I went to the 2 scrapyards in my area that advertised that they buy and sell all scrap metals and was told(rather rudely at both places) that neither place does that anymore; they only buy. The 3 landfills I've called absolutely refused to even consider allowing me to rummage through their stuff. I even tried going through CSX and Norfolk Southern, but they informed me that if I was caught picking anything up off of their tracks, they would prosecute me to the fullest extent of the law. So, that leaves me with the limited options of Lowe's, Home Depot, Ace's, and Tractor Supply's "weldable steel" racks. Is there anyone on here in the Augusta, GA area that might be able to point me in the right direction to find a better selection? I'd prefer not to order online if at all possible. I would much rather walk through a heap of metal scrap and wait for certain pieces to speak up and talk to me and tell me what they can be made into. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

this is what I got for Agusta for junkyards there are probably more farther out I will see if I can come up with a few more.

Craven's Auto & Truck Salvage
2000 Old Savannah Rd Augusta, GA

GARAGE SALES!

I have found that if you ask the home owner, they will most likely have something laying around that they thought too useless to sell.
Over the past years I have aquired at least 10 bed frames, car parts, trailer hitches, ect., that they, in their mind, thought, "nobody will buy these, just put them in the trash."
And it is ussually free.

Auto body shops. I showed up at one with a box of doughnuts and walked away with 2 complete springs packs.
One from a Toyota Tocoma that had one eye broke off, and one from a 3/4 ton Cheby that had to have the complete rear end replaced.

Edited August 8, 200817 yr by rlarkin

Try your local fab / machine shops
They are the ones that sell to the scrap yards and will probally sell to you for the same price as long as its going in their pile to be sold.

Mike Tanner

also try these

Augusta Steel & Metal Co., Inc.
MAP 1468 Gordon Hwy Augusta GA 30901
706-798-3536

Campbell Recycling
MAP 250 Dan Bowles Rd Augusta GA 30901
706-790-1550

Carolina Recycling Group LLC
MAP Augusta GA
800-225-2898

Cmc-North Augusta
MAP 1890 Old Savannah Rd Augusta GA 30901
706-796-7600

Columbia Steel & Metal Co., Inc.
MAP 1148 Shop Rd Columbia SC 29201
803-799-3582
800-852-7525

Commercial Metals Co.
MAP 1890 Old Savannah Rd Augusta GA 30901
706-724-5865

Dons Scrap Metal Recycling & Car Crushing
MAP 960 Molly Pond Rd Augusta GA 30901

hope this helps

Check with old farmers most have a scrap pile lurking around---or if you find a farm being developed into houses ask them about cleaning out some of the iron/steel. if you tell them you want to forge with it they may even let you have it for free!

Also check with your local ornamental iron fab shop I used to get *new* steel in usable lengths from a local one for free.

check for farm auctions, there is always a pile of scrap iron there.

RICH

I love this place

Thanks for all the input! I've got some leg work to do! It never ceases to amaze me that there's some much info here for the taking and that everyone is truly eager and enthusiastic to help some one they've never met. Thanks again to everyone here!

Mickey

You will find that in general blacksmiths are about the best folks you will ever meet.
Finnr

Here is a very good one, my older brother found it, and it is what we use to order steel. Cheap, High-Quality and, Affordable shipping costs.

Speedy Metals Online Industrial Metal Supply

-Owen

I dont live in GA but I know I was told the same thing about the rail line that goes by here by one of the yard supervisors. Then he whispered "I have to tell you that." Then he gave me some springs and spikes. I took him a small knife I made from a spike and he let me walk around the yard a pick up some scrap.

Around here, there's scrap yards and junk yards. Most of them don't, but some of them do. The scrap yard in Scottsburg is happy to have people walking around picking up steel that they'll sell to you for $.15 a pound. I don't know that it's worth their time financially, they just like to sell steel.

I get coil springs, sway bars and broken timing chains from a mechanic friend of mine. You might try asking around sometimes mechanics don't like the hassle of messing about with scrap steel.

My family is very good friends with a few farmers around here, most won't let me leave without taking some old broken tool, last time i went Dad had to drag me away from the scrap pile and i still walked away with a heap of steel (and an anvil.)

It seems to be a disturbing new trend. My local scrap yard changed management and now they only buy metals :-( What a bummer!

I find quite a bit of scrap steel in my travels along the road.
Broken leaf springs are common. Also, abandoned steel rod from old signs is common along roads. (Sometimes called Replubican wire). I have also found pins, rebar, large bolts, plate steel, a rusty bicycle pump and many other things. And once I found an entire front coil spring from an auto. Look along the side of the road and in the ditches when you can. You'll be amazed what you can find.

I stopped at a place not long ago that installs and repairs garage doors. After I assured them that I was not working on a garage door and just want spring steel to cut up and forge they let me pull about a four foot broken spring from the recycle bin for free. It is about three inches in diameter and a single coil is the right size for a fire striker. I gave quite a bit away and still have enough for a long time.

man just get the word out your forging and you will be suprized when people show up with steel....have a party and the admission is a hunk of non galvanized steel, kinda like "come with your steel" party .....I just got a couple leaf springs from my car repair shop....it is unreal how it just starts popping up....

My eyes are almost always peripherally glued to the sides of the road. I have even subliminally trained my wife and children to look for "metal". Silver is not allowed.
I took my truck in to a shop to have the tranny replaced:o and walked out with a coil spring, an anti-sway bar and some odd bits n pieces.

I just recently took my van to another shop to have the a/c worked on (another ) and he told me where his scrap pile was kept, and gave me permission to stop by anytime to dig around. I have the drive shafts and all the parts of the ball joints in between from a little car of some asian make. I stopped my and gave him a matched set of grill tools (fork and flipper)

A guy at a church we recently visited works for a grading company. He has already given me one track pin (enough for two hammers and a flatter, possibly) and two hear shafts from some really big thing. He said that the next time they swap out the dozer or grader blade, he will give me a call. I will owe him a cable knife.

One of my favorite finds of Carry-Iron (carrion---road kill iron) was when we were carpooling to a Smithing meeting and out in the country we were going over a newly refurbished RR crossing and I noticed that way down in the ditch was a barrel of RR spikes.

Brand new HC spikes they they were not willing to haul up to the truck during their clean up. Turns out that a vanload of smiths were quite willing and able to clean up that barrel for them.

The price of new steel is dropping here so let's hope that the rest of the world follows suit.

I going to get a load of horse shoes and old rasps from a guy we used to go to church with. I'll make a snakehide-antler knife and post a picture in the knife thread.

I am lucky enough to have a real steel yard about an hour away. They use to deliver any oder over $150.00 but now it is $350.00. I check my local ( recycling center ) dump 2 times a week , you have to sepperate every thing out. The scrap metal pile is my favorite. Always full of broken tools;) black iron pipe, car parts heck I just got a new ceiling fan for the shop + a small blower motor from a camper furnace:). You just have to become a master scrounger and ask your self who uses metal parts or machines or fixes these things. The big thing is always ask first, you will be suprised when people find out your a blacksmith what they will give or offer you or tell you who to talk too.

Maybe you should try a local electric motor repair shop. Ask for large scrap bearings. I've made many knives from ball and races and think it is the best steel available from scrap.

Buddy