Technical Novice question: metal fabricators... where/how do you buy metal at decent prices?

I'm a novice metal worker. I've added a welder and metal cutting & shaping tools, this past year, to do some body & framework on my '56 project, but... I need to get some metal for bracing, patching, etc. I don't really have any sacrificial parts or panels to cut from. Do I just look in the yellow pages for metal supply businesses... or are there better, more affordable ways to get (probably) small quantities of metal that I'm unaware of? Any tips or insider information to share?

Thanks in advance for helping a metal noob...

Gotta56forme/Scott

 

I generally get what I need at the local metal supply business. I live in a smaller area and there aren't a ton of choices. I'm kinda cheap but I always found their prices what seems fair to me. I suppose I really don't know what is fair but I never had to pay a lot for what I wanted.

When you consider the alternative of scrounging metal and then cleaning it up I found it quite affordable.

 

I've got two local metal yards that I buy from. One very close, and the other only 5 miles away. I buy mostly from the closest one, just to save time, and driving. Metal is expensive everywhere, but if you have it shipped or delivered it gets really expensive! I pick all mine up at the yards.
Another tip to save money is to buy full sticks, or full sheets! Even if I don't need it all, the cost of half a sheet of 18 ga. costs 75% of a full sheet, so I always buy a full sheet. The metal supplier gives me one free cut, so I have them cut the sheets in half to make it easier to haul and store. Same for sticks of steel. I buy 20' sticks, and have them cut them into two 10' sticks. Makes it easy to handle, and haul, and a $55 stick of 20' round tubing is better than a 10' stick of the same at $40.
I also ask to look through their scrap or leftover ends bin. If I need small pieces of some plate, or angle, etc. I often find them in their scrap bins and they sell it for .10 cents a pound. So I buy a lot of small plate pieces for various braces, brackets, etc. from the scrap bins.

 

I get my sheet metal from a local sheet metal fabrication shop. They make all kinds of things sheet metal, from roofs to air conditioning ducts.

I always get cold rolled. I stay away from hot rolled and galvanized. Sometimes I call out a specific size but usually I get what they call cut offs. Random pieces of cut off metals that they have in a rack.
I just grab one that looks like it will work for me. The charge is minimal. Sometimes I ask them to break an edge for me a certain way for use on my project. I’ve even had them bend up metal to my drawings and I take them home and finish them.

I use 16 gauge and 18 gauge mostly.
The 16 is thicker.

 

Metal supply places and scrap yards.

lots of scrap yards get drops and pieces from fab shops.
I buy news 4x8 sheets of cold rolled for sheet metal.
Much quicker and cleaner than cutting from old sheet metal.
Steel is high,

 

I had the same questions just 5 years ago. My little town has a metal supply shop. Reasonable prices and they are happy to help and hear about people's projects. Definitely cheaper than trying to get metal from big box hardware or tractor supply. Seattle I'm sure has a few places. Maybe try calling a few of your local rod shops and ask where the good metal suppliers are? Metalsupermarkets.com or metalshorts.com look promising in your area.

 

All of the above are what I use. I live in a rural area. A few weeks ago, I priced rectangle tubing from 4 sources within 80 miles. The prices were all over the place. After it was done, I guessed that the high prices were new stock and the low prices were older stock. I always have to pay a premium for the little leftovers or small quantities. To get free freight, I would have to buy over 1,000 lbs. That's way out of my reach.

 

Decent prices is one thing. Having what you need without going to 5 different places to fill your order is another. One supplier here in town. Seems affordable. Otherwise, I would have to travel 50 miles to get what I want. I buy full sheets and sticks. Cut in half to haul home. It`s handy having extra when you need them. And I don`t weld. I farm it all out.

 

I use two metal shops, one is a HVAC shop and the other is a fab shop. I stay away from the local AirGas that has metal also. When using automotive sheetmetal less than 30 years old it's probably tempered and not worth a shit for forming.

 

Here in the Greensboro area, Alro has a retail outlet. They will cut or shear anything you want. I generally buy 18 ga sheets and have them cut in half to 4 x 4. Much easier to handle for me. They have lots of locations in the Midwest. I'm sure there is someone just like them in Washington.

https://www.alro.com/locations/locationsmain.aspx

 

I use sheet metal from old washing machines and dryers because I'm cheap! If I need larger panels I go to my local steel fabrication shop. Instead of paying for a full 4'x8' sheet they usually have remnants you can buy at a deep discount. Also, most steel shops have a 'bargain bin' where they toss waste which are usually pretty good size pieces. Mine charges 65 cents per pound.

 

I just buy from a local shop in Belmont, CA. I try to get “drop” pieces if I don’t need a lot. It is a bit less expensive if they don’t have to cut.

 

dumpsters, scrap yards, curb sales, neighbors, tweakers yards, construction sites, the possibilities are endless. if it's not nailed down, consider it yours.....

 

Some scrap metal places won't sell "scrap" to the public.

 

You have a Metal Supermarket in Kent. They will sell any size you want and cut it for you.

 

Until I retired, I ran a small welding shop. The nearest steel warehouse around here is about an 60 mile round trip, the next nearest one is double that distance. If I buy 2,000 lbs, they deliver it to my driveway for free. Up to 500 lbs costs $75 to deliver to my driveway. I don't remember ever buying more then 500 lbs at a time. I had to write them a check before they unload, and I was a 25 year customer. They will deliver 1 full length stick to me, but I try to at lest get a few sticks at a time to make the deliver fee worth while.

The more you buy, the less it costs per lbs. A stick at a time is about 20% below retail (until you add the delivery cost), 5 or 6 sticks of the same material might be worth a 25% discount off retail (+ the same $75 fee).

I can buy less then full sticks or full sheets (a full sheet is 4' x 8'), but its a $20 per cut charge. Steel is going up, the price has nearly doubled since Oct 2020. The warehouse I buy from usually buys what they think they will need for the year, if the price they buy at has gone up, they increase the price on everything in their inventory accordingly, if their cost drops, they also drop their prices on the entire inventory (prices did drop in 2016). If it hasn't gone up where you live yet, you better get it now. If I call to get a quote on a specific steel price, that price to me is only guaranteed for 24 hours, then it is subject to an increase.

I used to sell steel I had in stock at 20% over cost (which usually included being cut to size within reason). I would order steel for anyone at 20% over my cost, payment up front, but they had to buy at least 75% of what I ordered for them.

When ever I did a welding job, I always warned people about the cost of the steel up front, most people would cry about the high cost. I always told them they could bring in their own steel, but that would be paying me the time it took to make it usable. Gene

 

Get aluminum killed if you can, doesn't rust but you can weld it .

 

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I get a lot of my metal from the Farm Shop in Sunnyside Wa. They make feed trucks and manure spreader boxes for trucks among other things but as Russ B suggested I normally snoop though their drop or left over rack for sheet metal.
jaracer's suggestion of metal supermarket sounds like a winner Seattle (Kent) | Metal Supermarkets - Steel, Aluminum, Stainless, Hot-Rolled, Cold-Rolled, Alloy, Carbon, Galvanized, Brass, Bronze, Copper
Again ask about remnants. Those places do special cut to size for some buyers and the left over pieces go in a rack and sometimes they flat get tired of looking at them. Buying the rem also saves you cut charges.

Scrap yards are a bit iffy as some will separate pieces that come in from fab shops and set it aside for retail sale. Waco Texas area rodders all make their way to M Lipsitz to poke though the metal they set aside to be able to buy it by the pound or search through the engine pile for the "good stuff" that might be there. When I lived in Texas I hauled more than one load of scrap across the scales and tossed it off and turned around and spent the money from it on metal out of their retail area. If you can call pieces of cut off metal laying on pallets a retail area.

 

I have a small fab shop close by. Dad and 2 sons run it. I've been doing business with them for over 25 years. They don't have minimum pricing like some shops. They do any fab work of mine that needs bending and I buy all my steel from them. I also buy full sticks if he has to order what I need

 

Years ago, I was building a car trailer with diamond plate decking. The shop that had the diamond plate wanted X$ to cut the new material, but far less to cut the material that had bent up edges. I bought the bent up material, and as the owners son was shearing it, the clamps straightened the bent edges. He was very surprised, but honored the price quote that he had given me. I'll bet that he learned a good lesson that day.

 

In E. Tennessee in the last two months, the scrap that I sold to the local yard has gone from $3.00 per hundred weight to $5.00 with a corresponding increase in the price of steel that I buy from them. Three years ago I was getting $11.00 per hundred weight and their selling price to me was so high that it was more economical to buy new. The word I get now is that the prices are only going to go up.

 

I also frequent a local metal fab shop that sells me scrap by the pound. Sometimes its hard to find the size you need in left over scrap but when you can, you can save a lot.

 

Used to get any steel i wanted thrugh the company I worked for . They would just add it to their big! order and I would pay them for what I got. It worked out very well ...no shipping cost for me and a much better price based on large volume orders. i made a point to stock up over time on all sizes and shapes and as such, built up enough surplus to last long after leaving. I realize it's probably isn't something everyone can do, but if you work for a company that buys lots of metal , it might be worth inquiring about.

 

I've gotten small pieces from a local scrap yard; they don't charge much but I always make it worth their while for being good to me about it.

As mentioned earlier, shipping can put a big dent in your wallet. McMaster Carr is reasonable, but I got screwed over by Online Metals once over three 24" pieces of chromoly tubing. They shipped each piece to me separately, which came to about $60, rather than put them all in one cardboard tube, probably because they make money on the shipping. I sent them a nasty email about that stunt, but never heard back.

 

Thank you to everyone who replied - gives me some things to explore. Much appreciated!

Gotta56forme/Scott

 

Similar thread was going on recently, I mentioned that scrap yards around here don’t resell metal. It was suggested to look for a salvage yard.

 

Check out steel supply places, and ask if they have a scrap/drop bin that they will let you look through. As suggested, that can save a lot, but pickings are limited to what's there and not necessarily what you want. Otherwise look into full lengths and what cut charges are. Those cut charges can add up. I even brought my sawzall to one place I used to go, and they would let me cut it in half with my sawzall after they loaded onto my truck or trailer. Obviously works best for tube or shapes, not for flat stock. Some steel suppliers will cut in half for free. Just have to talk to them, you are not the first hobbyist person needing smaller quantities. However, remember that small sales are not their main business, so be respectful when talking to them about what you want and need.

 

Hey @gotta56forme, here are two local Seattle options for you.
Everett Steel, which despite the name has a warehouse in Interbay. This is my go-to yard.
Pacific Industrial, in South Park. Never been there, but many recommend it.

 

Thanks @ClarkH , I live in West Seattle so the South Park choice is handiest. I'll check them out.

 

I think that it is called "bend allowance" 1/2 the thickest of the stock being bent.