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Re: [TCML] Safety gap
I found a good place to get things like brass knobs is at the Habitat for
Humanity Restore. They have a lot of old doorknobs and cabinet knobs that
have been reclaimed and donated from demolitions and such and at times they
are pretty old. Most of the older ones are brass, no cast zinc in the ones I
have bought. I even found some doorknobs that are so heavy that I think they
might be solid brass. There are also stores that sell reclaimed home
hardware but sometimes they get rather pricey, thinking they have antiques.
Paul
Think Positive
----- Original Message -----
From: "jimlux" <jimlux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Tesla Coil Mailing List" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, November 28, 2009 8:40 PM
Subject: Re: [TCML] Safety gap
Quarkster wrote:
But be advised that 99% of the hardware store "drawer pulls" are die-cast
zinc, with an incredibly thin lacquered "brass finish". The will erode
very quickly if they ever actually see an arc.
Easy to find out with a file on the back side (where the screw goes in).
Then, if the packaging said "brass" you can take it back and say "uh-uh...
this aint the alloy the package said it was"...
OR, don't worry about it. Your safety gap shouldn't be arcing all the
time anyway.
BTW, for about $10, you can also buy a nice doorknob/latch set with 2
spherical knobs about 1 1/2" -2" in diameter, and yes, those are solid
brass (thin, but solid). Very pretty, and fairly easy to figure out how
to mount. They might have a thin layer of some plastic coating on the: it
helps them not tarnish.
Places that do a lot of brass beds, lamp stands, coat racks, etc will
often have a supply of brass knobs and balls in a variety of colors and
sizes (e.g. stainless steel, chrome, etc.) all with convenient threaded
fittings on them. The trick is to find the "wholesale/repair" kind of
place, as opposed to a retail outlet. My best luck has been with going
to a furniture store and asking the repair guy where he gets his parts OR
getting the mfr name of the finished unit, and once you find one that is
in the US and not China, you call them (or google) and find their
distributors. (Turns out that a big maker of this stuff in the Los
Angeles area also makes brush guards and decorative metalwork for SUVs...
I guess.. once you have all the tubing benders and welding jigs, whether
you're welding up a brush guard or a coat stand, it's all the same)
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