OK, so it seems to me that scrap yards in the UK are a thing of the past...

It used to be that you could rock up to your scrap yard, tell them you needed a wing mirror for a ford escort and theyd point you in the vague direction of a bunch of teetering cars and tell you to knock yourself out...

Now, they just dont seem to exist!  Its all Ebay and Partsfinder.com

So where to get some old leaf spring steel, some old springs from shocks.. you know, all the bits of "mystery metal" that can be used for practicing on or making useful little doohickeys?

Any ideas?  Im in Bedofrdshire BTW if anyone has any pointers!

Garages that repair shock absorbers, struts  and suspensions are an excellent source or coil springs and maybe leaf springs. Removing coil springs from shocks or struts can be dangerous because they are under a lot compression stress.   Best to ask the repair shop where you get it from to disassemble it. Disassembling a leaf spring pack is easier, just cut the clamp that binds them together

Local garages and places like Kwik Fit, Go and ask, and explain why and what you need them for, and if you have something you have made, then take that along to show them,  most have springs and other useful stuff in their scrap/recycling bins,

Alternatively go around local industrial parks and locate small engineering or specialist vehicle refurbishiing/repair centres and go and ask.

Car boot sales are a good source of cheap tools, hammers old files etc

Country shows usually have stalls with tools for sale and you can get a bundle of various chisels, or crowbars which are ideal toolmaking materials, and often cheaper than byuying a piece of new tool steel from a distributor.

Agricultural machinery repair centres are a good source of heavier section items, power take off shafts, transmission bits etc.

I have found a bottle opener made from a broken wrench can result in more scrap than I can haul from a small car repair business.