# Where to get material in Canada



## adam.mccormick (Jan 15, 2018)

I'm diving head first into this hobby after years of watching from the sidelines. I'm working out my machines and tooling and just started digging around looking for a cheap supply of stock. I live in downtown Toronto Canada and this seems to make my life particularly difficult for finding cheap sources. The best I can find is some online suppliers but the shipping is going to be killer!  

Anyone have any suggestions for a metal supplier for a hobbyist? Anybody in the GTA who knows of a good place to get small amounts of material?

Thanks!
-Adam


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## Downunder Bob (Jan 15, 2018)

Check out all the machine shops inthe area, especially the smaller ones, not big corporations, they'll have too many OSHA rules.

Also the structural fabrication shops they often have offcuts that they'll sell cheap or give for free, That's how I source most of my materail

Good luck.


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## Rooster (Jan 15, 2018)

I deal with the Metal Super Market here in Vancouver, lots of selection and will cut to size.


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## Hukshawn (Jan 15, 2018)

Hey Adam, I live in bowmanville, about 40 mins east of Toronto. I use https://www.metalsplus.ca.
They're in Whitby. You just walk in, go to the right, through into the shop and they have racks and racks and racks of drops and cut offs of every conceivable kind of metal. Most are sold by weight at a reduced rates. It's my go to. You can find small pieces and large pieces or have them cut something for you. And theyre a fab shop too. I've had them fab and bend up sheet for various projects. Great place, great guys.


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## Hukshawn (Jan 15, 2018)

Just last week I went in and grabbed a 3.5" round, ten pound chunk of O1 for $35


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## blue_luke (Jan 15, 2018)

We have the same problem in the Greater Montreal area!
I work in a place where I can get easily remnants material they use for making stairs and handrails etc... But anything fancy I can not get.
Going to a scrap yard is good just to a point as you never know what you are buying in terms of alloy composition. This is tru for aluminium also.

Luc


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## aliva (Jan 16, 2018)

https://www.metalsupermarkets.com/barrie/


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## dave_r_1 (Jan 17, 2018)

Metal Supermarket has a good selection, but it is crazy expensive.    For stuff like round and square tubing, smaller diameter rods (like 1" or smaller), sheet/bar mild steel, I can buy 11-12 ft or even 22-24 ft lengths of it cheaper at General Recycling Industries (it's "new" steel, not odd's and end's) than even a few feet + Metal Supermarkets "cut charge".  Only heavier stuff (like larger diameter rods, very thick wall tubing) that you only need shorter lengths of, will Metal Supermarkets price get a little more reasonable (but still significantly more expensive per-foot than regular metal suppliers).

Google for metal recycling, metal suppliers stuff like that to find sources, as well as local fabrication places if you want to go through cut offs.


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## Downunder Bob (Jan 17, 2018)

I find it's the same here downunder. The metal merchants charge like wounded bulls. I only go to them as a last resort. I source about 90% of all my raw material from machine shops as offcuts, bar ends, and lets not forget the bits that are undersize and can't be sold or reworked. I also get a lot of material from fabrication shops, I have one near me that will give away large pieces of RSJ that the merchants would charge $100 for. I can even dump all my smaller offcuts and swarf in his skip which eventually goes to the recycler. A few of the bigger corporation type places have refused me, but most of the smaller private firms are quite happy to let me go through their skip whenever it suits me. Just because one place knocks you back, don't give up, try the next one. Happy hunting.


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## 4ssss (Jan 17, 2018)

Online Metals, while they do not have a warehouse in Canada has teamed with UPS to deliver there. Her's some info, but for the life of me I can't find that flag.

http://blog.onlinemetals.com/loving-thy-neighbor/


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## blue_luke (Jan 17, 2018)

I found back a source for guys in the Laval/ north shore region of Montreal
Décoration Métallique G R Inc
509 Boulevard du Curé-Boivin, Boisbriand, QC J7G 2A8    
(450) 435-5131

It's a 'dépanneur' (you have to live in the area , a dépanneur is a convenience store  )
They do staircase, ramps, gardrails and that sort of things, but the owner keeps a wide variety of stock iron and will sell at a very reasonable price. The thing with this place is that material is meticulously stocked and labelled so you know what you are buying.
He will also let you wander in his stock and you simply note down what you need and they will cut it for you, in even very small quantities.
The only minor point is that cut everything with a chop saw, so in some materials it may harden, or weaken the material because of the heat, so get a piece a few inches longer than you need.

As I find other places in the greater  Montreal area, I will post them.
Luc


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## chris.trotter (Feb 6, 2018)

I also use MetalsPlus in Whitby - very patient with me, even though I was only ordering $140 of stuff.

OnlineMetals looked really good until you considered shipping/brokerage.  Once I found MetalsPlus, supplier selected!


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## Mystery1 (Feb 6, 2018)

OnlineMetals is pricey compared to SpeedyMetals, regardless anything shipped using UPS across the border is pricey due to UPS pricing policies. Shipping and picking up in NF, NY is of course an option. Bring your partner along and stop by one of the many wineries between Grimsby and NOTL for lunch and some sampling 
If you want to stay local:
Since there are no or few machine shops left in downtown Toronto, try McKinnon Metals. A bit north of downtown but not too bad. They have offcuts at good price, if you say hobbyist then pretty good on pricing as well. They will cut as well of course
MetalSupermarkets is pricey in St Catharines and refuse to let you look on the offcut rack so full price every time. YMMV depending on the location you visit. I think there is one in Don Mills east of Don Valley/Eglinton area


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## Hukshawn (Feb 6, 2018)

chris.trotter said:


> I also use MetalsPlus in Whitby - very patient with me, even though I was only ordering $140 of stuff.
> 
> OnlineMetals looked really good until you considered shipping/brokerage.  Once I found MetalsPlus, supplier selected!


That’s my place to go. Really nice guys. Especially with hobbyists. I’d go as far as to say, it’s like the difference between here and practical machinist. 
I’m even able to bounce ideas off them. If I come back from the racks with something unknown to me, they’ll say no, take it back, get this instead. 
You’re in Oshawa, I’m in Bowmanville. Little wild to see someone so close in a predominately American site.


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## chris.trotter (Feb 6, 2018)

Hukshawn said:


> If I come back from the racks with something unknown to me, they’ll say no, take it back, get this instead.
> You’re in Oshawa, I’m in Bowmanville. Little wild to see someone so close in a predominately American site.



Did not know you could wander inside!!  They had lots of signs saying 'no customer entry' and such.  I will be heading back there soon.  Bonus season is upon us, and I have been blessed with some shop money.    (_already ordered a QCTP!_)

Yah, I'm going to make it a side-mission in my forum life to help locals find stuff.  There is soooo much available in the US that just gets silly to buy here.  And I think on every forum, this exact conversation happens.  

Adam, hope you find what you're looking for - I saw GTA and jumped in, just re-read your post and saw you were downtown.


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## Hukshawn (Feb 6, 2018)

Are we still talking about metals plus in Whitby? I've never seen a no entry sign. All their cut off racks are through the big shop door on the right, they invite you to go look. They're starting to know me by name. Lol.


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## JohnnyTK (Feb 6, 2018)

Here is a list from Toronto Society of Model Engineers.


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## umahunter (Feb 9, 2018)

Don't forget  to  check your local metal recyclers sometimes you can find good scores there for scrap prices


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## Hawkeye (Feb 10, 2018)

Get in the habit of carrying a small file when you go to check out the scrappers. If the file won't cut the piece you are checking out, neither will your cutters. You won't often pick up a piece that hard, but it does happen. In case you are looking for some stainless, also carry a magnet. Some stainless will stick, but many grades won't.


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## conibear (Feb 10, 2018)

If your looking for small brass round ,flat or square stock as well as the same in tube try your local hobby/model shop. Some of those K & S racks have material up to 3 ft long.  Another place you can try is the restore you can get hard wood there cheep for model bases. At the one here in Sudbury I got a piece of alum. just over 2.5 ft long and 2 in. in dia for 10 bucks. ya never know what you will find there.


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## chris.trotter (Feb 23, 2018)

Just went to Metals Plus to pick up my order, here are two valuable lessons!
1. they price cutoffs by the pound.  the cutoffs section is just through the curtain in the back.  Not obvious!!
2. pricing for specific metal orders is probably 3x cutoff prices

So if you need something from them, don't place an order - just show up, pick up something that fits!  They have aluminum, stainless, mild steel, and a pile of mild steel angle/tube.  Two very large racks! (20' long each, 3-4 shelves)


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## oskar (Feb 23, 2018)

For those in Montreal, try this one: http://www.rapidometal.com/index_eng.html
They also deliver


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## Hukshawn (Feb 23, 2018)

chris.trotter said:


> Just went to Metals Plus to pick up my order, here are two valuable lessons!
> 1. they price cutoffs by the pound.  the cutoffs section is just through the curtain in the back.  Not obvious!!
> 2. pricing for specific metal orders is probably 3x cutoff prices
> 
> So if you need something from them, don't place an order - just show up, pick up something that fits!  They have aluminum, stainless, mild steel, and a pile of mild steel angle/tube.  Two very large racks! (20' long each, 3-4 shelves)


I've been saying this all through this thread!! Lol. I even gave directions how to get to the back. 

And no, there are like 8 racks of cut offs.

 standing in the curtain doorway, left is mild steel,
. right is stainless and aluminum. walk left then right is big cut offs of mild and carbon steel. walk right then right again there's two racks of tool steel. walk right then left there is stainless. aluminum, chrome/shaft, brass/bronze. So much stuff. 
They even have a convenient (huge) sign on the wall over the cut off saws showing the colour coding of all the cut offs. 

And if you can't find what you want, ask the counter guys where that particular rack is, they're happy to show you. 

They sell drops cheap because usually when you buy a cut order, you pay for the whole piece/sheet. So selling the drops means they're selling something that was already sold. So they're usually eager to sell drops. 

Same goes for granite guys with counter tops.


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## chris.trotter (Feb 24, 2018)

Hukshawn said:


> I've been saying this all through this thread!! Lol. I even gave directions how to get to the back.
> 
> And no, there are like 8 racks of cut offs.



WAT!!  He said yellow shelving, and I only saw two!  D:  My head is exploding over here.

Anyways!  The lesson here is '_never do actual orders, just buy cutoffs_'.


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## Hukshawn (Feb 24, 2018)

Lol. 
I do orders sometimes. Usually with sheet goods with bends. If I’m frabricating something.


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## GoceKU (Feb 25, 2018)

I usually buy my round steel from the local steel place, but i've found is 10x cheaper to buy it from a scrap yard, but not all yards are willing to sell in small quantities and people ruining them can be difficult to deal with.


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## Downunder Bob (Feb 25, 2018)

I've found the same here, scrap yards will not sell to the public, and certainly nothing less than 100kg. I have found that if you check out all the local machine shops, and heavy fabrication yards, the smaller ones are usually the easiest to deal with. They sell their scarp to the dealers for about 10c a kg. and are usually quite happy to sell it to me for that, sometimes even for free. I rarely have to buy material, only if I need a special grade.


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