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Tubing Help

3/8 ID

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#1 imaseoulman

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Posted 12 October 2008 - 02:45 PM

Hey guys, I'd like some help from the vast and varied resources of the NIC.

For the last year or so I've been trying to track down some tubing that has 3/8" ID and a wall-thickness of no more than 1/32" and 1/64" would be great (the standard thickness of the brass tubing we generally use).

You're probably saying now, well, why not use brass? Well, brass really isn't the best material for my application and I don't like the way it cuts. I may eventually use brass if I can find no other alternative, but it's a last resort.

I've tried in vain to find 3/8" PETG tubing with a wall thickness similar to OMC's stuff. I've also searched McMaster for good tubing, and the only thing I ever come up with is garolite, which is a little pricey and I have no idea how easy it is to work with. Also, I've never been good at navigating mcmaster.com, if I didn't know the part #'s for the brass I purchased in the past from them, I don't think I could find it again.

So, I'm asking any and all of you if you know of some tubing that will meet my needs:
  • 3/8" ID
  • Thin walled
  • Costs no more than brass, obviously the cheaper the better.
  • And I don't have to buy it in huge quantities.
Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
-imaseoulman
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#2 CaptainSlug

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Posted 12 October 2008 - 03:16 PM

plastic only comes in such thin wall sizes when intended for packaging, or for water or air delivery.
Search for "tubing" on mcmaster then refine by dimensions, then material.

At wall thicknesses that small plastic is just not going be structurally sound and will be formulated for flexibility.

Edited by CaptainSlug, 12 October 2008 - 03:18 PM.

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#3 TantumBull

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Posted 12 October 2008 - 03:19 PM

Try this stuff:
http://www.tapplasti...317032016687871

I just searched google and that came up. It has a 1/16" wall thickness and is acrylic. That site also has all sorts of other plastic tubes.


Sorry, that's 3/8" OD, but still checkout that site.

Edited by TantumBull, 12 October 2008 - 03:20 PM.

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#4 CaptainSlug

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Posted 12 October 2008 - 03:28 PM

Acrylic would be unusably brittle.

Frankly unless you can change the plans for what you want do around a different tubing size, you're stuck with brass for those particular dimensions. Alternative metals would cost more.

Edited by CaptainSlug, 12 October 2008 - 03:34 PM.

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The little critters of nature, they don't know that they're ugly. That's very funny, a fly marrying a bumble bee. I told you I'd shoot, but you didn't believe me. Why didn't you believe me?

#5 Foam Shooter

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Posted 12 October 2008 - 03:56 PM

The smallest tube I could find was 3/8" ID, 7/16" OD, 1/32" Wall Thickness. I don't believe that this would cope well with air but they have plenty of other sizes on Mcmaster.
Unless you're looking for a hard tubing which I think brass is the only answer.

Edited by Foam_Shooter, 12 October 2008 - 03:59 PM.

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#6 TantumBull

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Posted 12 October 2008 - 06:18 PM

Acrylic would be unusably brittle.

Frankly unless you can change the plans for what you want do around a different tubing size, you're stuck with brass for those particular dimensions. Alternative metals would cost more.


In some circumstances, yes. I use acrylic in a lot of my nerf modding and it has yet to fail me. I'm just smart about it and don't put it under a ton of pressure, or it will break.
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#7 imaseoulman

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Posted 12 October 2008 - 07:27 PM

Thanks for the help guys.

CS, that's exactly the searching I have done, and I don't usually find much (other than garolite).

The main use of this is barrel material, I probably should have specified that before. So it doesn't need to hold up to too many PSI.

Even though I'm planning to use it for barrel material, flexibility is okay for my intended applications.

I checked plastruct and couldn't find anything with less than 1/8" wall thickness.

The tap tap plastics didn't turn up too much either, I couldn't find any accurate specs on the tubing.

Ideally, I'd like to buy something like OMC's PETG (similar wall thickness and everything) just in smaller size. Thanks for the help so far, and let me know if you guys have any other suggestions. Thanks again.
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#8 imaseoulman

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Posted 12 October 2008 - 07:51 PM

Don't know why I didn't think of this earlier:

http://www.arcatapet.com/


search "plastic tubing" - lots of sizes of PETG

"Item 467" is 7/16" OD which may be just the stuff:

3-foot length of plastic tubing, 7/16-inch outer diameter, 3/8-inch inner diameter.

Manufacturer: Penn Plax
Rigid Plastic Tubing 7/16-inch outer diameter, 3 foot length


Oh, and if you're looking at big quantities for some reason, the owner is a long-time friend of mine.

Thanks, that's probably the best thing I've seen so far. Shipping prices are a little interesting (and a bit higher than I expected) but not unreasonable. If nothing else turns up, I'll order a little bit of this first and if it works well, I'll order more. Thanks for the tip.
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#9 Draconis

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Posted 13 October 2008 - 02:47 PM

I'll look at my aquarium supply shop when I go to pick up the 9/16" tube I ordered.
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[15:51] <+Rhadamanthys> titties
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[15:51] <@Draconis> Titties.
[15:52] <+Noodle> why is this so hard?


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