Does anyone know where I can get very small pieces of 2.5" and 4" copper pipe?

By gum, we can work this stuff out... I've got a horizontal bandsaw that's happy to cut off slices that thin, and a milling machine that can true 'em up. Joseph? Your call, man.

I'm relieved we found ya a supply of copper... aluminum is (to use that same delightful phrase) bugger-all to plate well because of the nearly-instant oxide film.

I picked up an incredibly nice pipe cutter on eBay, so I think I'm set on that account. (Incidentally, those $120 3" pipe cutters you see? Worth every penny. Especially if you get them secondhand for 1/4 price!)

That said, I do have a project that may require some external help, for which I can no doubt find some way to compensate you - check your PM inbox!
 
Now that you have the material, I want to see pics of the process and finished product.

Good luck with it.

http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?t=17192

I'm almost out of 2" pipe - I started with about 10", and have been going through it 3/4" at a time. Getting any sort of precision with a pipe cutter seems to be quite difficult, and the scrap pipe I've been using often has nicks I don't notice until after I've spent twenty minutes sanding and polishing it. :doh:

I'm also having rather a lot of trouble cutting 1/4" sections of the 2.5" pipe. I'm hoping to find someone local with a metal lathe to do the job for me.

On the plus side, the Harbor Freight hole punch I just purchased works beautifully, and has greatly simplified construction - it works far better than the drill press for drilling neat holes. All I need to do now is sort out this electroplating business without giving myself cancer...
 
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