Acquiring metal on the cheap. How to get it?

Yes, fellow forum members, eBay, local machine shops are all good sources.

One thing I'd mention too is the value of starting with material that you know what it is. As you learn to set correct feeds & speeds and what tool geometery works best it's hard to transfer that knowledge if you're not sure what the metal you're working with is.

I was suprised how good of deals Zoro has as well.

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Zoro Select Rod, Aluminum, 6061, 1 1/4 In Dia x 1 Ft L 61R1.25-12 | Zoro

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Also, if you don't have a McMaster account you should. Might not be the cheapest but often available the next day with a certificate.

www.mcmaster.com

McMaster-Carr

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John
 
At my prior home I found a shop that would sell their drops. Never figured the price per pound. I would show up just before lunch time. The owner would load me up with whatever I was looking and then some. It always cost $30. I think I was giving him lunch money. There was also a manufacturer that sold sheets of steel for 25 to 50 cents per pound. It was mostly 1/8" thick. They had other stuff too.

I have just found a person on CL close to my new place that is selling steel for 50 cents per pound. Haven't been there yet. He seems to have a varied assortment of stuff for sale.
 
There is a scrap yard down the road from me that will sell steel, brass, aluminum, not to mention they will price out (semi) usable equipment that gets scraped. I bought my Six Inch Craftsman there on a sale day, also some other stuff over the years. But, my point being that the people who pay for scrap will often sell it too, and I know there are places in the cities north and south of me who also do this.
 
francist said:
This topic seems to pop up every few years ...
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My apologies for piling more work onto you. I kinda assumed that since there was nothing pinned the question as to how to "get metal on the cheap," had not been asked here.
 
Iron Filing said:
My apologies for piling more work onto you. I kinda assumed that since there was nothing pinned the question as to how to "get metal on the cheap," had not been asked here.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't worry about it...there are a lot of questions asked here time and again. On some forums it's bad form, but this forum is very much accepting of beginners or those with less experience (me!) and it's not uncommon to have some of the same questions show up over time. Not only that, but times do change and answers from a decade ago don't always help. Considering how metal prices are pretty much a roller coaster ride what was true even a short time ago may be completely wrong today.
 
Scrap yards were such a great source of metals, unfortunately here in EU they got regulated into oblivion. I have a small scrap yard nearby that I used to go to few years ago. It was the last scrap yard that woukd let members of the publication c to wander around and browse stuff. They closed the business, because they said the regulations were to costly to follow. Pity.

Now the only source of cheap metals is local ads etc.
 
As said above, automotive scrap can be a good source - An active repair shop will have lots
CV joints are constantly being replaced, for example, and the attached axles are a good source of steel round stock.
You just have to cut them off - Torch, sawzall, abrasive wheel, etc .......
 
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