Raw material sources

A

architard

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I've just bought my first lathe and it's not even up and running, or home yet. But I do have a very general question for those more experienced hobby machinists.

Where do you all source your raw materials from? Do you buy it new from metal suppliers? Scrap yards? I just wanted to get a general idea in case there were any places I might be overlooking for sourcing material.
 
Naturally it depends on what you need... Over time I've come across hunks of metal, or plastic out for trash day that were big enough that I stopped for them. Tubing/pipe can come from similar discarded items like bikes, or strollers, or metal furniture... I keep an eye open when I go to auctions too for the odd lot of stuff that isn't worth anything, but might provide stock like old wrenches and sockets. You need an open mind to foresee the use, and a big rat hole to store it all...
 
architard said:
..............Where do you all source your raw materials from? Do you buy it new from metal suppliers? Scrap yards? I just wanted to get a general idea in case there were any places I might be overlooking for sourcing material.
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As Toolslinger said keep an open mind and look at things as material and not what they are. Yard sales often have items that contain chunks of iron, other metals or plastics that can be cut off and used. For example I have picked up old bath towel racks made of acrylic plastic about 1 inch in diameter for a dollar. A piece from a materials dealer would be many times that in cost. Also odd bits of metal can be found at garage sales. A large bolt can become another part if you have a lathe. The bolt materials are often very good grade of steel. My favorite place to find material is the scrap yard if you can find one that will let you in to look. This is where all the material drops and discarded metals end up from manufacturing, salvage, and repair operations. Then there is always the new metals suppliers. There are suppliers in most big cities and online that will cut and sell the exact length of material you need. This type of dealer is probably the most expensive way to get your material. My wife has finally gotten use to the fact that I will stop on the road, if I can do so safely, to pick up a piece of metal that has fallen by the way.

As mentioned find a place you can store the pieces you gather for future projects.

Benny
 
architard: The three scap dealers let me wander around and pick out material I need. They charge me twice the scrap price they pay. It's a good deal, I just picked up a slug of brass 2 inch dia. 16 inches long for $21. The local metal and welding shop lets me go thru the scrap barrels and he charges me what he'd get from the scrap dealer. Any cut-offs their keeping I pay his cost per pound. They're real generous when you bring cash and tell them you don't need a reciept. I take a five gal. pail, work gloves and safety glasses so there's no insurance issues. I build model steam engines and hit and miss engines. When I finish a engine I take it with me to show them, they seem to get a kick out of seeing what the material is being used for, or they think I'm nuts and if they let me get some material I'll leave. Either way it's OK with me. One of the local marine mechanics calls when he has aluminum engine castings. They machine up great and if you ever decide to have a home foundry it's excellent quality material to melt down and pour. I'm sure a good size auto shop would have a supply of material too. Happy hunting. Roger
 
architard said:
I've just bought my first lathe and it's not even up and running, or home yet. But I do have a very general question for those more experienced hobby machinists.

Where do you all source your raw materials from? Do you buy it new from metal suppliers? Scrap yards? I just wanted to get a general idea in case there were any places I might be overlooking for sourcing material.
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Like the guys said, check out your local scrapyard. I have a steel supplier a few miles from the shop to get bar stock or sheet in 12' lengths. Here's 2 places I've ordered new stock online from:


http://www.onlinemetals.com/app_groups.cfm?step=2&id=2&app_id=2


http://www.speedymetals.com/default.aspx?


Both places shipped pretty fast if you can wait 2-4 days. Ebay is another good place to find raw materials for small projects, last year I bought quite a bit of Oilite for pennies on the dollar. Some sellers don't know the value of that stuff. Hope this helps.:high5:
 
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