"Ignoramus18353" wrote in message
...
So, where do people buy round metal stock for turning? I have a few
odds and ends at home, but not much. As always, I do not want to spend
a fortune.

I often use Online Metals and am generally happy with them.

Peter

http://www.onlinemetals.com/

I get 90% of my non-steel stock from Kirschbaum & Krupp, a local
non-ferrous metal recycler. Not convenient for you, but the concept may
be valid. I'd look for similar outlets where you live. It's not
reliable, but I find treasures there for pennies compared to retail.

Ignoramus18353 said the following on 5/12/2005 3:09 PM:
So, where do people buy round metal stock for turning? I have a few
odds and ends at home, but not much. As always, I do not want to spend
a fortune.

i

Ignoramus18353 wrote:

So, where do people buy round metal stock for turning? I have a few
odds and ends at home, but not much. As always, I do not want to spend
a fortune.

Think about it. If you are going to spend say 20 hours machining something,
how much is it worth? If you value your time at all, the material cost will
be just about negligible compared to the machining time. It is worth it to
get the optimum material in many cases. I've made lots of bushings from
pipe because I was lazy, but if they had to be very precise, I would go
buy 12L14 or bronze or something.

The place to buy lathe stock is from the cutoffs rack of your local steel
vendor. In the Seattle area, you could go to Summerville Steel in Kent,
Washington. If you posted your location, maybe someone knows of a local
source. Else you're stuck paying shipping which will kill you.

GWE

I just discovered auto axles - interesting stuff to machine.
Seems hard on the outside, for about 1/8 inch deep, probably due to oil
quenching when hot? Gives the tool a workout! Below that it's easier to
turn, more like mild steel.

I worked for a axle remanufacturer - that's correct - the axles are
generally mild steel with a case hardening of .030 - .070" depending on
place of origin.

"Jordan" wrote in message
...
I just discovered auto axles - interesting stuff to machine.
Seems hard on the outside, for about 1/8 inch deep, probably due to oil
quenching when hot? Gives the tool a workout! Below that it's easier to
turn, more like mild steel.

Ignoramus18353 wrote:
So, where do people buy round metal stock for turning? I have a few
odds and ends at home, but not much. As always, I do not want to spend
a fortune.

i

Don't overlook eBay. Look for "bar stock" (in quotes) there are lots of
folks selling bar ends from a few inches to a foot or more in length at
very reasonable prices.

I built up a pretty good "hell box" of aluminum and brass rounds that
way. Some of the sellers pack them into those USPS cardboard envelopes
which let you mail "Anything you can fit inside them." for a flat rate,
even though the weight may be pretty high.

HTH,

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"As long as there are final exams, there will be prayer in public
schools"

"Ignoramus18353" wrote in message
...
So, where do people buy round metal stock for turning? I have a few
odds and ends at home, but not much. As always, I do not want to spend
a fortune.

i

I got to steel suppliers that also do custom cutting. They have a box of
odds and ends and short bars 2 to 3' long. Last time I bought some it was 25
cents a pound and it's been a while since I have bought any. What's nice is
they often still have the paint on 1 end so you know just what you are
buying. Just keep throwing pieces on the scale until your pocket book can't
handle any more.

Richard W.

"Richard W." wrote in message
...

| I got to steel suppliers that also do custom cutting. They have a box of
| odds and ends and short bars 2 to 3' long. Last time I bought some it was
25
| cents a pound and it's been a while since I have bought any. What's nice
is
| they often still have the paint on 1 end so you know just what you are
| buying. Just keep throwing pieces on the scale until your pocket book
can't
| handle any more.
|
| Richard W.

Which reminds me... How do I learn what colors mean what? Is there a
link I can stash away (to remember that I don't have when I'm at the yard?)

"carl mciver" wrote in message
news
"Richard W." wrote in message
...

| I got to steel suppliers that also do custom cutting. They have a box of
| odds and ends and short bars 2 to 3' long. Last time I bought some it
was
25
| cents a pound and it's been a while since I have bought any. What's nice
is
| they often still have the paint on 1 end so you know just what you are
| buying. Just keep throwing pieces on the scale until your pocket book
can't
| handle any more.
|
| Richard W.

Which reminds me... How do I learn what colors mean what? Is there a
link I can stash away (to remember that I don't have when I'm at the
yard?)

Sadly, the color coding system of metals is not industry wide. Unless you
have the coding system from each particular mill and know from which mill
the material comes, you'll still be in the dark.

Harold

"carl mciver" wrote in message
news
"Richard W." wrote in message
...

| I got to steel suppliers that also do custom cutting. They have a box of
| odds and ends and short bars 2 to 3' long. Last time I bought some it
was
25
| cents a pound and it's been a while since I have bought any. What's nice
is
| they often still have the paint on 1 end so you know just what you are
| buying. Just keep throwing pieces on the scale until your pocket book
can't
| handle any more.
|
| Richard W.

Which reminds me... How do I learn what colors mean what? Is there a
link I can stash away (to remember that I don't have when I'm at the
yard?)


Each steel supplier has their own colors, so you can get a chart from them.
If you buy steel from some place else the colors are different, so you need
their chart to. If you buy from several places then mark or stamp it on the
ends so you know what it is. If you don't then you have problems telling
what you have.

Richard W.

On Thu, 12 May 2005 19:08:23 -0700, "Richard W."
wrote:


"Ignoramus18353" wrote in message
...
So, where do people buy round metal stock for turning? I have a few
odds and ends at home, but not much. As always, I do not want to spend
a fortune.

i

I got to steel suppliers that also do custom cutting. They have a box of
odds and ends and short bars 2 to 3' long. Last time I bought some it was 25
cents a pound and it's been a while since I have bought any. What's nice is
they often still have the paint on 1 end so you know just what you are
buying. Just keep throwing pieces on the scale until your pocket book can't
handle any more.

Richard W.


A hint for those who buy or scrounge drops.. buy one of those Dychem
paint pens for $3, and when picking out the painted drops, refer to
the dealers color code chart, and mark the material type on the drop.
Takes just a second.

Color codes are NOT universal and Acme Steel will use a different
color code from Neighborhood Steel.

What may be 303 and marked Pink in one place, may be CRS in another.

I get my bar ends etc directly from the machine shops while doing
service work, and always ask what the material really is, then mark it
before tossing it in the truck. Even a permanent marker will work.

Gunner

"Veterans, and anyone sensible, take cover when there's incoming.
A cloud of testosterone makes a **** poor flack shield."
Offbreed

Ignoramus18353 wrote:
So, where do people buy round metal stock for turning? I have a few
odds and ends at home, but not much. As always, I do not want to spend
a fortune.

i
My local scrap metal dealer often has round shapes for $.20/lb. Of
course, they're of unknown composition, but usually they machine better
than mild steel.

Gary Brady
Austin, TX

And who is your local scrap dealer? I am also in Austin and I can't afford
Westbrook anymore...

"Gary Brady" wrote in message
.net...
Ignoramus18353 wrote:
So, where do people buy round metal stock for turning? I have a few
odds and ends at home, but not much. As always, I do not want to spend
a fortune.

i
My local scrap metal dealer often has round shapes for $.20/lb. Of
course, they're of unknown composition, but usually they machine better
than mild steel.

Gary Brady
Austin, TX

Funny. I just replied privately to Gary with this exact same question. Up
until about 5 minutes ago I wasn't sure there was anyone else in Austin that
did metalwork. Now I know there are at least 3 of us... Cool.

Robert

"Emmo" wrote in message
...
And who is your local scrap dealer? I am also in Austin and I can't
afford Westbrook anymore...

"Gary Brady" wrote in message
.net...
Ignoramus18353 wrote:
So, where do people buy round metal stock for turning? I have a few
odds and ends at home, but not much. As always, I do not want to spend
a fortune.

i
My local scrap metal dealer often has round shapes for $.20/lb. Of
course, they're of unknown composition, but usually they machine better
than mild steel.

Gary Brady
Austin, TX

Siggy wrote:
Funny. I just replied privately to Gary with this exact same question. Up
until about 5 minutes ago I wasn't sure there was anyone else in Austin that
did metalwork. Now I know there are at least 3 of us... Cool.

Robert

HeHe. Too much music and computers around Austin for any interest in
metal(working). We're a rare and strange breed around here. Maybe we
need to have a meeting or two. I'll sponsor a metalcasting session.

Gary

Emmo wrote:
And who is your local scrap dealer? I am also in Austin and I can't afford
Westbrook anymore...

I go to Commercial Metals on Industrial Blvd, just south of Ben White.
They have a section of used stuff, a lot of tubes, angles, plates, etc
that you can scrounge in. Price was $.20/# last time I was there (4-5
months ago). There is another yard affiliated with Commercial Metals on
Howard Lane. Look in the Yellow Pages and their address will be listed
along with CM. There's also Austn Pipe and Supply on 4th and I35
(approx). Kind of a junky place though, and not as well sorted as CM.

Gary

Ignoramus18353 wrote:

So, where do people buy round metal stock for turning? I have a few
odds and ends at home, but not much. As always, I do not want to spend
a fortune.

I get small qtys of 4150 CM from my friendly neighborhood gunbarrel maker.
Occasionally get some stainless, too.

-jc-

I buy most mine on eBay and although the cost of shipping frequently
exceeds the bid price of the stock I purchase, it's still cheaper than
buying it from the metal dealers here in the Boston area.

Harry C.

If it'll fit in one of my chucks I really don't care WHAT shape it started
as, it'll be round when I'm done.

I was doing a project that required some round Delrin, I found some nice
square pieces at a scrap yard. The lathe didn't care nor did I.

Dave

"Ignoramus18353" wrote in message
...
So, where do people buy round metal stock for turning? I have a few
odds and ends at home, but not much. As always, I do not want to spend
a fortune.

i

On 12 May 2005 20:09:02 GMT, Ignoramus18353
wrote:

So, where do people buy round metal stock for turning? I have a few
odds and ends at home, but not much. As always, I do not want to spend
a fortune.

i

From time-to-tiome I stop by Pacific Steel and Recycling. They have a
pile of short ends that they sell for reduced price.

Over in their metal salvage area the boys take good care of me.
Whenever any of the local fabricators clean house they sell perfectly
good virgin aluminum "short" ends that are sometimes five or six feet
long. The crew at Pacific sets this stuff to one side for me.

They let me scrounge through their boxes of brass and bronze salvage.
I've gotten a wide assortment of shapes, some of it new. One day I
scored on 1/4" X 6" brass bar stock. They'd chopped it up in lengths
to fit their tri-wall boxes. I wish now that I'd bought it all.

Another amazing find was unused 5" copper pipe with quarter-inch wall
thickness. Again, they'd chopped it up with a Sawzall to fit in the
boxes. Someday, if I ever get around to building a model boiler...

Out in the iron piles I look for truck axles. They're harder than
heck, so I burn them to convenient lengths and throw them into the
wood stove when I've got a good, thick bed of hot coals in there. I
let the fire go out, allowing a nice, slow cooldown of the axle stock.
After the anealing it machines very well.

Sometimes, I'll stop by at the local big truck overhaul shop.
Generally, they'll give me anything I find in their scrap bin. I've
found some very nice pieces of brass out there. Maybe a truck
mechanic could set me straight on this, but I *think* they come from a
two-speed differential overhaul.

Another of my favorite stops is a fabricating shop. After they got a
computer-controlled plasma cutter they've started generating tons of
good stuff.

Use your imagination. It's out there at a reasonable price.

Orrin

Orrin Iseminger wrote:

On 12 May 2005 20:09:02 GMT, Ignoramus18353
wrote:

So, where do people buy round metal stock for turning? I have a few
odds and ends at home, but not much. As always, I do not want to spend
a fortune.

i

.........
Sometimes, I'll stop by at the local big truck overhaul shop.
Generally, they'll give me anything I find in their scrap bin. I've
found some very nice pieces of brass out there. Maybe a truck
mechanic could set me straight on this, but I *think* they come from a
two-speed differential overhaul.
..................

Orrin

Have a cigar, Orrin, although they're better than brass, they are
the shafts that the pinions run on in the epicyclic geartrain in
a Eaton style 2 speed rear axle.
Every toolbox should have one as an intermediary between a big hammer
and something resisting movement.

Tom