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Where to find Steel


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Greetings,

I am only a newbie at this trade but I am always on the lookout for sources of scrap steel that can be used to make various things for smithing and what kind of steel it is likely to be. I was surprised there wasn't a sticky somewhere on this (if there was and I missed it, I apologize) Anyway I thought it would be great to find out where people get steel. Although saying a scrap yard is a good place to get steel is helpful, many newer people don't know what to look for. So I will start by passing on my meager knowledge and then hopefully others can add to it.

* Used Jackhammer Bits: Can usually be gotten for free at your neighborhood tool rental place. Theoretically they can be S7 Steel but apparently they are more commonly 1040 or 1045. They are very good stuff for making tools and their shaft is almost the right size for a hardie.

* Coil Springs from vehicles: Can be 5160 steel but not always. Best to spark check. These apparently work great for tools and indeed the one punch i have made right now seems to work great. When these are heated and streched out they make round stock. Most i have find make 1/2" round stock and sometimes 5/8ths I am looking to get ahold of a truck spring and see if it is bigger.

* Leaf springs: Like coil springs but are more like bar stock.

* Scrapyard steel: Usually economical if you choose a small mom and pop scrapyard. With shiny floors new forkifts and loaders, expect to pay premium price. The best scrap yard I know of in the Denver area is K&K Surplus in Commerce City. I just picked up 2 dozen bars of 2' x 1/2" round mild steel for 50 cents a pound. Often these yards will have punch out rounds from manufacturing which can be quite hefty and useful.

Other ideas for sources of steel, especially tool steel?

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See now Robert,you`re already bustin` out of that newbie shell and sharin` what ya know!
Way to take advantage of that 2 way street.

Hey guys,I think we hooked another one! :D


You sure got that right Bob! Robert's even figured out how to bait the snare, I'm thinking he's well out of the newby box now.

I forgot what thread it's in but I ran down some basic shop tests to give you a working handle on found steel.

Frosty the Lucky.
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Look for "Junkyard Steel" charts; most every smithing site has a copy somewhere. Just remember that they are more a *suggestion* than a law! Many of them have bad info buried in them---like JackHammer bits being S-5 to 7 where 99% of them are more like 1045...


I know that anvilfire has one in the FAQs with suggested testing methods and good info as well as the big chart.

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eBay often has tool steel drops at reasonable prices. So do some of the online sellers.

Regular Craigslist searches can be useful.

Junkyard steel charts are extremely iffy and should be given little weight.

Bed frame angle iron is frequently medium- to high-carbon steel.

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Axles can be a good source of hardenable steel. Gm axles are supposed to be 4130 0r 4140 I cant remember exactly. I have had good luck making tools out of axles over the years Moistly hammers and fullers. Not as good for edge tools but will work.

Also forklift blades are good stuff if you handle stock that big.
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Check local small businesses; I buy most of my new steel from a place that makes and repairs windmills---the old farm type in western America. They charge about 1/3 to 1/2 less for the same stock as does the local lumber yard and a heck of a lot less than a big box store only 50 miles down the road (and even further to find a real steel dealer!).

The get a break on price the more they order and so are generally happy to have me upping their order levels.

Also I used to get scrap new stock (drops) for free from a middle sized ornamental iron co---they had to pay for their scrap dumpster to be hauled and dumped and so having me go through and remove some and clean it up so more would fit was a good deal for them---and I made hand forged trinkets for the office staff.---always asked first, wore PPE, went in when I wouldn't be in the way of paying work, etc.

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I found a family run steelyard out in farm country about an hour from me that is worth the drive... they sell mild steel for around 25 percent of what the city yards here do and will cut it a little free (city yards LOVE to charge unbelievable prices for that). They are around 10 percent of what the box stores sell steel for. Think rural and call around... I actually met one of these family members at a country days festival while watching the smithing demos.

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One trick I learned recently should have occurred to me as a no brainer and many of you may have this on their tool belts already. I'm just a little slow on the uptake at times B) Anyway, I give Stan Schwartz (Trying_it) credit for this one.
Test the suspect steel with a file to see how hard it is to begin with. Next, cut a small piece of it and heat it to non-magnetic and quench in oil. Then, see if the file skates on it. If it doesn't, heat it again to non-magnetic and quench in water. Once more, test with the file. If it skates this time, you at least know it can be hardened. The main point is to not spend hours making something you "hope" is higher carbon than mild, only to be disappointed. Yeah its a little time consuming and a little crude, but it does take some doubt out of the equation.
Scott

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One source for small amounts of tool steel of known specification is, of course, www.incandescent-iron.com

A source I use for small orders of tool steel here in China is..... tools. Worn files, spanners etc. are a useful source.

I think all the other sources such as vehicle springs, axles etc. have already been covered.

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If there are farms nearby you should be able to find things like discer blades, rake tines, broken baler pick-up teeth, knife-sections (a little small but maybe useful for something) springs, shafts, bearings, and old cultivator shovels (one of my favorites) :rolleyes:

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