Recommendations for a mild steel supply house in/near Cleveland OH

[ClevelandGuy]

Once upon a time there was a place called The Metal Store, but they don't appear to have survived the big C.  I'm just a hobbyist, so not looking to buy major quantities, but I'm willing to cut larger pieces into manageable sizes for transport myself.

[JHCC]

I get mine from Aztec Steel in Elyria. They have a very wide range of cross sections and sizes, all in hot-rolled A36. They also have an area for drops where I've gotten some decent deals, but with rising steel prices, those have been going for $1/pound. 

That said, I'm sure there are other places in the Cleveland area; Aztec is just the closest to me.

[BillyBones]

There is an Alro steel in Cleveland and a Metals Supermarket in Brooklyn Heights also. 

[JHCC]

There's also a place that sells drops of tool steel. Can't remember the name, but let me see if I can find it.

[ClevelandGuy]

1 hour ago, BillyBones said:

There is an Alro steel in Cleveland and a Metals Supermarket in Brooklyn Heights also. 

I've used the Metals Supermarket for my last couple of projects.  Nice people, but expensive, and I ordered over the phone and then picked up.  I didn't notice if they had an actual browsing area where I could pick and pay for pieces, which would be my preference.  Much easier than putting an order together in advance.

[BillyBones]

We have an Alro and a metals supermarket. I have only went to the supermarket once. I use Alro when i need something. 

[JHCC]

20 hours ago, JHCC said:

There's also a place that sells drops of tool steel. Can't remember the name, but let me see if I can find it.

I think it may have been Cumberland Steel on Grant Avenue. They've certainly got a HUGE selection of just about everything you might want, from low-carbon to high-alloy steels, plus a lot of nonferrous metal. Their catalog of available sizes and materials is on their website, which you can easily find with a little googling. No idea what their prices are like, though; if you find out, let us know!

[ClevelandGuy]

I ended up going to North Coast Metal Mart.  Small place, just a guy and his son for the past 16 years, working out of a small warehouse down on Hinckley Industrial Pkwy.  Very easy to deal with, none of that "we don't like dealing with hobbyists" attitude.  Not the largest selection, but more than adequate for my needs, with all the usual versions of round and square/rectagular in 10-ft lengths.  He even cut everything in half for no charge.  I was planning on doing that myself in his parking lot, but he offered.

For $50 I got:

2 ea. square 3/8" x 10-ft
1 ea. square 1/2" x 10-ft
2 ea. round 3/8" x 10-ft
1 ea. round 1/4" x 10-ft

I asked Cumberland Steel for a quote for the same list, for comparison.  They certainly look like a larger business with more inventory, so it'll be interesting to see how their prices compare.  They're both convenient to me.

 

 

[ClevelandGuy]

Gulp!  Cumberland's prices:
 

2 ea. square 3/8" x 10-ft  $23.50/ea

1 ea. square 1/2" x 10-ft  $34.85/ea

2 ea. round 3/8" x 10-ft ***Offering 1018 CR*** $18.65/ea

1 ea. round 1/4" x 10-ft ***Offering 1018 CR*** $14.35/ea

 

Guess I'll be giving my business to North Coast Metal Mart!  

[Frazer]

In my experience sticks of (solid) A36 are sold in 20' lengths. They may increase the price for not buying a full piece. That or one place is just more expensive than another.

I just picked up the following 2 weeks ago for $110 (all 20' sticks):

• 1/2" sq        (x1)
• 3/8" sq       (x1)
• 5/16" rnd   (x1)
• 1/4" rnd     (x1)

Plus I got 17lbs of surplus at $1/lb.

The prices have gone up, but $70 for a stick of 1/2" sq (that's ~$4/lb) is absurd. There is something going on there. They might have given you the price per 20' not 10'.