K & S Metals has discontinued many items......buy what you can now.

[Chuck]

Just an FYI

 

K & S has discontinued making many sizes of strip brass and other items.   These are staples for us model builders.  For example...

 

They are no longer making 

 

1/64" x 1/32" brass strips

1/64" x 1/16" strips

1/64" x 3/32" strips

1/64" x 1/8" strips 

ect....

 

Does anyone know of another source for brass strips?  I just bought all of their remaining inventory of these strips in bulk....but there wasnt much left.  If you know you will need them, find a hobby shop that still has them on the shelf and buy them now while you can.

 

Chuck

[realworkingsailor]

Have you tried Detail Associates? They do a lot of model train detail parts, but also carry an assortment of brass rod and strip stock. They don’t have a website, but you can find their products on many model railway retailers sites like Walthers https://www.walthers.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Brass+strip (who also may carry some residual K&S strips in stock)

 

Andy

[Chuck]

Most of these guys all get K & S stuff and they are all out of stock.   I need to buy 40- 50 packages.   Nobody has them any more.    Its more of an FYI for you guys so you can buy a few packages if you need them.   

 

The prices on the remaining stock is also going sky high so I noticed that they did have a few left of some sizes you guys should by them....

 

Otherwise K & S will still make the wider strips like 1/2" wide by 1/64" but you would need to cut your narrower strips from those which isnt easy unless you have a press break.

[kurtvd19]

I have been getting my brass strips & angles from Special Shapes - their web site now says --Go to K&S Brass........

[Chuck]

Yupp....everyone is stopping MFG which is so weird.

 

Chuck

[donrobinson]

Lee Valley sells brass shim stock, thickest being .015", 1/64" is .0156" so very close. I then cut this using a guillotine paper cutter, works great and very accurate, also much cheaper. They sell a sample pack that includes a piece of each of their thicknesses(6) if you are not interested in buying a full roll. The cutters are not that expensive on Amazon or even Michaels if you wait to get a coupon😉.

[Bob Cleek]

3 hours ago, donrobinson said:

I then cut this using a guillotine paper cutter, works great and very accurate, also much cheaper.

Yes, I do the same. I've used a paper cutter for cutting thin copper and brass, as well as paper and card stock, and even veneer strips on occasion. Since I got my Byrnes saw, I run the wood through it now. 

 

A paper cutter does "curl" the metal, but that's easily dealt with by doing the old "stretching" trick. I use a vise-grip pliers held in a vise to hold one end and another pair of vise-grips to hold the other end and pull. The strips straighten out without problem. I primarily use copper sheet, which I find easier to work than brass, but I suppose that's mainly a matter of taste.

 

I have a couple of them, one small and one large, both garage sale items. I just checked, though, and almost lost my lunch over the cost of them today.  $100 on average for a new smaller one. Still, if you have the chance to find one cheap, grab it. Mine are very frequently used and very handy. They don't replace a good table saw, but for thin stock they come pretty close. Measurements are by eyeball, but you can be sure they will cut a dead straight line as long as you hold onto the workpiece when cutting it. They are great for cutting very narrow strips of paper and card for things like mast bands. If you didn't have a Jim saw, you could cut planking strips from veneer sheets fairly easily, as I've done before, but the blade has to be sharp and the veneer thin. Perhaps a paper cutter would be a low cost alternative to a mini table saw for folks getting into what I'm expecting will be the increase in "semi-scratch" kits like Syren is presently bringing onto the market. 

 

[hexnut]

3 hours ago, Chuck said:

Yupp....everyone is stopping MFG which is so weird.

 

Chuck

Tariff increases.

 

[mtaylor]

15 minutes ago, hexnut said:

Tariff increases.

 

That wouldn't surprise me at all.

[Chuck]

The paper cutter does work but its a real pain when you want accuracy.  It really doesnt work perfectly, especially with the thicker stuff.  It messes up the edge of the strip too.   Cutting a 3/64" wide strip is not easy.  You would need a Guillotine Shear cutter that jewelry makers use.  They are expensive.  

 

With the paper cutters, it will want to pull the sheet in so if you want a perfect 1/16" or a 1/32" wide strip 12" long that is not the way to go.  If you can settle with less accuracy and curling then its fine.   

 

I may have to buy a good Guillotine shear in the future but when you need 100's of these strips for kits and parts,  its not an efficient way to go.  Much better to buy 250 strips from K & S bulk wholesale.   I dont think Model Expo or Bluejacket can stand in front of a paper cutter making brass strips, LOL.   They use far more than I do.

 

I just talked to K & S on the phone....its not the tarrifs.  Its just low demand.  Nobody is doing the crafts and models like they used to.  They are still doing the tubes and other parts.   They just discontinued making these because nobody buys them.  For you tool guys...This is what I will eventually have to get.  But probably a bigger one.  They had about 250-300 of the three sizes I use left in the warehouse so I just bought them all.   That should last me a few years....Worth it for me as it would take hours to cut those.  

 

 

[Chuck]

I wish Jim Byrnes had these.....just thinking out loud....

[Captain Poison]

This site has a great variety of brass strips..

https://www.mscdirect.com

[GuntherMT]

6 hours ago, Captain Poison said:

This site has a great variety of brass strips..

https://www.mscdirect.com

Looks to me like the narrowest strips they have are 1/4" wide, which is pretty large for most of the things we use narrow brass strips for.  Still, another source for brass stuff at least!

[Richard Griffith]

I make strips by attaching he brass to thin plywwod with carpet tape and run that through my Byrnes saw.  No curl nice straight edge,  I-do have to remove the glue. and sand the edge but I get just the size I need.    Duff

[YankeeD]

On 8/21/2019 at 10:39 PM, Chuck said:

I wish Jim Byrnes had these.....just thinking out loud....

I second that!! And not only that but a table top router as well. Like the proxxon MP400 but then Byrnes worthy

[glbarlow]

Anyone have any luck finding 1/64 x 3/32 brass strips.  I only need enough for Cheerful so buying cutters isn't a practical solution for me.  I've looked high and low for this simple little thing with no luck. 

 

Update: I just found this site: https://www.zoro.com/ks-precision-metals-brass-flat-bar-164-x-332-x-12-815021/i/G9105621/  I placed an order, let's see what happens.

Edited March 31, 2020 by glbarlow

[Roger Pellett]

I seem to recall a Shop Note published in the Journal some years ago where someone photo etched brass strips.