Brass Tube Stock at Reasonable Prices

[OOPS]

Hello All: I have been thinking about trying my own custom pen design. However, the prices for brass tube stock seem incredibly high at the local hobby shop. When I calculated the cost, it seems that it is just as expensive to buy long stock as it is to buy a packet of brass tubes already pre-cut.

Have any of you found a vendor who sells brass tube stock at reasonable prices, or will I just have to make friends with my local hobby store?

Thanks for the help.

 

[jttheclockman]

Hello All: I have been thinking about trying my own custom pen design. However, the prices for brass tube stock seem incredibly high at the local hobby shop. When I calculated the cost, it seems that it is just as expensive to buy long stock as it is to buy a packet of brass tubes already pre-cut.

Have any of you found a vendor who sells brass tube stock at reasonable prices, or will I just have to make friends with my local hobby store?

Thanks for the help.

You have to be careful when buying brass stock at hobby stores because the thickness is different for pens. The inside dimension needs to be the same and if the tubes are thicker it may be harder to press kits in. Any of the large dealers carry 10" lengths but not in all sizes. Mostly 7 and 10mm. Good luck. Buying pen replacement tubes is relatively inexpensive and unless you are doing something odd I see no other reason to buy the longer lengths. But to each his own.

 

[desertrat]

onlinemetals.com
You should find what you need there and at reasonable prices.
Good luck

desertrat

 

[ldb2000]

These are the guys that I use www.speedymetals.com for all my metal stock . As John said though , kit parts might not fit aftermarket tubes , if your using kit parts , get the right tubes for the kit . If your going to make your own furniture then sizes don't matter and you can get your tubes anywhere . Also you don't even have to use brass tubes , I use aluminum tubes with several of my kitless designs .

 

[OOPS]

Thanks for your sources and the heads up regarding the variance in tube sizes, especially the inside diameter. What I wanted to do was use kit parts, but change the lengths of the pen tubes to develop a different look--basic experimentation. So I didn't want to use the pre-cut tubes that come in the kit. When I looked at the local hobby store, I thought the price of brass tubing was high. To be sure, I figured out how many pre-cut tubes you could get out of one length of their tubing. It confirmed my suspicion--that the pre-cut tubes were no more expensive than buying a long length and cutting it yourself. If the pen making experiment was successful, I was hoping to have a cheaper source of brass tubing.

Again, thanks for your help and any other advice would be appreciated.