Gears n Roses

November 1, 2009 12:44 PM

I want metal gears and gear-looking items, like bicycle derailleurs, to make some art. Where can I get them cheap? What are the secret sources of that sort of stuff?

Where I go with it depends what I can get -- if I can get some awesome giant clock gear, that might be it, but otherwise I want a variety of sizes. It doesn't have to be all the same type of gear, and the sizes can range from a couple of inches to a foot or more. I looked at rotary saw blades, but they look too mean. I'm looking for stuff like this.

I'm also looking for good sources of copper pipe or aluminum pipe -- I know hardware stores carry them, but I'm wondering if there are secret sources where I could get stuff a little cheaper.

Brick and mortar ideas if possible, but if I can get some super cool thing online I'll go with it.

Thanks everyone.

posted by A Terrible Llama to media & arts (14 comments total)

None of the gears in that picture are bicycle gears, but if you're looking for bike gears (chain rings and cogsets), check out e-bay, the junk yard, the dump, etc. You'll need a variety of tools to get them off, and they may be quite rusty, but that's where I'd search.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 12:57 PM on November 1

I suspect most of them are being hoarded by Cory Doctorow, you might ask him..

That said, you might want to also check machine shops and small appliance repair shops (if you can find any nowdays).. Also, auto and motorcycle repair shops. You might be able to ask them to throw them in a box which you'll pick up when you drop off the case of beer every few weeks.
posted by HuronBob at 1:02 PM on November 1

copper pipe is enough of a scrap commodity that you're not going to find a lot of cheap places for it. i'm not sure about aluminum tubing, but you might be able to get cheap steel tubing (like EMT) around construction sites. there's no scrap market in it to speak of, and plenty of it gets tossed, particularly on renovation sites.
posted by rmd1023 at 1:11 PM on November 1

My dad gets a lot of strange metal objects from several surplus strange metal scrap yard type places. They are often hidden away in some industrial section of town and have, say, 1,000 metal empty fire extinguishers or huge bins of metal shavings or an old crane. The stock seems to turn over both very quickly and very slowly depending on what it is. Most things you pay by the pound depending on the type of metal but if something is particularly odd it may have a flat price.

For little things like you are looking for Ebay may be your best bet. "clock gears crafts" returns a bunch of auctions. I think the current steampunk crazy is fueling the market right now so that may give you a good framework to craft your search.
posted by Chrishartley at 1:12 PM on November 1

You haven't said where you are, but in Portland OR, the Recyclery is a good place to get used bike parts, including a variety of chain rings that might work for you.

You're likely to have a harder time with copper or aluminum pipe, though, since all of the likely free legal sources (and most of the illegal sources as well) are already heavily camped by folks looking to resell or recycle them for a few dollars a pound. Buying new or from a salvage yard is probably your best bet there.
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 1:23 PM on November 1

depending on where you are, there may be community bicycle workshops or collectives which generally have old cassettes and chainrings, as well as any part you may need- so google that maybe. Also, most old bike parts can be had for a swansong on ebay if you just go look.
posted by Large Marge at 1:42 PM on November 1

Some cities sponsor a cheap-junk-for-art-supplies program. The one in San Francisco is called the Scrounger's Center for Reusable Art Parts, just to give you the idea. Call your local garbage company and ask if they do something like that.
posted by Quietgal at 2:14 PM on November 1

I can think of the perfect place for you in Chicago, but I cannot think of its name or exact location for the life of me -- so I'm hoping this will ring a bell to any Chicagoans who might read the thread. I visited it at least 6 or 7 years ago with my then-boyfriend, who was collecting exactly this sort of thing for his artwork. It was a large warehouse-y type place with amazing collections of gears and other machine parts, boxes of beads, glass eyes, random objects and toys, old arts & crafts kits, hunks of metal, etc. It was sort of like Tom Waits and Joseph Cornell had opened a massive junk store. Does anyone in Chicago know what I'm talking about? I want to say it was in Pilsen or on the west side somewhere.

Sorry not to be more specific... I hope that A) someone knows what I'm talking about, and B) if it does still exist and you're not in Chicago that there's a way to order stuff online.
posted by scody at 2:16 PM on November 1

Freecycle. Ask for unrepairable bikes, gears, and parts.
posted by theora55 at 3:07 PM on November 1

You might try googling for a "surplus and salvage" store in your area. I've often heard that phrase used to describe the type of place scody's talking about. Also, I hope someone knows what she's talking about because I am in Chicago, and I want to go there!
posted by dizziest at 3:56 PM on November 1

I live in .au (and have never been there) but I'm going to guess it was American Science & Surplus... *sigh* so jealous.
posted by mu~ha~ha~ha~har at 6:49 PM on November 1

theoraSS has it - freecycle rules for that kind of thing! It provided a great collection of magnetrons for my last project and is an amazing give-and-take.
posted by anadem at 8:34 PM on November 1

Try a police auction. In our city they hold them yearly. They always have bikes and lots of unclaimed stuff. Sometimes they give it away if they can't get any bids.
posted by Taurid at 10:57 PM on November 1

I don't know where you live, but if you have a bicycle co-op around they probably have bins of scrap parts. I know the one I volunteer at has heaps of old parts that we save until we have a truckload and then take them to a scrap yard. We'd likely give you whatever pieces you want, since mixed scrap steel isn't worth much.

I work in construction and anything scrap goes into scrap metal bins, I wouldn't advise rooting around a construction site looking for scrap bits, even in the garbage cans, you could hurt yourself or get hassled for stealing stuff. Most plumbing companies take out the copper since it's worth far more as clean or dirty copper scrap.

If you're looking for interesting metal bits, go to a scrap yard and ask to poke around, I've purchased beer kegs and a few other bits and pieces this way. If you're lucky and go to the right scrap yard, they might even be able to remember when a machinist brought in 100lbs of old cast gears.
posted by glip at 2:53 PM on November 2