Drawer of nipples

[dougf]

I just got gifted a tool chest from a friend that includes a few hundred nipples mixed together. I'd really like to organize them, do any of you folks know a way to figure out if a nipple is brass or alloy without damaging them?

[tv_vt]

Well that title certainly had me going there...

[christian]

Weigh them individually. Post back when done.

[nighthawk]

Taste 'em.

[rugbysecondrow]

Huh?

If this is the level of your organization, I could really use your help...are you available to tackle my shed?

[oliver1850]

You should be able to tell by the color. Brass ones will be shinier. Aluminum ones actually look like they're made of aluminum. Brass on left, Aluminum on right.

Hell with Paul's shed, it can wait until you've finished with my kitchen.

[BumbleBeeDave]

Just when I thought it was going to be an uneventful Sunday night for the Mod on Duty . . . Just a "milk run" . . .

:rolleyes:

BBD

[rugbysecondrow]

Just when I thought it was going to be an uneventful Sunday night for the Mod on Duty . . . Just a "milk run" . . .

:rolleyes:

BBD

Milk jokes in a nipple thread...BBD ROCKS! :banana:

[eippo1]

What a titillating subject. Yup color. Also, aluminum would be more subject to a slight mark from a screwdriver if you really wanted to be sure.

[chuckroast]

Keep us abreast of the final count please.

[jds108]

can't wait 'til you discover that you'll want to separate 14g from 15g... :eek:

[akelman]

Keep us abreast of the final count please.

Well done.

[Lewis Moon]

Huh?

If this is the level of your organization, I could really use your help...are you available to tackle my shed?

...my garage?

[happycampyer]

And I thought binders full of women was bad.

[Vientomas]

Will a magnet pick up the brass nips and not the alu nips?

[kramnnim]

Will a magnet pick up the brass nips and not the alu nips?

Won't pick up either.

[oldpotatoe]

Will a magnet pick up the brass nips and not the alu nips?

Neither.

Chrome plated brass=shiny, aluminum=dull silver.

[fuzzalow]

Sorting by the material type is not good enough.

If they are a mix of nipples from either a batch of DT or Sapim spokes, they are not interchangeable. The pitch used on the threading does not match between brands.

[christian]

The pitch used on the threading does not match between brands.Which ones aren't 56 tpi? I've never heard of a modern spoke nipple that wasn't 56tpi.

(Obviously a 2.0mm nipple won't fit on a 1.8mm spoke, but that's not brand-specific...)

[Vientomas]

Neither.

Chrome plated brass=shiny, aluminum=dull silver.

Obviously, I don't know nuttin' 'bout metal, alloy, etc... Thanks for info.

[fuzzalow]

Which ones aren't 56 tpi? I've never heard of a modern spoke nipple that wasn't 56tpi.

(Obviously a 2.0mm nipple won't fit on a 1.8mm spoke, but that's not brand-specific...)

That is correct, I am mistaken. On the face of even posting what I said is is ridiculous. :o Non-standardization would have been an understatement. Reelin' off 56 tpi shows some impressive Google-fu happenin' there. As Johnny Carson would have deadpanned - “I did not know that”.

I made the error in threading a 15 ga. nipple to a 14 ga. spoke end during a build. Duh! Couldn't have been my fault, it's gotta be the spoke! An entire lifetime in cycling rolling along only riding wheels that I have built myself. And I still have all my bridgework! Lends credence to the old adage “better lucky than good”.

[Mark McM]

Neither.

Chrome plated brass=shiny, aluminum=dull silver.

Usually, but with a few exceptions. Wheelsmith aluminum nipples have a polished, shiny finish, and might easily be mistaken for (chrome plated) brass. The Wheelsmith silver aluminum nipples have a slightly more whitish color than brass nipples.

By the way, the ISO sizes for nipple threads are 2.2mm x 56tpi (2.0mm gauge spokes) and 2.0mm x 56 tpi (1.8mm gauge spokes). Because the threads are formed by rolling (not cutting), the thread diameter is actually slightly larger than the spoke wire diameter.

As fuzzalow relates, because the thread pitches are the same, a 2.0mm gauge nipple will thread onto a 1.8mm gauge spoke - but because the fit is so lose, the spoke will easily pull out of the nipple threads.

[TPetsch]

Use a magnet, Duh!

Leonard Crow : Design, Construction & Operating Principles Electromagnets for Attracting Copper, Aluminum & Other Non-Ferrous Metals.

http://www.rexresearch.com/mrmagnet/mrmagnet.htm

Simply adjust voltage to just pick up the lighter aluminum nipples, easy :)

BTW: It is rumored that this magnet is "unhealthy", causing unpleasant mental/physical sensations, but no worse than those OTC drug warnings these days, right?

[slidey]

Make sure you sort 'em out in the summer, winter time picking might prick.

[jh_on_the_cape]

nipple jokes aside: are they new or used?
I would not reuse nips.

I would probably just put it on ebay, sell them. Then buy new nips as needed.

Or put an ice cube around them and see which ones perk more.

Also look for the telltale half moon scar underneath: means there is a silicone base.

[OtayBW]

I used to draw 'em when I was in school, but it always got me in trouble.

[cash05458]

"Just when I thought it was going to be an uneventful Sunday night for the Mod on Duty . . . Just a "milk run" . . ."

LOL!