The cost of metal what to do?

[SCRich]

OK guys, many of you seem to be very adept and avid welders. I started welding a couple of years ago but actually quit when I was going broke buying raw materials. The wife started getting upset since it was often cheaper to buy the item needed than to make it myself if it were available.

A good example is a 3pt log splitter, saw one today at Northern for $499, I think I would spend at least $400 in the steel!

I had started with a Lincon 145 (I think) MIG and was going to buy a AC/DC stick to go with it but held off after some of the material costs at the metal yard. I still have the MIG, just bought some land, a new tractor and I think welding is in the future again for me.

I see some REALLY great projects here, it's got me really interested again in welding BUT how in the world can you afford to build these items with the price of steel the way it is now ?

I'd like to know how everyone does it and what some of the resources are. If just a simple school locker size oven cost me over $200 in materials I can just guess what a box blade or some other implement can cost!

 

[Thomas]

Over the years I had some luck at auctions also junk dealers....little extra work in cleaning but well worth it.

 

[EdC]

Scrap bins at steel yards. You will not get exactly the right size but if you are patient you can do pretty well.

 

[sandman2234]

You have to have a source for used steel, and somewhere to store it if your going to build stuff. No matter what the project, your not going to use all the steel if you buy new pieces, and those pieces just became the start of the next or future project.
I dropped a trailer off at a repair shop, and noticed they were removing roller beds from a couple of tractor trailers. I inquired with the boss as to being able to purchase the roller beds. He quoted me a price,($300) and told me he would stack them up out of the way till I could come get them. I came back in two hours, and they were all in the dumpster. He said his guys forgot. The 5" channel they removed with the rollers was all mixed up with it, and required a forklift to remove. He loaned me theirs with the understanding that I would clean up my mess after separating the channel from the rollers.
I asked what it would take to buy everything in the dumpster, he quoted me another price ($400) and I agreed. A couple trailer loads of "junk" to the house, sold a few of the roller beds to pay for the whole project, and had a few left over, plus a bunch of 5" channel that had bends, welds and twists in it.
Over the last couple of months, that 5" channel has become the framework for my dump/flatbed trailer. It was a lot more trouble to use than new steel would have been, but without the pain in the rear pocket, so I figure I got off cheap.
I may be buying some flat sheets for the deck covering, as the aluminum I have just isn't working out right. I will feel the pain of it when I do that, I am sure.
David from jax

 

[philbuilt]

SCRich,
Try to find a large sign shop one that has cranes and service trucks. The larger shops install signs for other sign shops. Most shops have scap piles that they would normally sell at the scales. They also have take downs.
Steel pipe, alot of angle, I-beams, square tube and channel.
Phil

 

[bobodu]

We have a surplus steel company here that sells cutoffs/drops/and out of spec steel for 30 cents a pound.
Bait the curb for scrap guys with a little piece of steel.When one comes buy to take the bait,tell him that you would be interested in some of his "finds" and pay him douple what the scrap yard will pay.

 

[sandman2234]

Baiting a scrapper is a good thought, but not if you live on a dead end street. Might have to put a sign out, saying I need scrap hauled, inquire down the street. Best way I have found them is park on the street at a red light or stop sign near the scrapyard. Catch them going and give them your phone number and a list of what you need. Double their value and they don't have to cut it up to scrap yard sizes works for them, and delivered (within reason) makes it a win-win situation for you. You might have to buy some stuff you can't use, but figure it into the cost of doing business and send it back with him the next time he comes by, or make a paying trip out of it yourself. All depends on your vehicles and time. Scrapyard here closes early, so I have to take off work to make the trip. I still have the old Ford one ton that I hauled scrap on for years, when I had a job where I didn't work all the time!
All of this requires somewhere to store, process, out of sight of the eyes of passing motorists and wifes that are at least a little torerant of junk, while you are processing it to fit your steel rack. (You will need a steel rack!)
I tend to leave mine in the as-is state until I need it, as you never know just what configuration you will need when you start building stuff.
Not being afraid of asking people (business') what they do with their scrap will be the first hurdle to overcome, having someway to haul it second, some way to store and process it third, and a wife that will let you keep junk around most. A good torch and large bottles is a must, along with several spare tips. If your not very good at using them, you will be by the time you get some scrap cut up into usable pieces that you can store. Good luck with your search!
David from jax

 

[SCRich]

Xcellent ideas guys, I am new to the area so I'll have to do some searching but I think I know of one scrap yard. Storage will be a problem to start since we are renting a home now while the house is built and the house will only have a 2 car garage. I know I'll be building a garage but not like my last one, 1610sq ft Steel Master with a 16ft roof. It was a bear to build on my own with my late Father but we finished it. I got the door knob on finally the week before I left the house for good. Wish he would have seen that day himself!

The wife is cool with it, she has dealt with a few thousand pounds of 2-way radio gear for our 16 years together, what's a few more thousand pounds of steel.

 

[Ford960]

I always keep my eyes open for bedrail. It's hard to remember all the projects that I've built with it in the last 40 years. Last year I decided that I needed a steel box on my bush hog to carry the chainsaw. While throwing the garbage in the local dumpster I see 2 sets of bedrail that went home with me.
The next day I decided that I needed some steel sheet for the box and sitting next to the dumpster was an old metal filing cabinet that got thrown in the back of the truck. These materials made a nice lockable steel box for free.

Ya gotta keep your eyes open.

Also I have a steel yard about five miles from here were I will buy angle or square tube. They let you walk around the yard and shop and I always ask about a drop of some kind. I buy full lengths and they will cut it while I go up front to pay and they will put the steel in my truck along with any drops that meets my needs. They only charge me for the lengths that I buy. Plus they don't charge me for the cuts. Oh, and the woman in the office is a real looker.

 

[SCRich]

They only charge me for the lengths that I buy. Plus they don't charge me for the cuts. Oh, and the woman in the office is a real looker.

And you are going to tell me you are in Meck County ? just a few moments over the border from me ? I'd like to go and check out the office... I mean these deals you are telling me about.