Where to find materials?

[Ken Bartlett]

As I start on more projects I find myself searching for good sources of raw materials. I was wondering if anyone had some advice on where to search for cheap sources of aluminum/brass for engine building. Scrap yards, machine shops, recycling centers? Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

 

[Cedge]

Ken
All of the above....... and take something to share with them. I generally like to take an engine along for introductory purposes and donuts for bribery....(grin). Both tend to garner lots of positive attention and results.

Steve

 

[rake60]

Online Metals is a good source for new material.
Their standard pricing is per foot but if you scroll down a bit on the
size listing page for any chosen material they have a price per inch as well.

Rick

 

[Powder keg]

Sometimes Ebay pays off too)

 

[Ken Bartlett]

Thank you all for the quick response. One of the many things I enjoy with this community is the fact that everyone jumps in to help when someone needs advice. I am looking at the onlinemetals.com web page at the moment; seems a good place to start, prices seems reasonable as well. I keep looking at the other suggestions given as well. Thanks all.

 

[bearcar1]

www.industrialmetalsales.com is a good source for metals and they are a bit cheaper on their pricing as well.

Jim B.

 

[mu38&Bg#]

I use www.speedymetals.com sometimes. They are close enough that UPS gets it here the next day.

 

[John Rudd]

Ken,
Not sure of your location....but in the UK there is:

http://www.metal2models.btinternet.co.uk/ FES

http://www.m-machine-metals.co.uk/

I use them regularly and sevice is good.....

 

[tmuir]

Can't really help with brass parts but the way I get most of my sheet metal is from work.
I work in the Telecoms / IT sector and all the expensive routers and telecoms gear comes with blanking plates fitted that have to be removed to put the card in.
I've got a life time supply of sheet mild steel and ali plate from them.
If you know someone that works in the IT sector ask them to keep an eye out for blanking plates removed as they usually just end up in the bin.

 

[Tin Falcon]

enco http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRHM usually has decent prices on brass and aluminum rounds as well as bronze bushing stock and aluminum square and rectangle. They also have a good selection of drill rod aka silver steel.
they sell by the piece generally 1", 3", 6 Ft depending on the material. You can often get free shipping deals.
remember to allow for machining when ordering Ie do not excpect to get a perfect round .500 diameter piston from 1/2 stock DAMHIKT
I will also acosionaly get from Mcmaster Carr if doing a drive by

Tin

 

[Ken Bartlett]

Great suggestion all. A buddy of mine gave me a lead on a machine shop in town that works with aluminum plate and bar. He thinks I might be able to score a box of drops from them for free or very low price. Ill check it out this week, if it doesn't work out I may get a lead on somewhere else to score. Ill let you all know how I make out.

 

[Deanofid]

Ken, for round stock in short lengths, find a screw machine shop. They usually have a few tons of drops waiting for the recycler at any time. They are mainly a good source of round and hex stock up to about 3" diameter, (depends on how large their machines are). Most of the drops are about 5" long, as the self-chuckers can't feed anything much shorter than that and kicks it into the bin.

If you go to one of these shops, ask to see their oldest machine at work. The place I go for my scraps has 13 of these machines running 16 hours a day. The older ones are around 60 years old. Amazing machines. No computers. Just the old style ticker tape running a loop, and churning out an amazing diversity of round things, fast. Faucet heads, fire sprinklers, compressed air fittings, etc.

Good luck!

Dean

 

[Ken Bartlett]

Thank you for the tip Dean, Ill see if there are any machine shops in Denver with screw machines. Ill let you know if I make out.

 

[Twmaster]

I've bought from Speedy and Onlinemetals. OM has twice screwed my order up. Speedy has been right on.

It's amazing the places you can find scrap if you just keep your eyes open.

 

[Deanofid]

I've ordered from Onlinemetals too, quite a few times. They made a goof on my last order a few months back, on a piece of 4x8x1/8" brass. They sent 3x8" instead. When I told them, they sent the correct piece right away, and told me to keep the other piece N/C. No problem! That stuff is expensive.

 

[Twmaster]

Mistakes happen. Yup. I goof up all the time. However I really needed the three small pieces badly. Now I have to wait another week... I even had them cut the material as my joints would be hurting if I had to hacksaw 1 3/4 square 1018. Mind you this is the second big goof up.

Otherwise I've had good service from them.

 

[Mainer]

www.mcmaster.com has quite a selection of different grades of materials, though not necessarily at low prices.