Re: Brass Balls Down Under

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Original poster: Jim Lux <jimlux-at-earthlink-dot-net> 

At 08:32 AM 6/22/2004 -0600, you wrote:
>Original poster: Matthew Smith <matt-at-kbc-dot-net.au>
>Hi All
>
>Can anyone point me to a good online source of small brass balls for 
>safety gaps, etc., in Australia?  The local hardware places are a joke 
>(they don't even stock soldering flux paste).
>
>Cheers
>
>M


Aside from looking for tiny brass monkeys in the winter...

"Drawer pulls" are a good source of small metal balls that have been 
conveniently tapped.  One has to make sure that they're actually metal 
(metallized plastic is becoming more common) and that they're not plated.

Lamp finials (the fancy name for the nut on the top of the thread that 
holds the shade to the harp (which is the thing that holds up the shade 
above the light bulb).

Curtain rod finials.

Acorn nuts.

For a safety gap, you might not need brass (except for appearance?), so 
perhaps steel or iron balls might work (BTW ball bearings are extremely 
hard, and need to be heated and cooled to destroy the hardening)