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As the subject suggests I would like to know which of the Brita filters has the tiny balls in it for rivets?

As the Argos in my area has a Brita filter recycling box and its going to be getting raided
Thought I would share this information with all the scratch builders out there! As free rivets is always going to be a good thing

I hope I have posted this in the right Forum?

Yep - this is the right forum, as it's a modeling (material acquisition) question. Brita has a single type of filter cartridge that fits multiple pitchers (don't know what they're faucet-mounted products use). You're looking for these:

Pick one up & shake it. If it rattles, there's a bet that you've found one. Set aside a couple of evenings to separate the carbon from the balls. I also divided mine up into 3 sizes.

Thanks guys. When I looked at the recycling box there was two different pictures of filters thats all :-) I will be going back tomorrow to get one or two, am guessing that will be enough?

For life - yes, 2 will be just fine!

Haha well if they are there i might as well use them :-p and I do have a couple of titans in various stages of being built so they should take a couple of hundred each.

These are the ones I have:

Brita Maxtra.

This is what you will get. Those bags on the right are roughly what you will get out of 2 of them.


And don't throw away the carbon, as that can make good gravel or, if sanded down, tarmac.

My imagination fails me, how do you make rivets?

bryceloop wrote:
My imagination fails me, how do you make rivets?

From these in particular?
Take the white balls and select some that are about the same size (they do vary a little in the filters).

Then drill holes where you want the rivets to be. These need to be about the same diameter as the balls you have selected and only half as deep. So just a little dip, rather than a hole.

Glue in the balls and you have your little dome-headed rivets. Superglue is what you want, and they will absorb some of the glue, so if you don't use enough they will fall out, but just add more glue.



They can also make for buttons on computer consoles

Painted:


There are many other ways to make rivets also. Some are less time consuming, but few are cheaper.

First I've heard of this. Thanks to the op, and for the replies. Love you folks!

Useless Sidekick wrote:
I do have a couple of titans in various stages of being built so they should take a couple of hundred each.

A couple hundred?

Stick to sliced rod or small half-pearl stickers if you want them that big. At this scale (I believe the filter beads are about the same size as the microbeads I bought - generally a little under 1mm), I've used roughly 200 just doing the sides of a Malcador. These are detail rivets - 1/4" spacing stretches plausibility, 1/8" or less looks much better.

Hot tip for anyone looking to use either water filter or purchased microbeads: There is, generally (as has been mentioned), a bit of variation in the sizes of the beads. If you want to grade them by size without rigging up some very specific sieves, all you need is two hard and flat surfaces, one of which is mobile (a small pane of glass, the bottom of a dinner plate, etc.). Simply spread out a small-ish line of beads, lay the top plate over them, and slide it to one side. Since the plates are rigid, the top will only contact the beads that stand tallest, rolling them to the side as it moves. Repeat as necessary. Quick and easy size grading.

For separating the beads from the charcoal, try using a large rimmed cookie sheet. Dump some of the bead charcoal mix into one end and lift that end up a bit. Then lightly tap the sheet repeatedly. The beads will roll to the bottom end much quicker than the charcoal will.

Britta balls used to Nurglize a BFG ship: