Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Oh the places I go.




I love going into the hardware store to see what goodies I can find.
My husband loves it too cause I am off looking around and not tapping my foot trying to get him to leave. Of course many times it's my husband who is tapping his foot!

I get a lot of my copper wire from there. It usually has only a couple of gauges but I find it's pretty cheap. I have a surplus store in town that has brass and bronze wire! Call around your town to see if you can find a surplus store. They are a great resource.

 Another great find are copper washers. Recently I found a box full of all sizes. It's so easy to use a jewelry hammer and give them a little texture and then use a patina and voila you are done. 
While looking around I found these great little sprocket thingys.
They have teeth in them and do not lay flat, so I put them on my steel pad and pound them flat. I patina them and add them to earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. It's one of my favorite finds.
There is a hometown hardware store where my aunt lives and they have a bunch of different sizes, if you can find an old fashion store you might get lucky too!
I know a lot of you out there use the black iron wire. I used to get it from a web site but found a cheaper source at a local hardware store. I buy them by the spool full! 
You know its bad when you travel and instead of looking for a cool place to eat you look up local hardware stores!

I would love to hear of peoples finds. I am sure I am missing some good stuff!

 

9 comments:

mairedodd said...

i love to use my local hardware store - for wire and copper tubing... but also, there are center punches, small chisels and other tools that you can dull the ends just a bit and use as metal stamps... i have also found that they have boxes of watch parts - so i can get micro screws and tiny washers! the BEST! (that reminds me, i should get there today!)

Unknown said...

I love the hardware store too!

Moois van mie said...

thanks for the tips ! I'm gonna try it !

Anonymous said...

Hardware stores are great. I've bought stainless steel wire, copper wire in several gauges from 24 to 16, washers, dowels for mandrels, steel wool, scotch brite pads, a thing that cuts copper tubing and more.

Zoraida

Mystic Indigo said...

I go there to get copper pipe too...we have an old, old hardware store that has all sorts of goodies!!

stacilouise said...

I LOVE my local hardware store! I am always scouring it for stuff I can use. but I love the tool aisle the most. I would love a studio full of tools

CraftyHope said...

Yes, hardware stores are great. I'm always found near the wire while the hubs browses the other aisles. I know that there are always treasures to be uncovered if you look hard enough. Now I want to go shopping dangit!

mrs beadsley said...

I absolutely LOVE the hardware store. All those small drawers hold such treasures - chrome washers, black steel springs, brass pieces, copper pieces and even those awesome black rubber 'O' rings. It's almost my favorite place to shop! And don't get me started on the wire...........oh, and the tools - see what I mean? (oh, and don't forget the fishing department - copper and brass lures make GREAT connectors and clasps!!!!)

Unknown said...

I love hardware stores as well. Next to that I have the luck being into recycling networks and transformers are a great source for differeent guages f copper. The same electrical appliances also have oddly formed parts which a bit of pounding will make useful for jewelry. Anything older than 1980 is really nice to take apart :-)

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