I don't want meals, I want INGREDIENTS

• anything that is used to build labor-intensive stuff that can be bought out of China in quantity.
• because labor-intensive stuff just gets bought out of China in quantity.

Maybe you have answered your own question. Ebay and China.

I've bought the hobbyist tinned solid copper wire from ebay, but it's hard-drawn, stiff and springy, and it doesn't solder very well.

I buy various laminates from ebay: copperclad FR4, copperclad Kapton, Corian (great for test fixtures), like that.

There are outfits that specialize in these sorts of materials. They may not be greatly interested in tiny orders, though. But, check Allied and Newark, for instance, they may have a wider range of sizes.

LOTS of stuff that used to be used for prototyping, and was VERY common, now quite scarce. Wire wrapping stuff, for one, has been scarce for years, but there are specialist outfits that carry it. Vector prototype boards are pretty much gone. Fortunately, with FPGAs, I do much less of this sort of thing, but I still build bed of nails test fixtures from time to time.

Jon

How about...

I go to my local motor rewind shop and ask nicely. Mikek

I use

bought out by EIS Inc. Electrical Insulation Suppliers

OLD: Fay Electric Wire Corp. (800) 245-9473 752 North Larch Avenue Elmhurst, IL 60126

(630) 530-7500 Toll Free: (800) 245-9473 Fax: (630) 530-7536

you can get almost any size, with single, double, or triple coatings. usually coated with soldereze, instead of that inpenetrable thermaleze.

= = = Miscellaneous wires etc:

WireTronic, Inc. 1-888-WIRETRO (947-3876)

I've bought small spools from these guys.... Always sold by the pound.

Bobbins Name: Formco Street: 427 Plain Street Marshfield, ma 02050-2712 Phone: (781) 834-7882

Paper Tubes Paramount Tube

Temple Steel Small qty ~50lbs of steel laminates for transformers. weight may vary upon product availblity.

Polyester (3m) tape/copper tape Tapecase.com

Cheers

digikey was never good for stuff like wire and hardware. I've always used Allied for stuff like that.

Huh? I see eleven different sizes in stock, at Digi-Key, from 14 to

Mouser stocks ten sizes in half-pound (0.23 kg) spools in 18-36 AWG in one line, and five sizes in pound (0.45 kg) spools in 14-28 AWG. All Belden. Price per spool ranges from US$50 to $92 quantity one.

Buggy whips.

If you want to sell in small quantities, eBay's cut of the money is probably a reasonable price to pay for the storefront/shopping cart/ credit-card service. It doesn't take much to get started and eBay is popular, so you can get a lot of eyeballs.

Standard disclaimers apply; I don't get money or other consideration from any companies mentioned.

Matt Roberds

Yep, that's what I see too, now. What the heck did I do to get the other result? It's still not quite up to Jo-Ann fabrics and crafts store (they have three different colors, smaller quantities...), but at least there IS some scope.