WHERE TO GET METALS

GENERAL INFO

Here's a table on where to find metals in the everyday life. Of course, if you need professional electrodes or other metals (from sodium to gallium) you better resort to a chem dealer or an Internet website selling metal samples.

Remember that stealing copper wires is a serious crime and a felony towards the community. By stealing copper from power stations or rail tracks you create inconveniences for the public and losses worth millions. Aside from being a criminal act, it's a vile and coward practice that can potentially harm people, including yourself.

Be sure to check if the possession of magnesium and aluminum powder is legal where you live. You do not want the police to raid your home.

METALS FROM COMMON SOURCES

Cu	Electric wires	Any scrap electric wire. The higher voltage they can withstand the better the copper purity is.
	Pipes	Sold in hardware stores.
	Nails	For wooden boats carpentry, are sold in hardware stores.
	Bars	Used instead of wires for huge voltages or heat dissipation. Sold at bullion shops or industrial metals suppliers.
Ag	Coins	Buy silver coins in numismatics shops or bullion websites.
Ag	Bars	Sold at bullion shops.
Au	Jewels	You ain't gonna dissolve mom's jewels. Get over it.
	Coins	Neither dad's coins. Stop it.
	Bars	You just can't afford one.
Ni	Coins	Many countries issue(d) pure (99.99%) nickel coins. The French 1/2, 1 and 2 Francs coins from 1960-2001 are pure nickel as well as Canadian pre-1981 "nickels". Browse the web for more info, but most issued coins are antiques (many countries issued pure nickel coins only in the 20s-30s) and consequently too expensive and/or rare. Nickel requires geological eras to dissolve in HCl. If you want to make NiCl₂ don't waste your time and go buy it at your chem dealer. Seriously, you may witness the fall of mankind before the coin's dissolved.
Ni	Bars	Sold at bullion shops.
Al	Foil	If you need to melt/dissolve Al, kitchen foil is too expensive.
	Scrap/pans/ pipes/bars	Keep your eyes open: many pots, pans and household/DIY items are made of aluminium. You can easily find scrap bars or pipes, both in hardware stores and scrap yards.
	Cans/tins	Cans are made of aluminium, not tin, as the name may suggest. They are covered in protective layers and paint, keep that in mind.
	Powder	Al powder is flammable and explosive, and it's very expensive. Some people sell it on ebay for a lot of money, Be careful if you decide to use it.
Fe	Nails	Quick and practical iron source. Be careful not to use chromated/zincated ones.
	Scrap	Same as aluminium.
	Powder	Like aluminium powder, it is hard to find for few bucks. Not dangerous, it can be made by filing iron, if you have a tool you can trash.
Li	Foil	Get lithium foils from Li-ion batteries. Do it at your own risk, and learn how they should be handled. If you randomly open/cut/crush them, they'll most likely overheat and explode. Store the lithium under paraffin or mineral oil and don't let it contact water.
Pt	Bars	Sold at bullion shops. Like gold, there's no way you can afford one.
Mg	Ribbon	Sold at chem dealers. You can find some good deals on the net, especially from chinese vendors, selling 99.95% 25g rolls for as low as 3$ each. Chem suppliers may ask up to 50$ for one 99.99% analysis grade 25g roll.
Mg	Blocks/bars	You can find them at naval suppliers, called "sacrifical anodes".
Zn	Coins	According to Wikipedia, the 1982-present US pennies are "composed of an inner core alloy of 99.2% zinc and 0.8% copper with an outer plating of pure copper, for an overall composition of 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper". If you aren't from the US, good luck.
Zn	Batteries casing	The metallic outer casing of zinc-carbon batteries is made of zinc, steel-plated on one side. They are becoming hard to find -especially in the EU and richer countries- and are widely replaced by alkaline or Ni-Mh batteries.