I’ve only been to the Los Angeles (Sun Valley) location, but Industrial Metal Supply is fantastic. I’ve been buying from them for years.
You can browse through their big selection of “off cuts” (random sizes of materials left over from other orders.) of different materials, alloys, and shapes.
Also, the website is very good for finding what materials and sizes are available.
They offer local delivery, but I don’t know if they do any mail order.
P.S.: The Los Angeles location is also open Saturdays, 8 am - 12 pm.
Another Southern California supplier is Patton’s Steel (7 locations). https://www.pattonscorp.com/ (The website is terrible.)
The Burbank location (aka, Queen City Steel) is much smaller and less organized than Industrial Metal Supply, but they have a pretty decent retail store with tools and accessories.
I do not. Just starting out in this metal work thing. Been a novice welder for a long time and I run a 3D print farm. Metal is all new to me. I’ve been reading a ton on the forums trying to learn what I can before my machine comes in. Any day now!
A Fathom-er I’m guessing. We probably know some of the same people. Let me know if you need help getting started, I’m in the area (I live around Auburn / Black Diamond) and happy to help in exchange for a beer or something.
Well I’m in Ravensdale so definitely not far haha.
I’m hoping to be able to figure it out as I go but that’s always everyone’s plan… until it backfires.
A print farm, I know just a little about those. So do you make one off stuff or do you run many of the same part?
Sounds interesting, do you do this full time?
So will the welding, plasma be in addition to the print farm side or will that just be for messing around?
You will probably be fine learning the plasma side.
I print a little of everything. Not sometimes production parts but I don’t have a big enough setup to do tons of parts in a short time but I can do enough to keep up with the demand currently. Maybe someday expanding a little bigger if needed.
The MR-1 will be at least at first just a “toy” for me to dabble in the milling world but maybe at some point I’ll design something to be able to make some cash… only time will tell.
Of all things I’m a garage door installer full time. My family and I also runs an embroidery shop for apparel.
That’s why I looked to the community to find places to buy aluminum stock… it’s all new to me haha.
I buy enough material that I have it delivered via truck from either Alro Steel or Contractors Steel in mill lengths and of course we have a forklift as well as an unloading dock but 99% of the time I use the forklift to side unload my ordered material. Both have a minimum 5 ton delivery however and I have zero desire to pay a middleman when I can buy direct from a supplier. I use a lot of square tubing and heavy plate hot rolled.
Make sure to shop around. I purchase mostly aluminum and 4130 for my business. I have found that shopping for the best price is worth the time. I buy aluminum from Ryerson most of the time, but have found that for some special size aluminum tubing for example, is cheaper buying through McMaster, but you are limited to 6’ maximum stock size. It goes the other way around sometimes as well where Ryerson is cheaper than McMaster. The comparison between the two is sometime half the price of the other so it definately pays to look around.
