Thread: Nickel Silver rods for pinning...

I looked up the links in this thread for rods for pinning scales. But they didn't list the washers. Where do you buy the washers from?

I do like Brad and order enough rods to build a small fence.

My local Hobby Town used to have a nice inventory off all rod sizes and materials. Ever since the economy started slacking they haven't renewed any of their empty stock. Basically I was forced to order online.

Texas knife is where I get the silver nickel rods but stay away from the brass. The brass I received was of very bad quality. The NS was very good.

Originally Posted by Maximilian

Texas knife is where I get the silver nickel rods but stay away from the brass. The brass I received was of very bad quality. The NS was very good.

Great.... I've got 5' of brass rod from them, for my first pinning attempt. How can you tell good quality from bad? Is it so bad I should ditch it?
Thanks,

Originally Posted by ndw76

I looked up the links in this thread for rods for pinning scales. But they didn't list the washers. Where do you buy the washers from?

Micro Fasteners - Hobbyists Source - Locknuts - Washers - Machine Screws - Fasteners - Rivets - Wood Screws

You can use the stainless steel ones, apparently they look the same as nickel silver.

I think cheaper source of brass rod could be this :
http://www.mcmaster.com/#8859k511/=40kqh0
7.44 per pack of 15 12'' rods.
Not sure on quality, but McMaster has no question return policy.

Originally Posted by keenedge

Great.... I've got 5' of brass rod from them, for my first pinning attempt. How can you tell good quality from bad? Is it so bad I should ditch it?
Thanks,

well, it can depend from batch to batch I guess but the ones I received were extremely hard and I could snap them in small pieces just like when I break a piece of chocolate bar. Good quality brass should be soft but not rock hard. If you can snap a piece of the brass rod with your hands and fingers it's not good. If the brass rod bends or at least doesn't snap like a chocolate bar you're fine.

I buy my supplies online, because it is impossible trying to find hardware supplies in empirical unit sizes locally.
So whenever I have to buy something online in the US, I make sure that I order enough to last me a long time.

And while it is indeed a bit silly to pay as much in shipping as in raw material, in absolute values, 7 or 10 $ is still pretty cheap, and less than you'd pay for gas.

Max,

Perhaps your brass rod was hardened. You can anneal it by heating it to a dull red and quenching it in water. (Sort of the opposite of what you'd do with steel.)

Originally Posted by ChrisMeyer

Max,

Perhaps your brass rod was hardened. You can anneal it by heating it to a dull red and quenching it in water. (Sort of the opposite of what you'd do with steel.)

Thx Chris

for some reason I had the same thought. I'm going to give it a try and let you know the outcome.

Originally Posted by ChrisMeyer

Max,

Perhaps your brass rod was hardened. You can anneal it by heating it to a dull red and quenching it in water. (Sort of the opposite of what you'd do with steel.)

I had the same issue on some brass rod. It was real hard. So I called my brother in law who does a lot of work with metal and he said to heat it to red and then quench. Brass annealing is different than with steel. He also said that by peening the brass, it will make it hard. Max please let us know how this comes out for you.