Project: Steel sources

greenthumb · Mar 2, 2003

I thought that if I am going to give welding a shot. (I think I am going to take a class first, after some feedback in my other post) I was curious as to where other's get steel for projects. Junk yard, scrape yards buy it new etc. what is the best source others have found?

blackd · Mar 2, 2003

All of the above are good sources. I find that the welding fabricators also can provide scrap and full sized pieces. Scrap is importamt since you always need some small pieces.

Don

soarkrebel · Mar 2, 2003

Look in the phone book under steel. i usually buy from a dealer. i found a guy that sells out of his backyard. he has a shop building and stocks just about anything i want. he packs alot in that building. he also gives me deals and even gives me scrap for free sometimes.
i tried scrap yards but it's quicker to just find a good dealer.
wal mart doesn't sell steel yet. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

micromike · Mar 3, 2003

Lowes has steel but it is frightfully expensive. I have one company near me that sells steel but for some reason they are hard to deal with. Frankly, the guy at the desk has an attitude so I only go there as a last resort. Another, a steel fabrication company sells me what ever I want and it is very reasonable. They sell me drops from behind the shears by weight for salvage prices. A very good deal. A third source is a salvage yard that has good steel at salvage prices. They will even trade you plus a small fee if you bring in scrap...like an engine block or two for instance. They don's always have what I need because their "inventory" is constantly changing but the prices are very reasonable. Oh yeah, I have permission to go dumpster diving at another fabricator and can have what ever I can carry.

Don't forget to watch the newspaper for auctions, farm, going out of business sales etc. I've picked up a lot of odd lots this way very cheap. This is also how I've picked up axels, wheels, jacks, chains etc. for two trailers I've built. I've still have three more axels for future projects!

Good Luck

Mike

gmason · Mar 3, 2003

A crew recently tore down a building near my office that had a bunch of steel inbeded in concrete. They hauled scrap for 2 weeks. The guy driving the hoe said they get .01/pound from the scrap yard.
Hmmm, I just bought some new steel angle 20' pieces for about $1/pound. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

gary

Taylortractornut · Mar 3, 2003

My neighbor also sells steel he buys at auctions, as well as a few industrial items as well. I just bought 2 20foot sticks of 3 inch channel for a dollar a foot. I buy 22 foot sticks of 14 gauge 1 1/4 tubing for 7 dollars per stick. He also gives bundle discounts if you buy a bundle. Take care

Mosey · Mar 3, 2003

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Lowes has steel but it is frightfully expensive.
...
I have one company near me that sells steel but for some reason they are hard to deal with. Frankly, the guy at the desk has an attitude so I only go there as a last resort

Mike )</font>

You got that right about Lowes! I buy a lot of stuff at Lowes, but not steel.

I know what you mean about the attitude. I get my steel from a recycling/scrap yard. I found them under "Scrap Metals" in the yellow pages. I can tell the guy doesn't like to deal with people like me who just buy a few pieces at a time. But, the prices are good and they're a block away from where I work, so I don't let it bother me.

Anonymous Poster · Mar 3, 2003

I buy my steel at a recycler/scrap yard at 10 cents a pound and they receive alot of excess T-1 steel from local fabrication shops that is sometimes 1-2" thick and has been precut into some very interesting shapes. I have one piece that looks like a butter knife, is about 36" long, an inch thick and weighs about 100 lbs. I plan to make it into a stump/root ripper for my backhoe.

My biggest score thus far was an entire backhoe bucket that needs a little TLC but will work fine and only cost about $30 /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

boustany · Mar 3, 2003

Around the Toronto area, there are stores called, I think, Metal Super Market or somesuch, which are pretty much retail store for steel and aluminum. You basically buy by the pound. The prices are a bit high - for example, they quoted about 50% higher than a bulk supplier for a 40 foot steel beam, but they make up for it in the fact that you can pretty much get what ever you want, cash and carry. The price is much less than at HD, for example.

This is were I've bought my steel, because all in the cost of the metal doesn't seem to be as important as other things like hydraulics, and so forth.

So if you can find scrap, its great, but I find it a useful place to know about.

soarkrebel · Mar 3, 2003

Lowes?? they sale a piece of steel that is about three feet for 10 bucks. you can buy a twenty foot stick cheaper.

One thing to remember is what kind of welder your using. my mig does not like rusty steel. a arc will work fine on rusty.
most scrap yards metals are rusty. thats why my projects begin with new steel from a dealer that stores it under roof.