Brass Shim Stock

[Randy_Va]

I am working on my first pinhole camera, and I am looking for material to make the pinhole from.

A lot of people have suggested using .2mm brass shim stock, but a thorough search of the local Michael's didn't turn up any. What is the intended use of this stuff so I have a chance of finding some in the store.

The clerk I asked had no idea what I was talking about.

[bill williams]

Hobby stores, craft stores, sell flat thin sheets of brass stock. Look in the area for model airplanes. I'm not sure of the brand, but I believe its something like K&E? Anyway, you should be able to find packages of something like 6x9 inch brass stock in very thin sheets.

[NormanV]

A bearing supplier should have some. It is used for precision packing in engineering.

[Mark Fisher]

If you want simple and cheap, try a soda can. The material toward the top is thinnest. Just make sure you paint the backside black.

[Vaughn]

Any hardware store should have it.

[Dan Dozer]

If you want/need specific thicknesses, you can order from McMaster Carr. They have just about anything you could ever need.

[Roger Thoms]

Another source you might try is an autoparts store. The soda can will also work, I've made pinhole cameras out of 1 quart and 1 gallon paint cans by simply drilling a hole in the side of the can. This is supposedly way to thick but it does work. The attached image is taken with a quart paint can camera, with 0.020 pinhole drilled directly in the can.

Roger

[vdoak]

Online metals there in the U.S. will have what you want. I have ordered from them and been very satisfied. The other sources I have used locally are hobby stores (model train section) and trophy plack stores /engraving shops. The kind used for brass name plates on post boxes works ok.

http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?id=1116&step=2&top_cat=79

[Bill Harrison]

Randy, I have massive amounts of brass shim stock. I haven't measured it but it looks about .2mm and 1/2" ish wide in ribbon form. Send me $1.50 for postage etc and I'll send you 12" ... Should be enough for 10-12 ... Bill, PM me

[Bill Harrison]

Checked in the shop. .25mmx15mm (just under 5/8") I've used black foamcore to mount a 1" piece. ... as a lensboard for my view cameras....

[Existing Light]

I'm just about to finish building a pinhole camera. All I need to do is make the pinhole and wait for the film to get here. Since I recycle the aluminum soda cans we drink out of, i'm just going to use that. I see no reason why that wouldnt work fine.

[darinwc]

Aluminum from a soda can will work fine.

To answer the question of where to get brass shim stock.. Try Ace Hardware. The one near me has varying thicknesses of aluminum, brass, and stainless steel flats, rods, and tubes. All in small quantities and relatively inexpensive. Perfect for small projects.

[John Koehrer]

The maker is K&S & as earlier post say, Hardware, craft, & hobby stores. I got a bagged assortment of different sizes & thicknesses at American Scientific & Surplus for a couple of $$.

[greybeard]

The best reason for using shim stock is that it is very thin, and you want the edges of the pinhole to have the smallest possible thickness. The classic technique of using a blunt punch to make a dimple, and then sanding off the convex side until the pinhole is the desired diameter, will give you a thinner edge than any shim stock that is robust enough to handle. Heavier starting stock, within reason (soda can and on up) is actually easier to work with.

[Tom Miller]

The best material I've found for home-made pinholes is the disposable aluminum lids for steam table trays. Here is a link mainly to show what I'm talking about.
http://www.package4less.com/aluminumfoilhalfsteamtablepanlid-case100lidsDisposable.aspx
The lids are less than $1.00 each at retail stores like Party City. You can probably make 50 or 100 pinhole apertures out of one. They are thin aluminum, thinner than a pop can but thicker than aluminum foil. I've found brass shim stock to be harder to work with than aluminum; it can crumple too easily.

[P C Headland]

Another good source of material for making pinholes is the metal sliding "door" on 3 1/2" floppy disks.

[Joe VanCleave]

Look for K&S Engineering's sheet metal display, usually found in any Ace or True Value hardware store, and in many hobby shops.

~Joe

http://www.ksmetals.com/resources/_wsb_200x300_1005+Metal+Center.jpg

[DWThomas]

I find I can work pretty well with 0.002 inch brass by keeping it in the larger sheet and holding it stretched against a flat surface while creating the pinholes. I then cut out sections after the pinholes are made. I find 0.001 inch is just too flimsy to work with easily. Hobby shops catering to railroad modelers seem to be the most reliable source of the K&S stuff around this area.

[Randy_Va]

Thanks for all the help, I found the exact K&S display pictured above at my local hobby shop. I picked up the variety pack with .001, .002, .003 and .005. Now to see how long it takes me to horribly mess up this camera.