Quote Originally Posted by Joe Gondek
An easy way to get the center boss for you targe is to go to
PIER ONE IMPORTS and look at brass candle stick holders
many have a dished base that unsrews and can be used as a boss.
HA HA YES!
I went to my local GoodWill and bought a matched pair for $1.48

A good source for sheet brass are the kickplates at the base of doors which are often painted over. Most of the time people just throw this kind of stuff away not knowing or caring what it is.
While I like the idea of a spike in the center, I think I'm just going to go with a plain boss as it seems a lot more common.

[/QUOTE/ Also be sure to use solid head brass tacks( Crazy Crow is a good source)
The brass plated ones that most hardware stores carry will turn color and the plateing will wear off over time[/QUOTE]

I found this out the hard way. I bought some from the home improvement section of the local supermarket for use on the powder horns I build. Just to give them an antique look, I rubbed them with ammonia to green them up some, when I was finished they were very clean bright steel!

I will not expect them to look like brass for very long!