In a past life, I was Military, worked in a structural repair shop, sheet metal mostly.
One day the boss decided anything less than a half sheet, in the stock racks, looked unsightly so he had the guys chuck it all out.
Waddya figure a quarter sheet of 3/8 thick brass is worth? I know what it weighs!
It and enough 'other' stuff from that particular dumpster, to lower my car's suspension down to the stops, got re-homed to some friends who appreciated it MUCH more than my former supervisor.
In the famous word of Bugs Bunny. "Wadda Maroon!".
While I appreciate that there are times and places where it makes sense to remove superfluous stuff from a manufacturing environment, the world is a lesser place without a few old school engine shops or Auto Electric places, where the old fart behind the counter can pretty much find you what you need just by looking at it and knowing where the stuff is, without having to look it up by year make model and options package references.
Have been pondering options, as far as butchery goes. Dunno if somewhere out there there is a catalog with dimensions of barrel and plunger assy's or not, but if there is, and I can find one, I figure that is as good a place to start as any.
Cheers
Trev