For hose barbs, I've had better luck with Ace Hardware (a popular hardware chain; I'm located in Minnesota, USA) than I have had with Home Depot. HD has a few, but they really lack the useful size combos. Ace wasn't a ton better, but the selection seemed a bit mroe logical and diverse. I ended up buying a bunch of clear poly 1/2" hose to 1/4" NPT barbs from
www.CoolTechnica.com for a reasonable price.
I've been casually looking for good "local" sources of copper stock and sheet, but I have yet to find anything good. Onlinemetals seems to be the easiest way to do it, but you obviously pay out the nose for shipping.
