Cost of used steel

[okclumberjack]

I'am wanting to buy from the scrap yard a couple of plates 1/2 thick 1 plate 30'' x 6' and another 5' x 7' any ball park Idea what i will spend on these 2 plates understand might not(probally won;t) find exact size.????????? thanks

 

[Groo]

not all scrap yards will sell. some not even to their own employees.

 

[MrChris]

Agree, our scrap yards do not have resale licenses here. I've gotten some scrap pieces from some small welding shops in the area. Might be another option to look into.

 

[Stimw]

I have a 20 ton dumpster full of scrap that will get picked up tomorrow. They are giving me $11.25 per 100 lbs.
So if you can figure the weight of the plate this might give you some idea of it's value. Of course double that figure for their profit!

 

[RoMad]

There is a place near where I live that sells it. The last time I bought some he was charging .40 a pound. A good number to use to figure out what yours would be is; 1" steel weights 40 lbs a square foot.
So, your 1/2" = 20 lbs a square foot and you need about 52 square feet.
You should check on new.

 

[Travelover]

I'm retired, so my time is my own and I make hobby stuff for myself, only. I find used steel (and aluminum) to be a heck of a lot cheaper than new, even after I toss out the odd piece I can't use. Last time I bought steel, I paid 30 cents a pound in SE Michigan.

 

[Agent Blue]

35 to 40 is the going rate for used in my area. Good flat plate is hard to find in larger pieces. My welding table is 1/2", 30" by about 68". Took a while to find that size. Have no idea what new would be but I bet expensive.

 

[GrizzyDan]

One scrap yard here buys iron at .10 a pound and sells at .35 ... A new scrap yard opened up a few months ago and they don't have a resale license just yet, but they are more than willing to trade pound for pound if you bring in similar material. As they see it they don't lose anything and it makes for a happy supplier and return business. I wish we all had a scrap yard like this, yet I have a feeling it won't last for too much longer.

 

[Travelover]

One scrap yard here buys iron at .10 a pound and sells at .35 ... A new scrap yard opened up a few months ago and they don't have a resale license just yet, but they are more than willing to trade pound for pound if you bring in similar material. As they see it they don't lose anything and it makes for a happy supplier and return business. I wish we all had a scrap yard like this, yet I have a feeling it won't last for too much longer.

Yea, that is a heck of a deal, as they are basically giving away their labor. Stock up now!

 

[KennyG]

I just bought some new angle, bar and tube steel and it ranged from $.50 to $.60 a pound. Used steel would have to be exactly what I wanted to be worth it. To me it's not worth searching around for something that isn't quite right.

 

[monckywrench]

If you have a load of scrap, bring it with you since many scrappers would rather trade than pay cash.

 

[jwmorris]

I picked up a sheet of 3/8 plate 34'X7' from a recycle outfit about an hour south of Dallas the other day. 4180 lbs at $.25 per pound. They had plate up to 4" thick for the same price but went up a few cents a pound for thinner sheets.

 

[schmism]

I bought structural steel (like angle iron etc) from the scrap yard for .25 per pound.

 

[Sawmilllawyer]

If the O.P. is in OKC the last time I purchased used steel on Reno I think I paid $.30 pound. There was some steel plate ranging from 1/8 to 1" thick. As anthony poter already alluded to your biggest problem will be finding the size plat you need. But I check the SS yard every couple of weeks and sometimes am pleasantly surprised by what I find. Good hunting.

 

[GrizzyDan]

Last time I went to buy square tubing they quoted me over $100 a stick. I'm going to head down there this next week and see what I can get for angle and channel, as you'd be the luckiest man alive to find whole 20' lengths at a scrapyard of anything that isn't massive 2' or larger structural steel.

I scrap cars and junk for trade (when they have anything worth trading for) and scrap trailers and rv's for the straight channel, box, or I beam, axles for tubing, spindles for anything that needs to rotate.. (firewood processor here I come) The downside to this is what is left over from rv's, plenty of wood, plastic, and fiberglass that gets hauled to the dump. I usually break even with quite a bit of metal toward projects if it's sheeted in aluminum. I pass on anything fiberglass.

Life would be rather simple if we could all afford to buy new things, however, where is the challenge in that? I'd get bored pretty fast.