Christopher, There's a lot to be said for buying steel that's a known quantity when you're trying to teach yourself.
I, and I suspect many others, have a stock of unknown/scrap steel which we dive into, but the results can be most unpredictable.
It would be very easy to get disheartened with poor finishes when the problem is with the material, rather than the operator or machine.
I'd have a look at your nearest steel stockholders and see if they can supply some free-cutting mild steel.
They may not want to quote you over the phone, but my own supplier(s) are happy enough for someone to arrive, ideally when it's not busy, and buy bar ends etc. for cash.

Bill

It's more the Free Cutting bit I was thinking of.
See this page on their blog; I've no experience of the company myself.
https://www.metals4u.co.uk/blog/en1a-mild-steel

I'd wait for others to comment before committing yourself; my own supplier doesn't do mail order.
Steel being heavy, the postage can be the problem in buying a load of assorted stock.

Bill

I wouldn't recommend going to a scrap yard and buying lumps of metal as you will have no idea of the specification for that material. It could be anything from soft and gummy to hardened metal, if the former then it will likely tear rather than cut which can give a really rough finish and if hardened then getting it to cut may well be difficult.

This could well lead to you chasing problems that are nothing to do with your kit or abilities. How do I know? from experience of course. A classic example was some cheap aluminium offcuts I bought as they appeared to be a bargain. Some was OK but the rest was so soft that a standard well sharpened tool just seemed to smudge the surface and left a chronically poor cut. Changed to a known piece T6/6082 and instantly got a mirror finish with the same tool and settings. I have also had problems with steel of unknown specification, this turned well and the finish was pretty good but when looked at the next morning had bent like a banana as the stresses relieved.

Buy your metals from a recognised company who give the specification of the material being supplied. Yes it may be marginally more expensive but will save you time, heartache and could well wind up cheaper in the long run. Once you know what you want to do then you can reduce shipping costs by combining your order with a supplier.

I know this isn't answering the main questions in your opening post but it could well stop you becoming frustrated and disheartened re the hobby.

For starting I would recommend a steel such as EN1a (old specification but still frequently used) or equivalent and an aluminium alloy like T6/6082 using sharp HSS cutters and mills.

HTH

Martin W

What do you mean by practice upon.

I started a couple of years ago in the same position – albeit not quite as far out in the back of beyond but a long way from a convenient source of metal.

I have discovered that using a lathe or mill to make something (once you have decided what you want to make) 40% of the time is spent deciding how you are going to machine the thing ! 40% working out how to hold it down so that you can and then about 20% actually cutting metal.

The first 80% takes a fair amount of practice and is highly specific to what you want to make. The last 20% not so much – there is a lot of help available on feeds, speeds and cutting lubricants.

Rather than simply making swarf to practice the last 20%, my advice would be to decide what you want to start out making (I made clamps and T-nuts for the mill as a start). Order 50-100%+ more metal than you need for the job. I use a variety of suppliers off that well known auction site.

Do the job – then move on to the next item you want (or have discovered you need!). If you screw up the first attempt you will have enough metal to try again. If you get there, then you have some spare stock for the next time you need that size.

Once the T-nuts are done pick another project ( I chose Harold Halls simple grinding rest) and repeat the exercise.

Living in the sticks and not driving ??????? You,re not exactly on a winner, are you ?

Scrap dealers are a lucky dip, at the best of times only to be used as a last resort.

You dont say where you live, but there are good suppliers in Dublin and Cork and a few other places [do a check ]

When you work out what you need, pay a friend to make a trip to get proper stuff, not junk. Two or three trips a year should be enough. I make one trip to Dublin per year for any serious supplies, lesser stuff I find locally.

Postage can be way off [steel is not lightweight ] and I find that most of these suppliers love cash money, without the hassle of paperwork.

For what it,s worth, There is a supplier in Dublin called "Special Steel" who keep a vast range of steels, and will cut to order or sell short lengths of whatever you want.

There are also suppliers of Brass and Ali in the same area [one trip covers all ]

There is also a good supplier of brass and ali in Cork, so I think a trip might be well worth your while, since this stuff is not going to come to you. {Dont ask how I know ! ]

Three phase got lost about 20 miles away from me, but that,s another story.

Happy hunting, my friend !

Metals have different properties so it pays to try them all. My favourite is Brass because it machines well and doesn't need coolant. Bit pricey.

I use a lot of Aluminium for easy cutting, light weight and corrosion resistance, but make sure it's a machinable alloy, many aren't! Aluminium is a little soft, so I switch to Mild-steel when more hardness, weight and perhaps strength is needed.

Leaded mild-steel is much easier to machine than ordinary mild-steel. The main advantage of bog standard mild-steel is cheapness: on a lathe or mill it can be a little gritty and tends to smear, making it a little tricky to get good finish. Cutting fluid helps.

Silver-steel for making hardenable tools.

Depending on what you do, stainless and high carbon steels are useful too. I rarely use them, but that;s just me.

Cast-iron if you're into casting kits – filthy stuff, goes everywher. Beware upsetting domestic authority by innocently getting black smuts all round the house after thinking you'd cleaned up. Try much harder next time!

Magnesium and Titanium, probably not!

Dave

Hi, most of the steel I have is what short off cuts from my day jobs that I've had for the asking, other stuff is normally got from exhibitions, but I've used Macc Models a couple of times this last year and their pricing and service was OK. I've also been able to get a small selection of scrapped ram rod from my day jobs, where they have been replaced for one reason or other, which has always been good for reuse. Plenty of supplies on Ebay but can be pricy. You could try Noggin End Metals College Engineering Supplies Kennions to name a few.

Regards Nick.