thicker brass from other projects to make lever caps & thumbscrews. The little plane above took half a 100 x 100mm sheet of 2.5mm brass, some scrap 3.16" SS for the sole & other scraps for the LC & thumbscrew plus a few bits of 2.5mm rod for stuffing rivets. Total outlay was < $20 & I had enough leftovers to make another slightly smaller plane.

So I did: 508525

:U
Cheers,

[Rick47]

Thanks to everyone for the responses, seems getting the brass I will need won't be too hard just a matter of sorting out the sizes and checking prices. I will buy local (Aus) I can.

cheers. Rick.