Where to get material in Canada

A

adam.mccormick

Registered
Registered
Joined
Jan 9, 2018
Messages
10
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
 
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.
 
I deal with the Metal Super Market here in Vancouver, lots of selection and will cut to size.
 
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.
 
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
 
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.
 
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.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top