humphreymachine Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Partly for lack of trying I have not located a local steel supplier who is happy to deal in small lots, single lengths etc. I do have an old time scrap/steel buyer/seller who I’ve been doing business with. His inventory is old but unused – bought at industrial foreclosures etc. He claims that his 45 cents a pound price is a bargain. Is it a bargain or just about right for new or too high? I paid about $23 for a one 1” square x 20’ length. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 That sounds like a pretty good deal to me! He is much higher than scrap prices but much lower than typical prices for new steel... I'd keep him unless I found a better place! BTW that price is closer to 32 cents per pound according to my section weight tables (1"X1" steel X 20' = 68 pounds)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale M. Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 I get "unwarranted steel" manufactured in INDIA for about .49 cents a pound.... New, clean steel runs me about .85 to .90 cents a pound out here on left coast... I can get it cheaper, but I have to drive further and it just eats up any savings.... Dale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddtodd Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 I don't know what it works out to pound wise, but i can get a 20 foot stick of 3/8 for 10 and change. Is that a good deal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humphreymachine Posted May 25, 2013 Author Share Posted May 25, 2013 $10 for 20’ of any kind of steel sounds cheap although at that cost per pound I’m guessing without doing the math that my 1x1 would have been over $60 for a 20 footer. The old timer I’m buying from may not be around for long so I’m trying to decide whether I should be stockpiling at his 45 cents a pound price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 I used to buy new shiny bright steel by the 20' length and then found out that once I put it in the fire it didn't matter all that much so I started buying it at the salvage yard for half the price because he didn't charge for keeping it pretty. I made it into art and let it rust anyway or put linseed oil on it and turned it black so why pay a premium for shiny when rusty did as good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Evers Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 If I could get it close to home for under 50 cents, I buy a whole bunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Emig Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 45 cents a pound?? That is a cheap price. Most steel suppliers are around 90 cents a pound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postleg Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 I pay scrap price for new drop off up to 3ft long for 15 cents a pound/ what the scrap yard pays my employer. So 1000lbs of assorted sizes for $150 bucks keeps me in materal for along time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale M. Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Also there are dimensional charts available the give weight per foot of steel stock. So it should be no surprise what you will pay once you know dimension, per foot, per pound(s) you can calculate exact cost before you ever leave home... Some suppliers have two different pricing system one is per foot price and one is per stick pricing... ... The per foot pricing usually includes a cutting charge.... Per stick (20 foot) is usually cheaper... My supplier will give you a free cut to make full length more manageable if you buy it for the "by the stick" price... A very information packed book called POCKET REF by Thomas J. Glover has excellent charts on "common" steel dimensions as to weigh per foot... And tons of other information you need to know... Also weigh per foot charts can be found on internet... Dale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale M. Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 I don't know what it works out to pound wise, but i can get a 20 foot stick of 3/8 for 10 and change. Is that a good deal? A 20 foot length of 3/8 round stock (0.376 lbs per ft)... 7.5 pounds, at $0.90 per pound $6.76 a length.. A 20 foot length of 3/8 square stock (0.478 lbs per ft) ... 9.56 pounds, at $0.90 per pound is $8.60 a length A 20 foot length of 3/8 hexagon stock (0.414 lbs per ft)... 8.28 pounds, at $0.90 per pound $7.53 a length.. A 20 foot length of 3/8 octagon stock (0.396 lbs per ft).... 7.92 pounds, at $0.90 per pound $7.13 a length.. The above exercise was just for giggles.... Dale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 Living in fairly rural NM, USA; I'm buying steel and wrought iron at the scrap yard for 20 cents a pound. When I need storeboughten steel I go to the Windmill repair and construction business about 2 miles from my shop. They sell steel for about 1/3 to 1/2 off the price at the local lumber yard that sells 20' sticks. A *real* steel supply place is a 40 mile drive each way and a real cheap on is closer to 100 miles each way. So when I make a trip to the city I tend to stock up and always try to buy 1 more stick than I need for a project to build up steel on hand. I also pick up any good looking stock at the scrap yard even if I don't have a current use---having it on hand tends to creat uses for it. Note you need a place to store steel safe from scrappers, kids, etc and where the neighbors won't complain too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcb Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 Cohen Steel doesn't mind dealing in small purchases. It is in Concord, NH. It's a little steeper than Dale M, it costs about $13 for 3/8 by 20ft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 down here I pay $1.45-$1.75 a pound depending on the type of steel Scrap is .80 a pound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pato Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 Good morning, I’m starting a business and looking for a steel supplier do you mind sharing who’s your supplier? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 I get mine down the street, call them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazz Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 Just did a search for "price of mild steel" which resulted in one hit that said .40 cents a pound which seems low to me. My scrap yard used to charge me .20 cents a pound when they would let me shop there (pre controlla virus) but rarely did they have any lengths of bar stock or rod. Mill metals in Manchester NH may be an option for you for new stuff. I used to buy from Haverhill steel but they are gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 Pato; are you willing to pay shipping from Australia or Finland, South Africa or Chile? If not perhaps you should mention which of the 100+ countries that participate here on the World Wide Web you are in. If you are in one of the larger countries, Russia, Australia, USA, China, Canada, etc you may want to give even a closer location to avoid heavy shipping charges. Asking questions that can be answered other than "over that away 6 miles" is considered basic politeness and an indication that you don't want to take advantage of people by having them write out where they get things only to reply "But, I'm in a totally different country on the other side of the world!" I will say that in the USA Midwest, southern and southwestern areas; I found it useful to call a number of dealers as pricing often varied from dealer to dealer and when one dealer would be lowest one time, another might be lowest the next time as their prices may be based on when they bought the stock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 I was going to ask Steve for the phone # but for once my better judgement kicked in.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 He never listed what type of steel or even what area, hard to give a meaningful answer, we cant give a detailed answer when there was not a detailed question Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 I know Steve. I was just being a smarty pants as usual. Just trying actually to emphasize your point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 Pato: If you can't or won't ask decent questions I don't know how you expect to succeed in a business. Think a tax auditor will accept such a vague answer? I buy from two suppliers, depending on what's in stock or I need. One is about 15 minutes away depending on traffic but the one that's about 25 minutes away is generally less expensive for common shapes. There are a couple other guys on the forum who live close to me, we could get into a long discussion of suppliers and scrap yards we like. Will that help you? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted December 21, 2020 Share Posted December 21, 2020 Even though we have i think 3 steel suppliers in Dayton the shop i work for gets their stock from Indiana. Even with shipping charge it is cheaper than sourcing it locally. However you also, when in business, watch where the steel or any other supplies are manufactured. For instance we just had 30,000 parts, yes 30,000, rejected by our customer. Nothing physically wrong with the part but the sourced material was produced in China and the contract was for the military. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 21, 2020 Share Posted December 21, 2020 Sources are always "of interest"; way back when in the 1990's, they moved production of a component to Mexico as it was cheaper; so the bean counters thought! Turned out we had to specify 100% test and still ship double orders to customers to make sure they got enough usable ones. (and it was obvious that 100% test was NOT done!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkbox Posted December 25, 2020 Share Posted December 25, 2020 I've been reading through these to educate myself and got blind sided by the 7 year gap in this one. I've only just started researching scrap shops in the Edmonton area, it's been educational. Once you know where to go it's obvious, but man figuring it out the first time, especially in a pandemic is a challenge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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