Sourcing metal for projects $$$$

[ddickey]

Wow, you're absolutely right! They must have had it mis-listed this morning. Dang, I should have bought it.

Still half the price at Speedy Metals, $314.
Midwest Steel and Aluminum $104.
$240 @ Alro, what a rip.

 

[poplarhouse]

I don't know when your illegal transaction took place. Sounds like it was years ago. These days Ebay routinely removes sellers that don't have a 4 star or better rating. I have had a couple of experiences over the last several years where I went to buy something and received a message to the effect that the seller is currently unable to sell stuff on Ebay.

You're right, it was some years back. Like I said, say hello to Homer. It's not like losing $6 really made any difference, I just tend to carry a grudge when I get ripped off. What really annoyed me was that they didn't seem to mind that their seller was dealing in counterfeit stuff. If Amazon ever did me out of a buck, they'd probably go on my list, too!

 

[Z2V]

The Metal Supermarket here in Austin closed their doors. There is Metals4U here that I’ve bought from several times. Their prices are much lower than MSM. Steal remnants were 75 cents/ pound at MSM, Metals4U they are 40 cents/pound.

 

[Brento]

I have a hard time find metal bc there isnt any close places near me. On top of that im not an ebay person either. I would use amazon but there prices arent always great either. Id like to almost buy bulk for some of the projects I want to do but damn are materials expensive!

 

[jdedmon91]

For *aluminum*, BuyMetal.com has the best prices of any online metal supplier. I did a comparison of about 40 places a few months ago and they came out on top. They have a fixed $15 flat rate ship change which kinda sucks if you need one tiny piece, but is amazing for anything over a few pounds. Poor UPS lugged 80 lbs of aluminum to my doorstep. There were several other close ones, but I have good luck with these guys. It arrives FAST too.

Their steel selection is more limited (still good prices), but they sell in fixed quantities so you end up buying $200 worth of material. If you need a lot that is fine, but don't expect to get a good deal on a 6" piece.

Edit: The statement above only applies to their 1018 and 1045 cold rolled steel. They have all kinds of sizes available in many flavors of Stainless with no minimum order. Decent prices I think, but I don't buy stainless as often.

I’ll have to check them out. Online metals shipping is expensive.


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[jdedmon91]

When I need a small piece for a project, I tend to watch ebay; compared to the online shops, the pricing is usually much better.
If I'm getting something in larger quantities, it's usually my local supplier and local pickup as their shipping typically add 20-40% to the cost.

I have a regular job so getting time to visit the local supplier is often difficult as is getting to the local scrap yards, so I try to stock up on materials I commonly use.


Edit: "small" is subjective, I've ordered materials upto about 5' long and upto about 70lbs/package through scrap yards on ebay.

My choice for odd stuff that I can wait on


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[Brento]

For *aluminum*, BuyMetal.com has the best prices of any online metal supplier. I did a comparison of about 40 places a few months ago and they came out on top. They have a fixed $15 flat rate ship change which kinda sucks if you need one tiny piece, but is amazing for anything over a few pounds. Poor UPS lugged 80 lbs of aluminum to my doorstep. There were several other close ones, but I have good luck with these guys. It arrives FAST too.

Their steel selection is more limited (still good prices), but they sell in fixed quantities so you end up buying $200 worth of material. If you need a lot that is fine, but don't expect to get a good deal on a 6" piece.

Edit: The statement above only applies to their 1018 and 1045 cold rolled steel. They have all kinds of sizes available in many flavors of Stainless with no minimum order. Decent prices I think, but I don't buy stainless as often.

There aluminum is a decent price thanks for the tip!

 

[pacifica]

So just a setup here, I'm new to working a Lathe/mill...though I have worked in sheet/plate for sometime.
I'm lucky enough to have a Metal Supermarket nearby. I've purchased my metals there for over a decade. I've never bought squared/blocked metal before and holy crap! It is expensive! I am making some velocity stacks and I want to do the lathe test shape (barbell) to check calibration/twist on new lathe. I paid $128 for 4' of 2.25" x 2 .25" aluminum stock! Wow! I always check for remnants when I'm there, but what is a better place for real fabricating materials? Is there a cheaper quality for metals (ie not rolled versus cold roll) I realize we're not dealing with rolled metals here. There are so many kinds of aluminum as there is steel, is there a more affordable quality? I'm not making space shuttle parts...

There are some good deals from amazon, ex.: 360 brass rod 1.3125" by 96", from small parts. It is $72.42 + 5.99 shipping. buymetal.com cost is $352 plus shipping. Prices vary to an unbelievable degree, requires searching.

 

[pacifica]

There must have been on hell of a price increase...it shows $151 now from that link you posted!

but 2.5 by 2.5 by 36" is $48 at amazon, including shipping .

 

[dave_r_1]

Yeah MSM is ridiculously expensive where I am, compared with getting stuff at General Recycling (previously was General Scrap Iron, they are scrappers, but also sell full and 1/2 lengths of a good variety of new metal). It's not unusual for it to be cheaper to buy a full-length piece from GR for less than what MSM would charge for a short piece of the same stuff (their cut charge is $8 or $10, on top of way more expensive cost per foot of material.