Is steel really that high?

[Tiger Fish]

I just bought a welder (L.E. 180) and went to a local metal shop for some scrap. I bought 4 pieces to practice on. Here is what I bought (1 piece of each of the following): 3x15 of 3/16; 3x25 of 3/16; 4x12 of 1/4; and 3x9 of 1/8. These three pieces cost me $30. That seems high for some scrap pieces. Anyone know of decent steel supply shops in Houston?

[Timberwolf]

Sounds steep, about a $1.50 per pound here for non stainless. Stainless and aluminium is $2.50 per pound.

[jdh239]

That would have cost me 5 or 6 bucks

[Ken Dennis]

If you bought it at a local welding/fabricating shop, you most likely paid their cost plus mark up!
Go to a steel supplier to buy steel, or for some general scrap to use to practice on, go to a scrap yard, or drive around town in the alley ways looking for cast off junk you could scavenge for free like bed frames for example!
A lot of factories will have a scrap pile of junk or scrap somewhere, and if you inquire, a lot of times, they will let you have it for free!
But that $30.00 for just a few practice pieces is high!

[Oldtimer]

What Ken said.

I paid 65 cents a pound at the steel supply about 3 weeks ago and thought that was high. It's the only game around for over 100 miles though so you just grit your teeth and pay it.

[deker]

If you are nice and chat with the shop foreman at your local welding and fab shop they will very often take care of you. Also, don't go in asking for specific sizes unless you really need them. Ask if you can poke around in the drops for some stuff, or ask if they have drops that are around the size you need. I tend to pay full price when I need specific stuff, or full bar lengths, but they more than make up the difference in little freebies here and there. Let them know you're a hobbyist, ask some questions, and be friendly. You're likely to get some advice while you're at it.

-d

[SundownIII]

Always helps to post up your location when asking a question such as this.

If you were close by, I'd "give" you that much scrap for nothing.

I'd recommend taking a visit to the local fab shops. Get to know the shop foreman. Hard to imagine sometimes how much good stuff (for a hobbiest), that a fab shop throws away. The shop I'm tied to always has good plate (sheet to 3/4") in the dumpster. Once cuts have been made on full sheets, there's often 12-16" of material left that's not worth taking a chance on hanging up the plasma torch. Gets chucked.

My buddy who owns the shop says he gets .06/# for what's in the dumpster. Anything that's in the dumpster, I'm welcome to. I've spent many hours in the dumpster with a cutting torch culling out what I want.

[weldbead]

here in poughkeepsie contractors are paying 90 cents a pound for new.. im paying 5 cents a pound for scrap

[nctox]

Originally Posted by deker

If you are nice and chat with the shop foreman at your local welding and fab shop they will very often take care of you. Also, don't go in asking for specific sizes unless you really need them. Ask if you can poke around in the drops for some stuff, or ask if they have drops that are around the size you need. I tend to pay full price when I need specific stuff, or full bar lengths, but they more than make up the difference in little freebies here and there. Let them know you're a hobbyist, ask some questions, and be friendly. You're likely to get some advice while you're at it.

-d

Being a newbie, I had the same idea. I stopped by the LWS (only one in this town) and explained that I had just bought a welder and needed some scrap to run a bead or two on. They pointed to a 55gal drum with some scrap pieces in it and said "Have at it".
No charge, and maybe a few bits of advice in the future. It beat the hell out of the prices at Lowe's.

[want to be a welder]

well, i was calling around for pipe to learn to weld on & for 12 inch pipe the best deal i could get was 35 dollars a foot. then i found a guy that i know that sold me some for 15 dollars a foot.

[weldbead]

Originally Posted by want to be a welder

well, i was calling around for pipe to learn to weld on & for 12 inch pipe the best deal i could get was 35 dollars a foot. then i found a guy that i know that sold me some for 15 dollars a foot.

12" is too big for learning pipe. the diff between pipe and plate islearning to go around. get some smaller ipe, like 2 or 3".. then you'll have some challenge in it. 12" acts too much like flat plate...

[hp246]

Will the cash for clunker deal bring the price of steele down?

[skywest]

Triple "R" steel> It's inside the loop. Huge scrap bin. Hope this helps.

Huge facility.

[skywest]

It's "SSS" Steel not rrr......oops

[JLK]

I'm looking for a place to get scrap like that in the Ft Smith AR area if anybody knows of any. Thanks!

[Jtodd]

I can relate to this thread pretty closely. I have been trying to find a steel supply here in the Austin, TX area and so for the only somewhat reasonable place I have found is a fab shop in Round Rock where I live. They seemed a little steep on price to me since I went in to buy the supplies for a 3X3 welding table and it came to ~150 for some 2X2X1/4 3foot angle and some 3/8 plate. Are there any local guys on the forum here that have a good place to get both new stock and scrap for practicing on?