This is the FAQ for rec.crafts.metalworking. It is in several pieces to keep the overall size of each part below the limits imposed by some news systems. This is part 10 of 11. Generally, units below are United States dollars, degrees Fahrenheit, and all the other silly backwards units we Americans still use. Sorry. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 99. Names and addresses of publishers and suppliers. Note also that a potential source of manufacturers/suppliers is the Thomas Register, found in most public libraries, or now on-line: http://www.thomasregister.com/ -- Special entry: Not a company or anything, but for more info on crafts supplies, send e-mail to info@crafts-council.pe.ca and put "WANTED:" at the beginning of the subject line. This is a non-profit service of PEI Crafts Council in Charlottetown, Price Edward Island, Canada. They maintain a list of crafts suppliers and can answer questions like "give me a list of ceramics suppliers East of the Mississippi" or "who sells ConeArt kilns?" (per a post 9-Nov-1993) - Aircraft Spruce & Specialty Company Fullerton, CA (800) 824-1930 400-page catalog costs $5, but they pay $4.10 to mail it to you (at 1994 postage rates). Airplane kits (real ones), as well as parts and raw material such as aluminum stock, composites, epoxies, foam, and spruce. This is not as complete or as universal as McMaster-Carr, but it has a number of things you won't find elsewhere. - Alley Supply Company P.O. Box 848 Gardnerville, NV 89410 (702) 782-3800 Deals in Jet lathes and accessories. - Allied Devices Corporation 2365 Milburn Ave P.O. Box 502 Baldwin, New York 11510 (516) 223-9100, (516) 223-9172 (FAX) "Standard Precision Mechanical Components" such as small gears. Reputedly not cheap, but Small Parts Inc isn't either. - American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute (AWI) P.O. Box 11011 Cincinnati, OH 45211 (513) 661-3838, (513) 661-3131 (FAX) Membership is around $45 or so per year. They have an excellent magazine, Horological Times. Their orientation is more towards watch/clock repair. They offer many courses along those lines. The "Project Extended" courses are given in Cincinnati, but they have many other courses (around 5 days) given around the country. They have at least 100 videotapes on various aspects of lathe work and clock repair. - Jim Anderson 1642 Hillridge Ann Arbor MI 48103 There were a few Craftsman lathes that were apparently *not* made by Clausing or their predecessors, called AA Products. Jim has a catalog of sorts; send an 8 1/2 x 11 self-addressed-stamped-envelope with 2 stamps. Include the model number in the request and he will send a copy of the manual, a list of customers, and a list of parts sources. - ARE, Inc. Box 8 Greensboro Bend, VT 05842 (800)736-4273, (802)533-7007, (802)533-7008 fax Tools for jewelry-making, perhaps more. Catalog is $4. - Argus Books P.O. Box 35 Wolsey House Wolsey Road, Hemel Hempstead Herts HP2 4SS England Telephone: Hemel Hempstead (0442)66551 Former publishers of Model Engineer, in England. ME is now published by a sister company, Nexus. However, Argus still has interesting books that are described elsewhere in this FAQ, and may still be a source for back issues of ME. The US distributor for some of the Argus/Nexus publications is: Wise Owl Worldwide Services 4314 West 238th Street Torrance, CA 90505-4509 (310) 375-6258, (310) 375-0548 (FAX) - Armstrong Tool & Supply Co, Inc. 31747 W Eight Mile Livonia, MI 48152 (800) 446-9694 Full range of hand tools & Sherline Products. Catalog $2.00 - Bailey Craftsman Supply P.O. Box 276 Fulton, MO 65251-0276 (314) 642-5998 Shop videos, Books, EMCO Maier & Sherline Products - W.M. Berg, Inc. 499 Ocean Avenue East Rockaway, NY 11518 (516) 596-1700, (516) 599-3274 (FAX), (516) 599-5010 customer service Very similar to Stock Drive Products (q.v.). Separate catalogs for metric vs. english parts. They undoubtedly have a few items that Stock Drive does not carry, and vice-versa. - Blades & Stuff 1019 E. Palmer Ave. Glendale, CA 91205 Catalog $5 - Blue Ridge Machinery and Tools, Inc. PO Box 536 2806 Putnam Avenue Hurricane, WV 25516 800-872-6500, (304) 562-3538 in WV, (304) 562-5311 (fax) Credit cards, COD's up to $200 M,W,F 9-5 EST, Tu,Th 9-9 EST Lathes, milling machines, presses, brakes, from puny to industrial. Accessories and parts for popular machines from Myford, South Bend, Atlas, Sherline, Emco-Maier, etc. Hand tools and books of interest to hobbyists and professionals. Woodworking power tools Steel, brass, aluminum, tool steel in small quantities. 110 page free catalog - J. C. Boegeman 1464 S. Warner Dr. Apache Junction, AZ 85220 (602) 982-8436 Discontinued parts for Atlas, Craftsman, Clausing lathes. Quadrants, reverse gear boxes, lead screws, half-nuts, spindles, steady rests, and so on. No catalog, so call. - Borel and Frei 712 S. Olive St., Suite 318 Los Angeles, CA 90014 (800)654-9591 (national), (800)252-9392 (CA), (213)689-7007, (213)488-0485 fax They also have a Kansas City office: Jules Tools (Jules Borel & Co.) 1110 Grand Ave. Kansas City, MO 64106 (800)776-6858 orders, (800)776-6865 customer service, (816)421-6110, (800)776-6862 fax Jewelers' tools: main 172-page catalog "T" is color, slick paper, no prices (separate price list is enclosed). Also catalog "J" for jewelry, "H" for horological (watchmaking) supplies, and "F" of jewelry findings. Specialty tool catalog "TS" is 50 pages B&W and does have prices. - Boston Gear 14 Hayward St. Quincy Ma. 02171 (617) 328-3300 They have nearly any gear iminaginable, IN STOCK. Their prices are lower than you might imagine, and delivery is good. - Bourget Bros. Lapidary and Jeweler's Supplies 1636 11th St. Santa Monica, CA 90404 (800)828-3024 - Brownells Route 2 Box 1 200 South Front Street Montezuma, Iowa, 50171 (515) 623-5401, (515) 623-3896 (FAX) Brownells is a fine firm that specializes in gunsmithing, though a lot of their merchandise is great for general-purpose metalworking, such as steel, brass, and nickel silver. Catalog is $4.00, refundable with first order of $40 or more (but if you can convince them you are a dealer, then it is free). They have lower prices for gun dealers, "enciphered" in the catalog in a manner similar to the following -- Item: Foo Bar Grips an9xx20dd Price: $19.95 means list price is $19.95, dealer price is $9.20. However, in recent catalogs they have changed the coding on some items. While some people have apparently convinced them they are a dealer, the usual requirement seems to be an FFL (Federal Firearms License) before they sell for the dealer price. - Bryant Laboratory 1101 Fifth St. Berkeley, CA 94710 (510) 526-3141, (800) 367-3141 They sell chemicals used in patination, and have recipes as well. - Camden Miniature Steam Services Freepost (BA 1502) Rode Nr. Bath BA3 6UB Somerset England 01-373-830516 (FAX) Have an A4 53 page list of their books and videos (British PAL 625/50hz) free plus postage. - Campbell Tools, Inc. 2100-H Selma Rd. Springfield, OH 45505 (513) 322-8562 A machine supplier attuned to the hobbyist metalworker. They carry Sherline, Emco, Jet, and other machines. Also books, hardware, raw materials, etc. Highly recommended by one net reader. Catalog is $1 - Cardinal Engineering Inc RR #1, Box 163 Cameron, IL 61423 (309) 342-7474, (309) 342-3182 (FAX) Supplier of various metals, but they also can supply CNC mills and/or kits to convert existing milling machines. Also some CNC lathe work. Several articles in recent years in HSM regarding CNC conversions were written by the folks at Cardinal. Catalog is $2. Also some books, and plans from a company called Wood-Met. - Castings PO Box 915001 Longwood, FL 32791 (407) 869-6565 Equipment and materials sized for chess pieces, etc., made in pewter. Probably other, related stuff as well. - Caswell Electroplating in Miniature (315) 597-5140 Reportedly has all kinds of small to medium plating supplies and is very helpful. - Centaur Forge Ltd. P.O. Box 340 117 N. Spring Street Burlington, WI 53105-0340 (414) 763-9175, (414) 763-8350 (FAX) Publications concentrate on forging, blacksmithing, though all aspects of metalworking are covered. A good, well-organized collection. They also publish a magazine, Anvil. Centaur Forge is the source for blacksmithing supplies from tongs to furnaces. Also a source of horse shoeing supplies. - Century Spring Corporation 800-237-5225, (213) 749-3802 (FAX) A Los Angeles company, they sell a wide range of both extension and compression springs, and also some more specialized springs like disk springs and rubber-tube springs. Their catalog is free and lists springs sorted by diameter, length, wire diameter,and material, and list number of coils, solid height, and calculated spring rate. The catalog does not include prices, but prices are reasonable, but there is a $25 minimum order. - Clausing Industrial Inc. Service Center P.O. Box 877 Goshen, Indiana 46527-0877 (219) 533-0371, (219) 533-0403 (FAX) Long ago, Sears sold Craftsman lathes that are still popular. These were actually made by Atlas, which was later bought by Clausing. Clausing apparently still has parts and manuals for the Craftsman/Atlas lathes, and will provide a free catalog. - Coles Power Models, Inc P.O. Box 788 839 E. Front Street Ventura, CA 93002 (805) 643-7065 Castings, books, supplies, accessories. For trains, stationary steam, gasoline engines. The catalog costs $4. - T. E. Conklin Brass & Copper Co. 345 Hudson St. NY. NY 10014 800-225-5510 They have every size of hex brass in 12' lengths from 1/8" to 7/16" by 1/32" increments, and then it goes up to 3" hex by 1/16" with some odd sizes thrown in such as 23/32. They got it in round, square, flat, gauge, strip, dimension plate, wire, rectangular rod, pipe, round tube, square tube, rectangular tube, angle, channel. They state that small orders are important. This is not only brass, but bronze, copper, monel, muntz, nickel silver, etc., in several alloys. I would doubt they have every alloy in every size. Ask for the Conklin Index. For locals the phone is 212-691-5100. (however, it is reported that a minimum first order is $100, and subsequently $50) - Condar Co. 10500 Industrial Drive Garrettsville, OH 44231 (216) 527-4343 They sell a pyrometer (high-temp thermometer) for gas forges and such, Unit 9-85 which comes with a 6-foot 2200-degree probe for $60. They also have a high temp probe (3000 degrees; Unit 14S4-1, $17). Probably lots of other related items, but this came up in discussion on low-cost pyrometers around 3/25/93. - Conquest Industries Santa Fe Springs, CA. (310) 906-1111, (310) 906-1112 (FAX) Apparently casting supplies. They have a free video tape and info packet on casting metal in rubber molds. The rubber can take heat up to 840F for zinc alloys. - Cowell's Small Machine Tools Ltd The Manor Workshop Church Road Little Bentley Colchester Essex CO7 8SE UK tel +44 1206 251792 Cowells sells two main products: a small lathe (88mm swing, 200mm between centers) and a small milling machine (200mm by 50mm bed). Also vertical blade jig-saws. Somewhat similar to Sherlines, these are described as being a bit better in quality and considerably more powerful. Cost is roughly double that of a Sherline. Their USA connection: Cowells USA Post Office Box 843 Richmond, KY 40476-0843 (606) 624-9269, (606) 625-1191 (FAX) There is also a book, "Cowells 90 Lathe" by A. Smith. - Craft Books 4 Maple Street Chester, CT 06412 (203) 526-9887 At the very least, books on patinizing such as The Coloring, Bronzing and Patinization of Metals. - Cyberlabs: see US Cyberlabs - Darex Corporation 220 Hersey Street Box 277 Ashland, OR 97520 (503) 488-2224, (503) 488-2229 (FAX) http://darex.com/sharpeners Precision drill and end-mill sharpening equipment. Some of their complete systems are very expensive and intended for large production shops (around $2000). They also sell fixtures for use with existing grinders (about $250) and sharpeners for taps, reamers, and countersinks. - Diamond Pacific Tool Corporation 25647 West Mail Street Barstow, CA 92311-9702 (800) 253-2954, (619) 255-1030 A complete selection of diamond cutting bits, saws, powders and compounds. Free catalog. - Dillsburg Aeroplane Works (717) 432-4589 Source for aluminum, steel, tubing, bar, sheets, etc. Advertises that they supply: machine shop, race car, airplane building, etc. These people are nice and helpful. They have shipped orders same day with no errors. - Eastwood Company (800) 345-1178 Metal fabrication equipment, welding supplies, etc. Reportedly, the prices are rather high. - EMCO Maier (Consumer Products Division) 2757 Scioto Parkway Columbus, OH 43221-2134 (800) 521-8289, (614) 771-5990 FAX Makers (importer?) of the Unimat and Unimat PC lathes, small mills, and such. They will/do sell direct, you can get a discount (5-15%) by dealing with Campbell or Blue Ridge on a package. Good customer service and parts department. - Enco Manufacturing Co. 13 stocking locations, main site in Chicago, IL (addresses not handy now) 800-860-3400 (24 hr orders, automatically routes to closest location) 800-860-3500 (fax, also auto routes) Credit cards, COD's up to $500, discount for pre-pay by check $25 minimum order Customer service & Chicago showroom M-F 7-midnight CST, Sa 8-4 CST, Su 9-4 CST Lathes, milling machines, etc, from small to large NC machines. Hand tools, cutting tools, storage cabinets, shop supplies Maker (not just distributer) of turret bed lathes. However, many net folks have reported that quality and service are between awful and terrible (this author included), and that Enco is to be avoided. This is not a unanimous opinion, but close. 230 page catalog - Gateway Clocks 7936 Camberly Drive Powell, TN 37849 Gateway Clocks is apparently a one-man business, in the person of W. R. Smith, author of several clockmaking books and one on clockmaking and model-making (see earlier section in the FAQ). Gateway also sells all of John Wilding's books, and John Wilding (in England) sells all of Smith's books, through a reciprocal agreement. - General Factory Supplies Co., Inc. Cincinnati, Ohio Dayton, Ohio http://www.virtual-adventures.com/gfs/ A stocking wholesale distributor of industrial supplies. No experience with them. - Gesswein 255 Hancock Ave. Bridgeport, CT 06605 (800)243-4466, (203)366-5400, (203)366-3953 fax Jewelry-making tools, perhaps more. On the 800 number, there is a voice mail system, and if you just want a catalog you have to wait for the last prompt when they let you speak for a longer period without being cut off. - Glendo Corporation 900 Overlander Road P.O. Box 1153 Emporia, KS 66801 (800) 835-3519, (316) 343-1084, (316) 343-9640 (FAX) Their Accu-Finish line of "advanced sharpening equipment" includes grinders and fixtures for lathe cutting bits and similar tools. Also, most affordable for the home shop, the Grind-R-Table for use with existing grinders. They often run ads in the magazines, or you can call for information. - Grand Tool Supply Corp. U.S. Highway 46 & Huyler St. Teterboro, NJ 07608 (800) 922-0512, (201) 288-7090 FAX "80,000 inch/metric cutting tools, measuring instruments & equipment for the machine shop." $50 min/order, free catalog. - Griegers Pasadena, CA (800) 423-4181 Lost wax casting supplies for jewelry making. Silver solder and flux, gold solder, nickel silver, etc. Free catalog on request. Apparently not what you'd call low prices, but they do have a good selection. - Grizzly Imports, Inc. West of Mississippi: P.O. Box 2069 Bellingham, WA 98227 (800) 541-5537, (800) 225-0021 (FAX) East of Mississippi: 2406 Reach Road Williamsport, PA 17701 (800) 523-4777, (800) 438-5901 (FAX) Imports a wide range of power tools and accessories. Metal lathes, milling machines, as well as lots of woodworking tools. They also sell a belt sander called the "Knife Belt Sander/Buffer." Among the importers of Taiwan-made tools, Grizzly seems to rank fairly well compared with Enco or Harbor Freight, though some consider Jet to be a bit better (at higher cost). - H & H Foundry Machine Company PO Box 605 Manor, PA 15665 (412) 863-3251 They will accept small one-off cast iron jobs (and probably other work as well, just don't know their full scope). They seem to do good work and are reasonably priced, according to D. E. Johnson who wrote an article in HSM about building a hefty milling machine attachment for a lathe. The pattern for that project is "on file" with them and can be requested. - Harbor Freight Tools 3491 Mission Oaks Blvd. Camarillo, CA 93011-6010 800 423 2567 They mostly sell cheap tools. Usually cheap = inexpensive, sometimes cheap = junky. All (or most all) imported. They are best for items which have a lot of metal in them and for which fine/precision is not your main objective. They have really great buys on anvils, cold chisel sets, screwdriver sets, tinsnips, crowbars, ... and free shipping (other than a $2.95 handling fee) for orders over $50. - Neil Hemingway 30 Links View Half Acre Rochdale Lancashire OL11 4DD England According to Guy Lautard in his Machinist's Bedside Reader, Neil has many lathe accessories and kits, many for Myford lathes. You might enclose a couple of international reply coupons when asking him for a catalog. - M. B. Herman 9308 N.W. 60th Street Tamarac, FL 33321 (305) 722-0061 Mentioned as another source of parts for Craftsman/Atlas lathes. - High Quality Tools, Inc. 1327 E. 289th St. Wickliffe, OH 44092 (216) 944-0144, (216) 585-2265 (FAX) Replacement parts for Bridgeport milling machines. Reputedly the quality is excellent. They have a catalog with exploded views of all assemblies. Cheaper than Bridgeport. See also Lee's and J.R. Machine. - Industrial Pipe and Steel Co. 9936 E. Rush Street South El Monte, CA 91733 800-423-4981, 818-443-9467, 818-579-4602 (fax) Credit cards, COD's M-F 7:30-4:30 PST, Sa 7:30-1 PST Cutting tools, hand tools, air tools, lathes, milling machines, you name it. Shop supplies, tool and die maker supplies, you name it. Metal of all sorts, you name it. New and used press die sets. Surplus rounds and plates. Buy by the foot, buy by the pound. Most of their metal stock is not listed in the catalog(s). Call and ask what they've got. Definitely oriented toward professional users, not hobbyists. Full line distributors for most instrument makers, Starrett, Mitutoyo, etc. Quality ranges from ultra-classy, great deals, garbage-at-any-price import. Small catalog several times a year, 200 page catalog once or twice a year, and a 750 page full-line catalog once every five years. They came out with a full-line catalog in 92. Get one if you can. - Jax Chemical (718) 347-0057 Patina solutions and chemicals. Available from some jewelry supply houses. - Johnson Atelier Sculpture/Casting Supplies 50 Princeton-Hightstown Road Suite L Princeton Junction, NJ 08550 (800) 732-7203 (orders or technical assistance), (609) 936-7206 (FAX) Aimed at the metalcaster and sculptor. Clays, modeling tools, shellcasting kits, plasters, various kits for making life casts, waxes, pyrometers, sandcasting/foundry tools, foundry metal ingots/plate/rod (SiBronze, 85-5-5-5, aluminum, copper), patina solutions and raw chemicals to make your own, safety equipment, etc. Looks like they target the school foundry and small art studio market. - Lee's Machinery 4089 N. Ridge Road Perry OH 44081 (216) 259-2222 Bridgeport and South Bend parts, new and used. The owner, Lee Zinn, does used machinery rebuilding of all kinds and has many new and used parts and accessories (chucks etc.). Will also make parts if unavailable, or parts that are better than original if needed (e.g. South Bend back gears like to break). See also High Quality Tools and J.R. Machine. (continued in next part)