# Where do you get practice scrap cheap?



## Mauser lover (Sep 14, 2018)

I guess the title says it all... 
I'm definitely a beginner, and willing and eager to be cutting all sorts of chunks of metal, but metal is expensive (which cuts down on practice time)! Where do you all find scrap to practice on? Or, do you practice on other materials that I've not thought about? It doesn't even have to be big chunks of metal to practice simple tasks, but my brain is kinda exhausted of ideas about where to look. 

I've got some metal for projects, but I'm a little hesitant to start cutting on it for fear of messing it up, and I haven't generated enough scrap of my own yet!

Part of my problem is living in an area without a whole lot of industrial fabrication in the economy, and maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places, but any ideas are appreciated.


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## BaronJ (Sep 14, 2018)

Hello Mauser,

I get most of my metal from the local scrap yard !

But it does help if you have some idea about what it is you want to do.


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## Mauser lover (Sep 14, 2018)

"local scrap yard"? I'm not sure what you are quite referring to, or what you would call it here... Unless you are talking about where old cars go to rust in place? Er... rest in piece?


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## fradish (Sep 14, 2018)

Yeah, I guess that has always been my question too.  We have a number of scrap yards that have old cars in them,
but I guess I've always thought that if it wasn't a car, they wouldn't take it.  Maybe I need to stop by and see if they
have other stuff.


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## macardoso (Sep 14, 2018)

Check out buymetal.com for low cost aluminum.  They charge $15 flat rate shipping and you can get a ton to practice on for under $100. Most of it will probably end up becoming real parts as time goes on.  This isn't a cheap hobby unfortunately, but that should get you started.  I got a 4x4x18" piece of aluminum + 1.5"x5"x10" piece shipped to my door for something like $110.  That's nearly 50lbs of aluminum.


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## Cadillac (Sep 14, 2018)

Scrapyard, metal recycler their one and the same. I am a heavy equipment mechanic my eyes are like wide open when I'm at places. I keep everything usable. Try going to your local industrial park and see if there's any machining company or such and ask for scrap or cut offs. You might have to buy some lunches but I ran across a place near me that builds food processing equipment. I have TONS of stainless from them. They let me scrounge the dumpster which I occasionally  get cutters,bandsaw blades,etc. The company has production standards they throw out a blade if one tooth is ripped off. Well I have to cut and weld the blades to fit my bandsaw so it works out perfect. 
 I live in a great area for industry still so my machining life has had a lot of great resources. Other areas probably not so good. I can count on one hand how many times I've had to buy metal in 15years.


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## Cadillac (Sep 14, 2018)

fradish said:


> Yeah, I guess that has always been my question too.  We have a number of scrap yards that have old cars in them,
> but I guess I've always thought that if it wasn't a car, they wouldn't take it.  Maybe I need to stop by and see if they
> have other stuff.



In Chicago and surrounding areas you see ALOT of scrap people. They drive around on garbage night and grab ANYTHING METAL. Throw out a hot water heater it would be gone in 10 mins guaranteed. They even take beds and rip the springs out of it. Yikes. Scrapping is a profitable game if informed. EVERYTHING gets recycled these days which is good. Every year I store bad batteries from replacing at work and go sell them for 8-12 bucks a battery. At average of 100 batteries you do the math.


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## GoceKU (Sep 14, 2018)

Scrap Yard, metal recycle places, is the cheapest option but not all of them can be bothered to sell you small pieces of metal, i've had good luck there, it's cheap enough even if you throw away 80% of the piece you still be ahead then buying new material. I've bought an entire running and driving car just because someone fill the trunk of it with short pieces of round stock, perfect for machining in a lathe, i couldn't care less for the car, just emptied the trunk home and call another scrap yard to pick the car up and was 50$ up in the deal, so try to be quick with your questions and respective when dealing with them, they can be a very very difficult to deal with.


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## ericc (Sep 14, 2018)

If you are a beginner, found scrap may suffice.  As soon as I started making money (in blacksmithing), I had to stop messing around and only use new steel.


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## DiscoDan (Sep 14, 2018)

If you a Lowes or Home depot they sell round bar. I used some 3/4" to make a part already and it isn't too expensive.


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## WarrenP (Sep 14, 2018)

Luckily I know a guy that owns a recycling yard, one of the biggest around here. I can get steel for free, only problem is there is limited to pick from but if i keep checking i will find what I need. Brass and aluminum he sells to me for very cheap. But same thing, you gotta get there when the stuff you want or need is there.. wait to long and its sent out and you  gotta wait til more comes in.
Usually recyclers are the  cheapest places to buy.


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## mikey (Sep 14, 2018)

Tear down discarded printers. They have soft stainless steel rods in them that cut like butter and are great to practice on, and the price is right. These rods are accurately ground, too, so they work great for many projects. The bigger the printer, the bigger the rods.

Aluminum is great to practice on but it cuts best with a tool intended for aluminum.  

If I could pick only one material for a new guy to learn with it would be 12L14. You can buy 12L14 on ebay in 12" lengths for very good prices. Some sellers ship flat rate priority for free and you can buy as many as will fit in a box.


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## mmcmdl (Sep 14, 2018)

Seems like I always have stock lying around . We scrap metal regularly at work and I'm able to grab what I want , but I really don't need anything . I've shipped metal on here in the past in a flat rate box but you would need to know what is needed .


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## tq60 (Sep 15, 2018)

Yard sales for junk...

Thrift stores too,check with management for junk they cannot sell.

Bedframes usually free and usually good angle iron but some very hard and ruin hack saws...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk


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## dtsh (Sep 15, 2018)

I'm surprised to be the first to mention it, machinable wax. There's commercial and DIY, something for everyone. I don't use it all the time, but I do find it handy. I fill some glass containers with it, toss them in the oven for a while and out pops blue plastic rods, plates, etc. The material shrinks a bit as it cools, so it tends to pop out of the container pretty easy. Clean the machine well before using, and  you can remelt the swarf over and over.


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## BaronJ (Sep 15, 2018)

There you are Mauser !  A lot of good tips and ideas where to get your materials from.


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## Mauser lover (Sep 15, 2018)

Yep! Never heard of machinable wax before, but just looked it up, and especially liked the look of the homemade stuff! We're a little short of industrial stuff in my area, but I'll find stuff somewhere!


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## Logan 400 (Sep 15, 2018)

I have a welding shop that sells their drops to me by the lb. Sometimes a dollar and sometimes 1.50. For 2 to 3 ft. lengths.


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## lordbeezer (Sep 15, 2018)

Craig's list..free section..riding mower has shafts.gears.flat metal .hubs..treadmills .list goes on..


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## Downunder Bob (Sep 21, 2018)

Depends very much on where you live, but look around your locality, any machine shops. I find the small ones are easier to deal with, they are less tied up with corporate red tape. Ask them for any bar ends that are too short for what they are making , also any parts that, are undersize and can't be reworked. Also fabrication shops where they weld heavy structural pieces like bridge girders, the offcuts can be machined up. I have one near me the allows me to rummage through his dumpster, it costs me a case of beer once a year at xmas.

Motor mechanics are always chucking out drive axles from cars, they're fairly hard but machine well with carbide. Great for making boring bars etc. If you have any earthmovers nearby the hinge pins on the bucket loaders are always being replaced, good steel.

So far in just over two years I have not had to buy any steel for my projects. Brass and aluminium are a bit harder to get but I don't need to use them very often. I have started a collection of old pistons that I intend to melt down and make some billets that I can machine up.


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## samstu (Sep 21, 2018)

Amazon.  More for projects than practice.  In June, I paid 17 bucks delivered for 1.25 x 36" round.  5 Mins to order, delivered in 2 days, Much more time efficient than going to metal dealer if my time is worth anything.  I find prices fluctuate significantly on amazon and sometimes unusual size pieces are much cheaper than standard sizes.


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## Dave Smith (Sep 22, 2018)

Mauser--just keep your eye open for anything free---lots of people just want to get rid of items whether they work or not--take it home ---take it apart or cut it up and save all the nuts-bolts-shafts-bearings-tubes-wheels-sheet metal-etc---I have never taken anything apart that I haven't found material to use for projects or to use for practice on lathe or mill or welding.----bikes have several sized tubing you can cut in pieces and practice on lathe squaring up the ends and keeping all your tubing pieces together for later projects----I have never had to go buy material for projects, and probably many other  members are the same good scroungers----If you need locations to find bargains look at the thread ( ideas for scroungers )---I have at least 10 to 20 tons of metal that I got for just hauling home----just start paying attention--it's out there--just look for free stuff---exercise equip is always free to haul away-----get a 4 1/2" angle grinder from HF for $10 and buy a package of thin cut off blades---you can cut up items quickly, and then square the ends for practice-----Dave


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## Janderso (Sep 22, 2018)

$.50 cents a pound for all kinds of really good sheet metal, round, flat, square tubing etc.
I go to All Metals in Oroville, Ca.
Any metal fabricating shop will have scrap. Sometimes the scrap is very useable material.
I am making a welding cart for my 3 machines from “scrap” I purchased from them.
$21, for the material, 2” .090” wall thickness, square tubing.
You can’t beat that.


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## PHPaul (Sep 22, 2018)

macardoso said:


> Check out buymetal.com for low cost aluminum.  They charge $15 flat rate shipping and you can get a ton to practice on for under $100. Most of it will probably end up becoming real parts as time goes on.  This isn't a cheap hobby unfortunately, but that should get you started.  I got a 4x4x18" piece of aluminum + 1.5"x5"x10" piece shipped to my door for something like $110.  That's nearly 50lbs of aluminum.



Woooo.  Thanks for the tip on buymetal!  Needed a piece of 1/2 x 6 aluminum to make an adapter plate for my little rotary table, was NOT looking forward to trying to find it locally. 

I was excited to see their very reasonable prices, but that was somewhat modified by their "processing fee" for small purchases.  Fooled them tho, doubled my order and the "processing fee" went from $25-ish to $2.xx.


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## magicniner (Sep 24, 2018)

I used to visit local industrial metal suppliers and ask if they had any off-cuts I could buy, some sell them, some weigh them all in for scrap value. 
If you find a supplier who will let you go through their off-cuts try your best not to upset them with requests to cut a 12" bar into 1" lengths and the like.


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## pugslyyy (Oct 7, 2018)

Any local auto / equipment / farm repair shop will have scrap parts.  leaf springs, axle shafts, other steering and suspension components, etc.  Some will let you rummage for free, or trade them a six pack of beer for it.

Scrap metal is not selling for what it used to, so a lot of places are just hanging onto it.


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## DavidMTL (Oct 7, 2018)

As mentioned metal recyclers are a great source but you never know what you're going to find from one day to the next.   I've got two family owned yards close by and I've scored quite a few bargains.  

Machine shops are worth dropping in and saying hello.   The price of metal scrap is pretty low so it's a bit of a pain to haul it.   Offer them ten cents a pound and they're probably happy to dump it on you.  75 cents or a buck for aluminum and you're their new best friend.


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## pineyfolks (Oct 7, 2018)

If you're just wanting to get the feel of your machine , try some pvc pipe. You can practice turning different diameters to size and it's cheap.


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## Mauser lover (Oct 8, 2018)

Already talked to a couple of folks...
One auto mechanic, and the maintenance guys at the place I work. They maintenance guys showed me the scrap pile and told me to take whatever I wanted. That was really helpful. I do hope to make up some of that machinable wax though...


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## BaronJ (Oct 8, 2018)

Hi Mauser,

Your catching on 
I called in to a place I've never been to before, the guy across the road from where I was parked, was throwing a 3 foot length of 3 mm wall by 50 X 50 angle iron into a skip.  I walked over and introduced myself, I told him that I was a model maker and asked him if I could buy the angle iron.

He said "No" you can have it, if there is anything else in there you want, just take it.  We had a good chat, even got invited to have a cup of tea !
He said if there is anything I can help with let me know.

A useful contact !


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## Janderso (Oct 8, 2018)

You scored BaronJ.
Mr. Mauser lover. Check out this Height Gauge I found on E-Bay. The weird thing is it is in Imperial measurements. I am very happy about that.
It has a Mauser plate on it. Very good quality


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## BaronJ (Oct 8, 2018)

Hi Janderso,

Thank you !  Its nice to find a new source of material.

That hight gauge is a very nice find, robust too !   Are you going to convert it to digital ?


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## Janderso (Oct 8, 2018)

It comes in handy for laying out lines, I use it on my surface plate.
Digital? You can do that?


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## BaronJ (Oct 8, 2018)

Hi Janderso,

Yes you could !  It would mean a bit of work and would increase its utility.

I'd better show you a picture of mine, which is completely home brew.








I made this from a few bits of scrap and a cheap digital vernier gauge.
The base is a slice of continuously cast iron 15 mm thick.  The whole vernier is moved up and down by rotating the brass knob at the base.
It turns the M6 X 1 mm threaded rod, so each turn is equal to 1 mm in hight.  The black nut on the threaded rod is a backlash free cast Deralin one.
The 10 mm rod and bronze bearings were salvaged from a HP ink jet printer, a HP840 if I remember correctly.

You could quite easily adapt a vernier caliper to provide digital readout of your Mauser hight gauge.  Just a matter of making a couple of suitable clamps.


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## Mauser lover (Oct 8, 2018)

Well... I don't know if Mauser ever intended that to be sold to consumers. Maybe intended for use in one of their factories? I don't know if they ever sold that type of stuff, or just fabricated that sort of stuff for their own usage. Cool though, for sure!


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## Propfool (Oct 13, 2018)

The micro surface finish rods in automotive shock absorbers is mild steel and cuts easily with a hacksaw and machines very well. The shop where you buy your tires will probably give you all the old ones free. The nitrogen filled struts used for hood and SUV rear lift door contain 1/4 inch or so rods while larger vehicles have 1/2 inch rods in their shocks.


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## BaronJ (Oct 13, 2018)

Hi Guys,

Be very careful cracking open gas struts to get at the rods !  There is a lot of pressure in those cylinders.


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## Mauser lover (Oct 13, 2018)

HA! I picked up one of them the other day, just to see if it would work. Haven't broken into it yet, so thanks for the warning! Maybe I'll just chop it off and lose some length rather than trying to break it open and lose an eyeball... I'm kinda attached to my eyeballs. They've been with me as long as I can remember...


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## BaronJ (Oct 13, 2018)

Hi Mauser,

The technique is to let the pressure out slowly !  I use a hack saw and cut a slit about an inch up from the bottom, as soon as you break into the pressurised chamber you will hear it hiss.  Use a face mask just in case it blows the swarf at you.  Usually you can just push the piston back in with your finger.  If not then there is a spring in there as well.

I've only nobbled a couple of small ones from a tread mill with a 9 mm shaft.  The ones I see at the scrappy tend to have been bent and not worth bothering with.


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## Cadillac (Oct 13, 2018)

So I'm mowing the grass in the backyard and my good friends cousin comes over andsays I got some gifts for you. He's a pipe fitter and said they were moving his shop and were cleaning out the yard and found this and thought of me. So you just gotta get the word out and eventually you'll have a life time worth of material in this case I'll make him something cool. 





3" hex about 5' long
2 1/2 round about 4' in 3pcs
2" square 3' long
2" round about 8' in 3pcs


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## 9t8z28 (Oct 13, 2018)

Check local welding shops.  Thats where I get a lot of steel from and if they are organized they keep it labeled


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## BaronJ (Oct 14, 2018)

Cadillac said:


> So I'm mowing the grass in the backyard and my good friends cousin comes over andsays I got some gifts for you. He's a pipe fitter and said they were moving his shop and were cleaning out the yard and found this and thought of me. So you just gotta get the word out and eventually you'll have a life time worth of material in this case I'll make him something cool.
> 
> 
> View attachment 277582
> ...



Nice one !  You've now become a squirrel !


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## Mauser lover (Oct 15, 2018)

Now that's a lot of steel... Well, for a hobbyist...


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## AGCB97 (Oct 17, 2018)

If you're within driving distance of Iron Mountain MI I have a lot of new CR, TGP and DOM, shorts and up to 16' long for $1/lb. Say you heard about it on this forum and it'll go for 1/2 that. Liquidating machine shop.
Aaron


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## Mauser lover (Oct 17, 2018)

That's a little far for me, unless you want to ship! If you decide to do that, let me know, but yeah, that's a little too far for me.


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## rcaffin (Oct 17, 2018)

Dumpsters, scrap bins, skips, rubbish piles, whatever. That, and keep your eyes open. The stuff that gets dumped on the side of the road - amazing.
I was buying some heavy nylon bar at one place, and their skip was full of 'good stuff'. Armfuls of the stuff. That was years ago, and I still haven't used it all up!
Every now and then we have to replace the blades on our large ride-on mower. Lovely stuff, those blades! (Yeah, needs carbide for machining, but even so.)

Cheers
Roger


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## TJW973 (Oct 18, 2018)

Hi,
Garages/car repairers throw away used shock absorbers all the time, the insert rods vary from 8mm-19mm in diameter some solid some hollow, I have no idea what the metal is but I make all sort of stuff with it.
I own a workshop so I get plenty.
Tom


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## Logan 400 (Oct 18, 2018)

I was visiting my son last weekend who owns a small engine repair shop. I found several useable scrap pieces. A couple of spindle shafts, a steering wheel shaft, a transmission shaft...
Check out your local lawn and garden equipment repair shops.


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## gonzo (Oct 18, 2018)

I have gotten good use out of a tractor pto shaft that I had replaced. I suppose that a rear axle from a junkyard would do nicely also. You could try people who work on or scrap these machines.


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## MattM (Oct 18, 2018)

macardoso said:


> Check out buymetal.com for low cost aluminum.  They charge $15 flat rate shipping and you can get a ton to practice on for under $100. Most of it will probably end up becoming real parts as time goes on.  This isn't a cheap hobby unfortunately, but that should get you started.  I got a 4x4x18" piece of aluminum + 1.5"x5"x10" piece shipped to my door for something like $110.  That's nearly 50lbs of aluminum.



You said , " you can get a ton...for under $100" and you got 50lbs for "something  like $110.00".   Did I miss something?


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## macardoso (Oct 19, 2018)

MattM said:


> You said , " you can get a ton...for under $100" and you got 50lbs for "something  like $110.00".   Did I miss something?



Wasn't saying *I* spent under $100, just that it was possible to get a lot for a good price. Lets not get hung up on the details


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## Cooter Brown (Oct 19, 2018)

I get a lot my of materials from my Union Ironworker friends for free..... They collect drops and scrap for me..... The Union has the best scraps!


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## MattM (Oct 19, 2018)

Even I can't get a ton of aluminum scrap for "under $100.00".

I have a friend who has an auto repair shop.  He gives me truck and auto axles.


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## ThinWoodsman (Oct 21, 2018)

I am in the process of repairing a wood stove. Had to replace the firebox, which is four interlocking pieces of cast iron - the old one was overfed by a previous owner and got warped.

Out of curiosity, I chucked one of the damaged firebox pieces into an electrolysis bath for a couple hours. When it came out and got a good rubbing with steel wool, it looked just like the new cast iron pieces (albeit misshapen). I now have about twenty or thirty pounds of cast iron to use for bases, toolposts, etc.

If you live in an area with a lot of wood stoves, it might be worth checking with a specialist in wood stove repair/refurbishing to see if they have any old or damaged parts they are planning to sell for scrap.


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## 9t8z28 (Oct 22, 2018)

I found a good source of cast iron from early 1950’s craftsman table saws.  I know some will say its a sin to do but they’re only worth $40 to the right person.  The late 50’s to 60’s models were a lot thinner cast iron and not worth tearing apart for their cast iron.  



ThinWoodsman said:


> I am in the process of repairing a wood stove. Had to replace the firebox, which is four interlocking pieces of cast iron - the old one was overfed by a previous owner and got warped.
> 
> Out of curiosity, I chucked one of the damaged firebox pieces into an electrolysis bath for a couple hours. When it came out and got a good rubbing with steel wool, it looked just like the new cast iron pieces (albeit misshapen). I now have about twenty or thirty pounds of cast iron to use for bases, toolposts, etc.
> 
> If you live in an area with a lot of wood stoves, it might be worth checking with a specialist in wood stove repair/refurbishing to see if they have any old or damaged parts they are planning to sell for scrap.


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## Cadillac (Nov 3, 2018)

Did alittle tune up on a friends zero turn mower. In return when he came to pick the mower up these were in the back of the truck for me. Two 10' lengths of 3"  316 stainless pipe. He also said he has some 1 1/2" for me it was just on the bottom. So having good friends with scrap and bartering work good.


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## BaronJ (Nov 4, 2018)

Hi Cadillac,

Nice !  useful stuff.


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## Thomcat316 (Nov 11, 2018)

Two sources for aluminum, both are by-products of manufacturing:

Discs of cast tooling plate

Various rectangular drops of molding grade alloy:

S&S has only the drops listed, and explain why on their website.

The folks with the Fortal have a wide range of sizes, and pricing is a little better if you skip their eBay store and buy direct. Email them for the stock listing, it's a well organized Excel spreadsheet.

Hope this is of some help.
Thomcat


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## Mauser lover (Nov 14, 2018)

Those are interesting. I like the idea of of buying scrap...


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## ThinWoodsman (Dec 4, 2018)

Got an email from onlinemetals.com when they were doing their Black Monday sale last week. I poked around a bit and saw that they have value packs, which I never noticed before. If you select the 'View All Types' option for a particular metal (brass, steel, aluminum, etc), the very last two options are Value Packs. The Protobox items there are grab bags - about a buck a pound for cold roll, two bucks a pound for aluminum.

I picked up a couple of ten-pound protoboxes (cold roll, aluminum), half-expecting them to be a bunch of thin flats. They arrived yesterday and actually contain a decent selection of material: some flats, some angle iron, some round, some tube. Plenty of good, thick, bulky pieces which are usually kinda pricey to obtain on their own.

Not junkyard cheap, sure. And of course the shipping still costs ya. But a couple of these could get you started for, what, fifty bucks? A hundred if you include brass and some drill rod? Something to keep in mind for those starting out with only the stock at the local hardware store to draw from.


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## mcdanlj (Dec 4, 2018)

ThinWoodsman said:


> ...A hundred if you include brass and some drill rod?



Thank you, that looks like some nice selections! However, I don't see drill rod value packs under the Tool Steel category (or anywhere else); did you find some that I'm missing?


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## ThinWoodsman (Dec 4, 2018)

Hmm, you know I thought I saw it there, but I must have been thinking of the one on hobby metal kits. Looks like onlinemetals doesn't have any of the expensive stuff (titanium!) in value packs. They do have a plastic protobox though, I may have to get one of those.


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## mickri (Dec 11, 2018)

I found a local machine shop through CL that is selling their drops.  I have been in a couple of times now and the price is always $30 no matter what I get.  Today I picked up a 1 1/4 square bar by 18" long of 1018 and two 1 1/2 round bars by 18" long of 1045.  He always asks what I am making.  I have never weighted the stuff.  My guess is that I am paying under $0.50 per pound.


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## ThinWoodsman (Dec 15, 2018)

Here's another one I more or less chanced upon: Grainger: Raw Materials.

Of course, Grainger isn't cheap, but if you limit it to Clearance Items (see "Shop By" on the lower left) and opt for pickup instead of shipping, you can sometimes get a pretty good deal.


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## martik777 (Jan 5, 2019)

Go to onlinemetals.com, get some 6061 and 1144, easy to machine and cheap in 4' lengths. I think they give $15 off shipping for new customers

For brass, look on Craigslist for fireplace tool sets

Also, dumbell and barbell 1" round bars

Those 12" and larger PVC sewer pipes the city throws out are useful too, cut with a hole saw and mill to shape - good for gears, knobs, spacers etc


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## dan97526 (Jan 21, 2019)

I don't want to derail the original question, but I think this is related. Can one get any meaningful practice by milling wood? I always have a lot of scrap around and had an idea I might lay out my cuts on scrap wood before I started on metal.


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## martik777 (Jan 21, 2019)

Hardwood is best but it's so easy to cut it will not be a valid indicator of the rigidity of the setup. I've used wood for arbors, plug gauges, handles, threaded knobs, pulleys, index wheels etc.


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## gaston (Feb 1, 2019)

search for machine shops in your area, look for small"manual"shops . drop in around lunch time so you done interupt work and ask the guy sitting in his tool boxeating lunch what they do with their scrap and drops. it your a nice guy and he's a nice guy, you will have all the scrap to practice with for free or almost
. I "bought" almost 1k lbs of 12L14 chunks that way for 100$. the owner said he had it for sale out back so I picked out a 4" cube and ask the price he said 100$ I said thats a lot for a small chunk and he said its some or all same price! he wanted it gone.


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## Cadillac (Mar 21, 2019)

Here’s a lot of brass I got today. Came from a 8” cast iron gate valve that broke from freezing. 1” acme thread shaft about 2’ long solid brass, good thing is I have the nut too which is in the chunk on top shaft. Gotta be 30-40 lbs.  Along With some sealing flanges of the same brass. Got some nice pieces of cast to but no pics.


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## Mauser lover (Mar 21, 2019)

Got a printer donated to me 

A couple of stainless rods, they look ground! Lots of little plastic gears! If only I could find a use for them!


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## Latinrascalrg1 (Mar 21, 2019)

If it hadn't been mentioned yet,  PVC sch-40 plastic pipe is plentiful and cheap to practice working on round tube stock.


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## Downunder Bob (Mar 24, 2019)

I started out buying short ends and offcuts from  a local metals merchant, but they were still pricey. A while later I found another merchant that had a scrap bin with all the offcuts and short ends they would sell what I could carry by hand for $4, a big improvement, but still it would add up, and most of their stuff is fairly light, good for some projects.

 Then a chance meeting with a friend of a friend who ran a steel fabrication shop. They ran a fabrication shop welding up quite large structures using large RSJ I beams etc, also square and round section, heavy walled tubing, angle iron, etc. So after discussing my hobby he offered to let me have anything out of his scrap bin, a large skip, whenever I wanted for the price of a slab of beer once a year, for their Xmas party. I Haven't had to buy steel since then, Brass, aluminium and other metals are a different story.


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## TakeDeadAim (Mar 24, 2019)

Odd places can lead to metal, farmers are notorious for pushing old machinery off somewhere and letting it rust.  If you know any ask if you can cut some material out.  It will be rusty but usually free or trade for welding and repair.  I once bought an assortment of aluminum round stock that was priced by what fit in medium and large flat rate shipping boxes. It was very cheap and my expectations were low.  When it arrived it was all good material of different diameters from 1/4" to 11/4" and cut to the length the box would take.  Lots of parts made from that box.  A look at ebay today showed some decent prices, $34 for 10 12" pieces of aluminum round from 1/2" to 11/4".  Not much cheaper than my local metal supply but no minimum order and no shipping.


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## Cooter Brown (Mar 25, 2019)

I have a friend that is a Union Ironworker and he brings me tons of scrape and drops from his job sites....


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## Downunder Bob (Mar 25, 2019)

Also car and truck mechanics shops are good. Drive shafts are very high quality steel, fairly hard but can be machined with carbide tips, gives a great finish. HSS will cut it if you go very slow. Rods out of discarded hydraulic cylinders are a good find, just have to get under the chrome. and old pins out of earth moving machinery are generally easy to come by.


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