Big $$$ problem for some beginners - sourcing materials

ScrapMetal

ScrapMetal

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We talk quite a bit how our addicti..., err, "hobby" can be quite expensive what with all the tooling and metrology type tools but one thing that has been a particular issue for me has been the acquiring of materials to work with.

Many of you have been doing this a long time and have thus accumulated literally tons (be honest, or ask your wife the amount :biggrin:) of various metals to work with. I also see lots of comments about going to the local scrap metal yards or making friends with some of the local machine shops as a way of getting the materials to use.

Where I live, I don't have those options. There is maybe ONE machine shop in the area and with the kind of work they generally do, they don't have anything in the way of solid "drops". The ONE scrap metal business in town basically has a lot full of dead kitchen appliances, not much "solid" material to work with.

With few exceptions, I've had to acquire all my raw materials through the internet. This not only adds to the costs of making things, it also adds to the time. I have to plan ahead, make up lists of materials and order exactly what I need (plus a little more in case of screwing up), then wait for days until it shows up.

I figure that I'm not the only one who is dealing with this predicament so I wrote this hoping that you would offer tips, or alternate ideas on where or how to scrounge for materials that might not be quite as obvious as those already discussed.

Thanks,

-Ron
 
Sometimes welding or fabrication shops have inventory. I used to buy full and partial pieces from a local welding shop. Not a lot of selection, but better than nothing.

If you go out of town, google ahead looking for any place that might have some metal vendors.

Some stuff simply isn't available here, mainly alloy steels. I have to mail-order those. Prices vary hugely from site to site. Sometimes eBay has decent prices.
 
You have to be careful with onlinemetals though, as they do not always label material correctly because I believe they purchase leftovers from other companies or some such way.

I've had what was supposed to be T6 6061 and it was definitely more like T1 as it was severely gummy.

I also have purchased what was supposed to be non-recycled HDPE and it turned out to be ABS.

Just trying to pass a warning for you,
Dave
 
Ron, this isnt written in stone yet, but yesterday my kid told me Lowes is now stocking flats and rounds
And also Home Depot. But I 'm going to check it out.
 
For small quantities, McMaster-Carr is about the best service anywhere. Their prices aren't the lowest, but they have one of the best ordering websites ever created and you generally receive your order the next day. Another good supplier, especially for lighter sizes (lots of aluminum, sheet, and tubing, but you won't find great big blocks of steel), is Aircraft Spruce & Specialty... despite the "Aircraft" name their prices are surprisingly reasonable and they too have excellent service.
 
Ron:

See you live in Nebraska, that's farm country! Here in West Sacramento, farm country, I find small quantities of material at my local farm implement fabricator and machine shop. He is always building something for the local farmers and keeps a pretty good stock of material. He sells his scraps at $1.00/ pound, if he takes the time to dig out the baby scale, or its his hefty had as a scale. Check and see if you have any shops that repair farm equipment in your area and hit them up.

M.L.Woy
 
If Lowes is stocking the usual flats and rounds as everyone else in the hardware business,if I recall correctly,it is not good steel for turning.

I wait till Enco has a free shipping deal,and order heavy bars of brass. A few weeks ago,they had a 20% off + free shipping. That would be a good time to order. I didn't need anything,plus my favorite grand daughter is getting into college,so the money drain starts big time now.

By the way: I have found that buying from Enco with free shipping is actually cheaper than trying to pick up odd scraps of metal online,or from Ebay.
 
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swatson144 said:
even with some good scrap yards around me there are always gaps in sizes. Generally I catch the bigger more expensive stuf at scrap and order the smaller stuff. I have found the sample sets (metal packs) from online metals to be a good handy value.
https://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?id=265&step=2&top_cat=197 steel
https://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?id=256&step=2&top_cat=60 AL

they have others
Steve
Click to expand...

I know several small machine shops in the area but buying scrap drops from them cost more than if I bought it online. There is a new Tractor Supply close buy and they have a much better selection of short metal shapes than Home Depot or Lowes. I haven't found any real good scrap yards that let you browse and look through stuff in the Tidewater area. We even have to 2 large metal recyclers on the waterfront that send scrap to China. If you know of any please share.
 
Check out the local hardware stores and farm implement stores. They often have a rack of cold rolled steel, usually 1018, flats and rounds. Some even carry aluminum stock. After that it is always good to get to know the shops in the area that use metal. Many of the owners of those shops started out small and are willing to help by adding to one of their normal shipments. It is like looking for a job, you have to network with people that use the same materials you do. Find out where the metal recyclers are in the area, some of them do not like being called scrap yards anymore. As TRX said when you travel some place look ahead for shops, metal manufactures, scrap yards... Be carefull though places like that become habit forming and hours can fly by. Good luck.

Jim
 
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