Do you go to the scrap metal merchant

Just curious to where everyone sources their turning materials . I'm normally out on hire most of the time(i drive diggers for a living) ,but this last week or so i've working in the workshop and i've been gathering up some scraps of metal ...ie.. old drive shafts off cars ,cutting the rod off scrapped front suspension uprights maybe a bit tough but i'll give it ago ,there was a couple of old hydraulic rams of a mini digger .

So i'm curious as to where you guys go or do you buy new .

Sean

I only used scrap in my earliest years because you scrap a lot of metal in the early stages of learning and it hurts even more if you're messing up good stock and it costs more too

I've been buying more decent stuff from "normal" type places as I improve, but sometimes a scrapyard find can save you a heck of a lot of cash, especially on more bulky items

I always buy new, mostly from commercial stockholders. I'm interested in making parts, not wasting my time with unknown material that may be unsuitable, darn near impossible to turn on small lathes, or just plain poor quality. Even commercial suppliers vary, there are some I no longer use as their metal is inconsistent. So who knows what you're going to get from the scappy.

Andrew

I buy my brass new ; the scrap yard brass is not much cheaper and it is often work hardened.

I buy my aluminium from the offcut and waste bin section of an aluminium workshop (they make trailers etc.)

I buy my copper pipe for boilers from the scrap yard as it is MUCH cheaper than buying from the plumbing supply shops. They also have many bits and pieces you cannot buy such as 60mm diameter copper pipe which I use for fireboxes. I am lucky to have a scrap yard that will let me wander in and look around. Most places will not let you do that now due to safety reasons.

I used to buy offcuts from the local steel merchant but got burnt one time too many trying to turn a 3/4" Acme thread in a piece of scrap bar that tore the end off the tool bit on the final cut. A bit of research (trying to cut it with a hand hacksaw) revealed it was probably a bit of 4140 high tensile or else a bar end with bad heat treat or rolling etc. I now pay the extra money and get nice new 1020 grade BMS, which I KNOW will turn nicely. I still have the scrap box but use it mostly for "rough stuff". Or if I am feeling lucky.

I buy new from known and trusted sources ... you never know what you are getting from the scrappy.

I would never ... ever ... buy material for a boiler from a scrappy, no matter how much cheaper it is!

Dave

Edited By Steambuff on 20/09/2016 10:45:48

As a rank beginner I caused myself loads of grief by trying to turn odd bits of scrap. When things go wrong, is it me, or the lathe, or the cutting tool, or the material that's causing trouble? The beginner is likely to be baffled.

Most of my scrap turned out to be difficult to machine and DIY store bought metal is pretty poor too. Not using known materials delayed and confused me. It was a false economy.

Now I'm more experienced I know better what to expect from scrap and have been more successful using it. Even so I almost always buy new - it just saves time and bother.

None of my local scrap dealers let people wander around.

Cheers,

Dave

Sean. I would try and find out where your smaller local engineering companies are, and what they do, and what they could have in their scrap bin, then approach them with a picture of what model you are working on, and start scrounging. If you offer to top up their tea fund I find most are interested and helpful. My scrapyard will not let anyone have a rootle around, and as many have said, you do not know what you are getting.

Chris Gunn

The car parts you mentioned tend to be hardened so not very suitable. Hydraulic rams are seriously hard and true to diameter, unless scrapped due to a driver error They might be useful for the bed of your CNC router one day.

'ordinary' mild steel also comes in leaded varieties which makes them easier to turn but then caused problems for welding so some small engineering firms might be avoiding it - depending on what they do.

In view if your location you might find some suppliers to the oil industry in key towns but they may equally be charging an arm and leg to that industry.

Plumbing pipe, even microbore is not rated for boiler pressures and quality, that's why freezing pipes always split along a drawn line year after year.

Very rarely that I have to buy as most of mine comes from oil / gas industry. When I do have to fork out it's usually Kennions or M machine . [usual disclaimer ]. I would never use a "scrappy " Too much of a lottery.

I buy from a local engineering firm that sells metals and some plastics as a side line. Being local means I can collect as postage can be expensive.

Sean L, Lucky boy. Those old hydraulic rams have some good metal in them. Cut underneath the chrome exterior and its good steel. If you band saw off a section, use a grinder to remove the chrome where you are about to cut, to prolong the life of the saw blade.

I think if you're trying to work something similar to that chinese taper steel, you could probably give it a blast in a fire and leave it overnight to cool down, it might be more workable after that annealing process.

Michael W

Like Brian, I buy my aluminium from the offcuts of an aluminium workshop. Most of the steel I use I get for free from the skip of a local welding, turning and milling shop (with the owners permission). Brass or bronze I have to buy.

Thor

Edited By Thor on 20/09/2016 16:54:08

Needed some 16mm bar, went to a "metal big store", they sold me 5/8" instead cos' they did not measure it. .025 smaller could have been another 10 miles trip, but they did not have the 16mm. A scrap yard could have been of benefit, at least you might be reminded to take your own measuring kit.

Frank

I buy from stockist if looking for big stuff but my best mate used to be a production manager for a small engineering company with a workshop full of CNC lathes and he has access to the bar ends bin so my run of mill metal comes FOC

I take metal to the scrap man not collect from.

Martin P