WranglerX
Super Member
Look in phone book for steel sales..... Or go to town and drive around in industrial area and note the signage on buildings....
Unfortunately for me, "local" steel sales with "drops" is 70 miles from me and that is one way....
Cost of steel?
- Thread starter DaBear3428
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Unfortunately for me, "local" steel sales with "drops" is 70 miles from me and that is one way....
newbury
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I'm also looking for some steel plate.Here (Alexandria, VA) there are ads on FB for similar for $1,800 and for
as of this writing (12/13/24).
/edit - of course thinking on that it's about what good 3/4 PT plywood was going for recently.
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Tinhack
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Same here. I used to get drops from a nearly local recycling center a couple of towns over. I could get new steel for a nickel a pound over scrap. The place closed up when the brother and sister running it passed away. There's a center in my town but they don't keep much on hand. Most of it goes as soon as they get it. They take aluminum cans though.
OP
DaBear3428
Platinum Member
thanks for the replies, all good suggestions.
MechanicalGuy
Platinum Member
My locale has that for about $500. I purchased the 3/16" for ~$250.
5030
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Steel material cost is always predicated on the quantity bought, the transportation of the material and the grade. How it works and I know because I buy material in truckload quantities.
Runner
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www.metalbythefoot.com in KCMO says $954.56 for that piece.
I thought I had replied a while ago on this, but it must have been my imagination. Around here as a rule of thumb, I start with $1/lb for the cost of new rolled steel - as long as I'm buying it in the same size piece they get it delivered in. Fabricated items like tube will be higher. If they have to cut it, they would likely charge extra too.
Before winter I bought a 20' C5x6.7 & L1-1/4x3/16 to do a trailer modification, and the price for that was almost $1/lb down to the penny. This place is new and is a fab shop, not a sales shop, so they order on demand, and it would be delivered to them next day/2 day max. if i need something same day, there is another fab place that has a reasonable amount of lighter materials in stock, up to 4" ballpark. their prices tend to be higher - $1.25/lb or more last time I did the math, and they keep cut-offs to sell at the same price - just no cutting charge when you buy a cut-off.
Not recently, but at times in the past i've found some recycling places that have had clean cut-offs for $0.35~0.50/lb, but most recycling places aren't selling to the public here. Have not seen clean usable steel at "scrap" prices in decades. I did find some chunky cut-offs at Marden's a year ago - 3"+ thick rounds and plates in 10-20lb chunks. i bought a few to have on the racks for future tool and fixture build projects.
It's a far cry from when i was young and just starting out back in the 90's and i could buy through my employer at cost - i remember paying as low as $0.17/lb for new angle bar, and $0.25 for most items, $0.35 for tube.
As a reference for people - steel weighs 490lb per cubic foot. just do the math to break that down. 1/2" plate ends up at 20.4lb/sf, so a 4x8 sheet would be 653lb. assuming that is a stock size from the supplier, which it would likely be, making $600 about right, more or less.
Before winter I bought a 20' C5x6.7 & L1-1/4x3/16 to do a trailer modification, and the price for that was almost $1/lb down to the penny. This place is new and is a fab shop, not a sales shop, so they order on demand, and it would be delivered to them next day/2 day max. if i need something same day, there is another fab place that has a reasonable amount of lighter materials in stock, up to 4" ballpark. their prices tend to be higher - $1.25/lb or more last time I did the math, and they keep cut-offs to sell at the same price - just no cutting charge when you buy a cut-off.
Not recently, but at times in the past i've found some recycling places that have had clean cut-offs for $0.35~0.50/lb, but most recycling places aren't selling to the public here. Have not seen clean usable steel at "scrap" prices in decades. I did find some chunky cut-offs at Marden's a year ago - 3"+ thick rounds and plates in 10-20lb chunks. i bought a few to have on the racks for future tool and fixture build projects.
It's a far cry from when i was young and just starting out back in the 90's and i could buy through my employer at cost - i remember paying as low as $0.17/lb for new angle bar, and $0.25 for most items, $0.35 for tube.
As a reference for people - steel weighs 490lb per cubic foot. just do the math to break that down. 1/2" plate ends up at 20.4lb/sf, so a 4x8 sheet would be 653lb. assuming that is a stock size from the supplier, which it would likely be, making $600 about right, more or less.
AnotherBueller
Gold Member
Around here I ask for price / pound and use that as a guide of who to call first. Then ask for price for what I want per foot and per cut.