Washers?

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sremed60

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I found two different 316 stainless steel SAE flat washers locally. One is 3mm x 24mm ID x 51mm OD. I believe they were .80¢ each. Then I found some 316 stainless steel that are 3mm x 20mm ID x 38mm OD for .40¢ each.

My issues are these: a 1/2" nipple has an OD of about 21mm. So the larger washer has a 3mm gap, (not a major concern), while the smaller washer lack 1mm from being able to fit over the nipple.

I was wondering if anyone who works with this stuff could suggest a fairly simple way to expand the center of the smaller washer by 1 to 1.5mm?
 
I used big washers on mine. What I did was cut off parts of the washer so it could fit closer in the inside curves.
 
I've tried drilling washers. It's nearly impossible. They're stainless, and they're thick, and they have no surface area to clamp onto. You'll burn out your grinding stone, step bit, and probably your drill press while work-hardening the washer, and you'll be no better off. Cutting or grinding an edge off might work if clearance on the bottom of the kettle is the issue. Otherwise, just order a bunch from one of our fine vendors here and be done with it.

I'll also say this: Once I did one fitting with silver solder, I'll never go back to weldless again. $10 at AirGas and a blow torch will give you a dozen fittings.
 
Otherwise, just order a bunch from one of our fine vendors here and be done with it.

I paid 40 to 80 cents each for these which seems fair, reasonable and honest for stainless steel washers. I bought them at brick and mortar retail stores and the sellers didn't seem to have a problem selling them for that price. Like I said, the one place actually weighed them first to determine that 40 cents was the fair, decent and honest price for a stainless steel flat washer of that size. That said, I'll figure out another solution before I'll pay $3.00 to $4.00 a piece plus $7.99 for shipping for flat washers just because they come from a "Home Brew" supplier. Profit is one thing - gouging is another.

I'll also say this: Once I did one fitting with silver solder, I'll never go back to weldless again. $10 at AirGas and a blow torch will give you a dozen fittings.

My son graduated welding school a few years ago and he's supposedly an exceptional above average welder. He's passed all kinds of certifications for this and that - I know nothing about welding so I can't speak intelligently about his skill. So getting free welding done would be no problem at all - except he doesn't actually own his own welding equipment. My father-in-law has all kinds of welding gear, but he lives 80 miles away. Eventually I hope to get my son there with the equipment and my brew stuff and get some free welding done - but who knows when that'll be.
 
I paid 40 to 80 cents each for these which seems fair, reasonable and honest for stainless steel washers. I bought them at brick and mortar retail stores and the sellers didn't seem to have a problem selling them for that price. Like I said, the one place actually weighed them first to determine that 40 cents was the fair, decent and honest price for a stainless steel flat washer of that size. That said, I'll figure out another solution before I'll pay $3.00 to $4.00 a piece plus $7.99 for shipping for flat washers just because they come from a "Home Brew" supplier. Profit is one thing - gouging is another.

It's always hard to know what a "fair" price is. When you consider the time of the person helping you or filling the order, single-piece prices have to be up there to recover costs.

Imagine you're paying someone just $9/hour as a clerk, or in shipping, or whatever. That's 15 cents a minute, and doesn't include FICA, doesn't include the HR costs of keeping such a person on staff. If that person helps you for just 5 minutes, the business has just paid them 75+ cents. On a single 40-cent washer, it may appear as if they made a profit, but I assure you, they did not.

Same with shipping costs. Spend some time actually wrapping a package for shipment, and you'll see that shipping isn't generally a big moneymaker. You have not only the cost of postage/shipping, you have the box, the labeling process, taping it up, if it needs cushioning then you have bubble wrap or something or other.....it adds up.

It might appear that someone is gouging you but more likely, they're breaking even if they're lucky. They just can't risk turning you down as a customer even if all you want is a single washer.

BTW: my trick--and I'll bet lots of people here use it--is to find other things I want/need that can be covered under the shipping cost, especially if it's a flat-rate shipping cost. That spreads the shipping cost out over many items, not just a single inexpensive item. Maybe there's some vinyl or silicone tubing you need, or some worm clamps, or....whatever.
 
It might appear that someone is gouging you but more likely, they're breaking even if they're lucky. They just can't risk turning you down as a customer even if all you want is a single washer.
My intent wasn't to get into a debate about supply and demand or price gouging. I get it. A plastic doll that normally sells for $5.00 but sells for $35.00 when you dress it up like one of Disney's "Frozen" characters is not [technically] price gouging - I stand corrected.
On the other hand to think one company can sell an item for 40 cents and another company sells the exact item for $4.00 + $7.99 shipping and to say they're both "probably just breaking even" is a bit of a stretch - but I digress.

I was really just wondering if anyone knew of a way to make the ID a little bigger.
 
My intent wasn't to get into a debate about supply and demand or price gouging. I get it. A plastic doll that normally sells for $5.00 but sells for $35.00 when you dress it up like one of Disney's "Frozen" characters is not [technically] price gouging - I stand corrected.
On the other hand to think one company can sell an item for 40 cents and another company sells the exact item for $4.00 + $7.99 shipping and to say they're both "probably just breaking even" is a bit of a stretch - but I digress.

I was really just wondering if anyone knew of a way to make the ID a little bigger.

Here's what I would try--and the worst that can happen is you ruin a 40 cent washer.

I'd put that washer edge-on in a vise, where the outside edge of the washer is held by both jaws of the vises. Then I'd come at it from the side with a dremel rotary tool type stone that would open up the inside. Others note that it might work harden, but I bet it would work. I've used similar approaches to open up other metal objects--and since you only need to open it up a millimeter or so, it's not like you have to take off a ton of material.

I'm talking about accessories like these:

https://www.dremel.com/en-us/Access...2051&catname=Grinding+Stones+-+Aluminum+Oxide

They sell them at all sorts of home depot type stores, hardware stores, and so on.

It's also possible a small sanding drum might work as well--I'm thinking it would.

Good luck, and report back.
 
[...]I was really just wondering if anyone knew of a way to make the ID a little bigger.

Bench vise, a step bit (or a boron twist if you need an odd size) chucked into a variable speed drill and some lubricant.
No big deal, I needed to do the same to three washers for my old 10g Rubbermaid MLT.

Go slow, keep the bit cool, and you're In Like Flynn...

Cheers!
 
I ended up using a 1.2" NPT tap I found in my garage. I held the washer on edge in a pair of vice grips and screwed the tap thru with a wrench. Cut thru like nothing. Now the washer threads onto the back of the nipple without the need for a nut. It's a temporary fix on a 10 gallon cooler to get me thru the next few batches. I'm converting a keg into a HLT and still debating with myself if I want to convert one into a mash tun as well. For now, this'll work - I hope.
 
I've drilled out a few washers seeing that I'm to lazy to drive to the store for the right size. A vise is a must and secondly good drill bits. Zip right through in seconds.
 
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