"Hypodermic Needle tubing"

By Steve Bamford with help from many ARC viewers

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There are many times a modeller is looking for stainless steel tubing for a particular area on their model.  Maybe for pitot tubes etc.  The question has always been....where do you buy this tubing from.  Here's one option....a company called VITA NEEDLE COMPANY.  They offer a variety of Stainless Steel tubing as can be seen in the picture below....so you could use their tubing for more than pitot Tubes. 

STAINLESS STEEL TUBING Miniature S.S. 304 and S.S. 316 Tubing Lowest Minimums... Short Lead Times Hypodermic & Fractionals IN STOCK .004"-.375"+ OD...Many Wall Sizes VITA is the first needle manufacturer to stock Gauges 4-34, RW & TW in S.S. 316 for superior corrosion resistance.

If this sounds interesting you can call them at 909-699-8790 for an immediate quote.  Ask for Lance.  The minimum order is $35 so you may want to get together with a few model club members and place one order.

For smaller orders you can buy Vita Needle products at McMaster-Carr they sell Vita Needle hypodermic tubing by the foot.  Go to the McMaster-Carr website and type hypodermic into their search engine.  That will take you to the page you need to buy this tubing.

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K-Tube is also an excellent source of miniature stainless tubing. We're on the west coast so it we may be of some use to people out here.  Thanks and hope you check out our website.  www.k-tube.com  

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Other places to try for this fine tubing would be

• http://www.ksmetals.com/HobbyMerchandisers/stainless_steel.asp

• http://www.amnow.com/handicraft.htm 

• http://www.makersgallery.com/MAG/supplies.html

• http://www.smallparts.com  This company carries thousands of "small parts".  They will also send you a catalog upon request right through the website.
  

You can also try the local Ace Hardware, Pat Catans, or a Lowes. I have actually seen the tubing and rod at Lowess. Stainless and galvanized. (Located down the nuts, bolts, and screws isle.) Depending on the size of the Ace Hardware, I've seen the copper and steel minaiture beams, rods, etc. Same with Pat Catans. It's usually the larger sized stores that carry the most in variety.

There is also a company from Spain called Minimeca Espanola that specializes in small diameter stainless steel rod and tubing. They have .2mm wire that can be used for rigging WWI aircraft with great success.  This can be found at some hobby shops.