Good source to buy metals for lathe projects

[projectnut]

You might also want to check used equipment dealers. There are a couple in this area that buy out entire shops, including their metal stock. Over 90% of the metal I buy comes from these dealers. I buy it when I find it rather than waiting to purchase specific sizes and alloys for a project. When I do have a need for specific sizes, I go to a steel yard about 40 miles away. While they're more expensive than the used equipment dealers they're far less than the local metal suppliers.

For the record most metal prices have gone up considerably in the last few months. I was paying $1.00 a pound for steel, and $2.00 a pound for aluminum regardless of shape or alloy. The steel recently went to $1.75 a pound and the aluminum went to $3.00 a pound

 

[epanzella]

Since my "go to" scrapyard stopped selling to the public I've turned almost exclusively to EBAY. The metal retailers (SPEEDY METALS, ect) seem good until you add the shipping which is often more than the material ordered. For special alloys like drill rod I turn to VICTOR TOOLS. They have ground rod and flat plates in a wide selection of sizes.

 

[Shiseiji]

Granger and Zero are other online sources. Zero lists on eBay.

 

[7milesup]

I buy almost all of my stock from the local steel supplier. I have got to know him over the years and he frequently sells me drops for what seems like has to be much more than his cost. I once bought a 30-gallon container of aluminum sheet drops from him ranging in sizes from 1/16" to 1/4" for $28, mostly because that is all the cash I had in my wallet on that day, LOL. I had just purchased my Lincoln TIG 200 and utilized a lot of that for practice.
Another source is online auction houses that specialize in industrial fabrication shops. There are a couple of them in my area and I will gladly drive a couple of hours if it is a good deal.
If I were to order online, I would utilize Midwest Steel and Aluminum. Their prices are very reasonable but be aware that they are not very speedy.

 

[RJSakowski]

In 2019, I purchased aluminum drops from Howard Precision Metals on the northwest side of Milwaukee, WI. I bought about 60 lbs. of 6061 for $1.00/lb. at the time. It was 90 mile trip for me to pick it up but the cost of the trip vs. the shipping was a wash and it was an excuse to see an old friend. I bought plate in 1", 1.5", and 2" thicknesses and it was clean and well marked as to alloy.

Random Aluminum Pieces & Parts | Aluminum Flat Bar & Tooling Plate Suppliers - Howard Precision Metals Inc

Howard Precision Metals has a variety of random metals in stock and ready to cut your specifications. Call our sales department to lock in your random piece at 800-444-0311.

www.howardprecision.com

 

[WobblyHand]

Search for Fortal aluminum on evil bay, if you are interested in 7075 aluminum. Pricing is around $3 / lb, including shipping. These are miscellaneous cuts, but if you need some particular size, and can't find it listed, contact the seller. 7075 machines nicely and is quite strong for aluminum. A lot more fun to machine than A36.

 

[Janderso]

I'm lucky to have a local metal supply that is friendly to hobby guys, and will sell small pieces although there is a cutting fee. They also offer free delivery for long stuff that wont fit in my truck. I'm only about a mile away, not sure they would be so willing to deliver $100 of steel if I were further away. They also sell drops at a significant discount (sold by weight but seems to run about 50% of full price and already smaller pieces). Sometimes they just give me stuff, like the other day I found a couple of short bars of mild steel round stock. It was 5lbs worth (would have been $5) and the guy just said I could have it.

They mostly supply welding materials, mild steel, stainless and aluminum. For more specialized materials I've used Hobby Metal Kits, and Online Metals as well as finding small stuff for sale on ebay and Craigslist.

Hobby Metal Kits sells stuff in 6" and 12" lengths and ships in pre-paid flat rate boxes so the shipping costs are not too bad.

Online metals you really have to work your order to find the sweet spot between quantity and shipping or the shipping quickly gets out of hand. It is usually cost prohibitive to make an order under $100 as their shipping will be almost as much as the material. Their shipping goes up quickly but then plateaus. When I order from Online I have typically made orders of around $300, and 6 foot lengths seem to be the best cost balance.

Gosh Aaron,
Maybe I’ll contact you next time I get frustrated with my local supplier. They are no longer friendly with hobby guys.

 

[mattthemuppet2]

I usually have a few piles of useful material kicking around, mostly steel, some alu, that I sell on here for $45 a medium flat rate box. It's pretty random but I try and make a nice mix of round/ bar and flat. Heading to the scrapyard on Wednesday with a friend of you have any particular requests.

 

[Badabinski]

There's a place in Salt Lake City called NPS Industrial that mostly does (I think) undelivered or rejected industrial merchandise.

Most of the store is full of things like signs, trash cans, cleaning equipment, and car parts which is... whatever.
They have a section that starts out with wrenches before moving to the weirdest mix of stuff you can imagine that includes taps (sometimes massive 45mm things), boring bars, lathe toolholders, name brand end mills, crappy Chinese end mills, ER collets, weirdo specialty drills that I have no understanding of, and a boatload of files that are basically all garbage (they just stick them in a giant plastic bucket and you have to scrape them against each other to look at them). This part of the store is usually fun, and occasionally nets me some great tools for really cheap.

My favorite part of the store is the scrap metal section. It's just a bunch of boxes on the floor filled with dinged up pulleys, sprockets, gears, brass and copper industrial plumbing fittings, and labeled metal cutoffs. When I go, I usually see 304 stainless, 6061 aluminum, "cold rolled carbon steel", 4140, S7, D1 through 7, H13, and sometimes 12L14. However, I've also found crazy stuff, like a piece of 3"x12" Cronidur 30 round stock, or a piece of 2.5"X10" Invar 36 round stock. I've snagged Duplex 2205 round stock multiple times in sizes from 3" up to (I think) 6". It's a really great place to get exotic materials that would otherwise be incredibly cost prohibitive (non-stainless steel including tool steel is $1 a pound, stainless is $2 a pound, alu is $2.50 a pound, brass/copper is $4 a pound). There's obviously no provenance on any of this, but I have no reason to think that the more specific labels are wrong.

I'd heartily recommend looking for similar places around you. I have no idea if industrial surplus stores generally have scrap metal, but it's worth searching IMO. I'm also not sure if many places get exotic materials (Utah has a small amount of aerospace and heavy industrial manufacturing), but you never know...

EDIT: 45 seconds of googling with "<your city> <your state> hardware store industrial surplus" turned up a scientific surplus store which makes me think you may be in luck. Short on time right now or I'd keep digging for somewhere that's a bit less focused on lab supplies.

 

[JPMacG]

Scrap stock shows up now and then at auction. Here is a current example:

ONLINE ESTATE TOOL AUCTION on Oct 23, 2022 by M.J. Stasak Jr. Auction and Appraisal Service in NJ - Page 6

494 lots featured in ONLINE ESTATE TOOL AUCTION on Oct 23, 2022 by M.J. Stasak Jr. Auction and Appraisal Service in NJ, featuring Stanley No. 45 Combination Plane w/ Cutters, Stanley Sweetheart Tool Cabinet and more.

www.liveauctioneers.com

I have not pursued it. There is no telling what the stock is, they typically list it as just "steel" or "aluminum". The lack or rust leads me to suspect the steel is stainless.