Bataeff's

It's kind of hard to find where to go for cheap metal in a new town, but luckily my Dad and Dawn knew where to go in Santa Rosa- Bataeff's Salvage. They sell scrap metal by the pound (copper is $6, brass 15, I think steel is 1) and it's all kinds of gorgeous shapes. Also they sell a bit of new steel in consistent lengths, but the fun is picking through the bins and bathtubs to find treasures. 

I have been using a lot of this steel mesh in my rings so I picked up some more, also some tiny brass findings to supplement the ones I spoiled with resin. 

 I think these are for computer cooling, and they look like this even after sitting out in the rain every day forever.

 I think these pipes are galvanized so they can't rust, but the cut ends do for a nice contrast.

 Also the whole ground looks like this to some extent, this is a medium/high density of items.

They have bins and bins of ball bearings in all sizes.

 Since it's sold by the pound and I am working at jewelry scale, everything is nearly free, and then Dawn treated me so it was exactly like free. Yay!