I would be very wary of cheap or free bits of metal. For use on our hobby machines free cutting metals are the best materials to start with then harder and tougher types can be utilisd when experience is built up.

Regardless of experience and machine it is always best to know what metal you are dealing with, there are some very tough machining resistant steels about.

Best, in my opinion, to bite the bullet and purchase known materials from known sources.

Jim

Hi Brian,

+1 for Jon and Nick's suggestions. I have purchased from Noggin End metals and others that advertise in MEW and have had never had a bad product. I use a small company in Ringwood who advertise on e-bay and pickup to save postage. As you don't give a location in your profile it's hard to advise you of one local to you.

Hugh

Reasonable assumption however can you ever be really sure what you are getting? Even if the supplier gives you a copy certificate unless the plate or bar is stamped you still can't be 100% sure! Much better chance granted. I have a friend who produces several 1000 components a week in his works and orders material from a major metal merchant by the ton. He finds he gets variation these days within bars, not even at bar ends but in the middle! Where in the world the stockholder gets his metal from can make a difference to the quality even when it's certified.

Paul.

I strongly advise against going to your local scrap year and picking up bits of metal – unless you really know what you are doing.

I happily came back with £14 or so of metal at £200/ton (scrap price of steel – immensely cheaper than new stuff) and it's done me more harm than good overall.

I turned a slice of big RSJ into a press which was the good bit and am using a bit of thick plate as an occasional anvil, but the rest of it is nearly unworkable with my tools, and an attempt to trim up a large cylinder of steel broke my plastic lathe gears. I'll grant you that there was a bit of thumble fingers involved, but it's very caveat emptor.

I've bought quite a few small bits from eBay and generally been pleased. Make sure that you know what the specification of the metal is though.

Iain

I've since moved away (sadly) but I used to live near a company that had long runs of items made from free cutting MS on automatic machines.

Autos always leave a foot or so bar that isused for feeding and holding so is not used to produce parts.

The company was happy for individuals to help themselves from the scrap bins because the scrap value was minimal and the bins had to be rented, it was cheaper to allow people to help themselves.

There may be such a company near to you and it costs nothing to ask.

Brian

Easier to say what to avoid than to identify sources of cheap metal that's worth having! DIY Store metal is not only expensive, it machines badly – apart from the Brass. Modern manufacturing often uses alloys chosen for properties other than machineability, so turning scrap on a lathe can be utterly miserable. Or it might be wonderful. As a begineer this uncertainty caused me severe difficulties. Had a bought a crap lathe? Had I bought crap tools? Was I setting the rpm wrong? Was the depth of cut or the feed-rate wrong?

I strongly recommend learning to use a lathe with known materials. It's worth finding an online or local supplier and investing some moderately serious dosh on some mild-steel, some free-turning mild steel, some brass, and an Aluminium alloy intended for machining. (Pure Aluminium and many alloys are gummy.)

Once you know how the real thing behaves it's much easier to tell if a bit of scrap is causing problems. Later, once you know what to expect, even a little experience makes it much less risky to approach a scrapyard or other source of unknown metal. Otherwise you can waste a lot of time struggling with bad metal – you can guess how I know!

How approachable your local scrappies and manufacturers are seems to vary wildly. My local scrapyards are all surrounded by barbed wire and are much more interested in buying metal than selling it. Not much manufacturing where I live, and the two firms I approached both refused. I wasn't surprised – my employer operated a policy whereby it was a zero-tolerance sacking offence for employees to take scrap. The reason is that it makes it easier to prove theft: it's not unknown for scallywags to "accidentally" convert new stock into scrap for the purpose of nicking it. When caught with a boot full of metal, the zero-tolerance policy makes it no defence to claim 'foreman said it was OK in 1973'

But it's worth enquiring – if you don't ask you won't get.

90% of what I do is done with new metal…

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 13/12/2018 10:22:52