Faulty Materials

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Ches –

Yes, most of them do advertise in the magazines or on this site.

MK  Metals did, and it was customers who found them wanting. You can also find others by diligent Internet-hunting.

 

Robert –

It is becoming harder for companies to sell to individuals what is normally only bought by industry, but I’d not have thought metals would come under legislation like product safety. Yet many building-trade suppliers sell to the public, sizeable quantities of lime and cement (corrosive), timber-preservatives (potential harm to the skin), fibre-glass insulation (irritant), heavy materials (manual-handling hazard), power-tools (all sorts of dangers), edge-tools (sharp!)…

Regarding servicing, are there smaller, independent companies who can do this?

I suspect the most likely reason for refusal is still simply not wanting small, ad-hoc purchases, as a full trade account brings bigger and regular cash-flow (provided the customers pay) and proportionately far less administration. In that regard though, the private buyer is safer for the seller as the transaction is normally c.w.o.

 

Though these days there are characters about who seem to be paid to declare anything “hazardous”. My local paper today carries a curious tale of the emergency services removing “a hazardous material” from a flat, without saying what it was! Nor how they knew it was there – but as this was a flat perhaps a nervous new occupier found it.

Bleach? (Corrosive oxidising agent) ]

Vitamin A tablets? (Toxic in overdose.)

Sodium Hydrochloride? (Corrosive alkali)

 

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

The problem with private sales is that it will cost just as much to process a small (Minimal, profit) order as a large one, where the profit is greater.

Some generous companies have been known to supply an absolutely minimal order for free, because the paperwork would exceed the profit from the sale.

Howard

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

Keysight have formally stated that the reason for not selling to private individuals is legal advice. At least some of there equipment is certified to safety and EMC standards that assume professional or industrial use. Apparently their distributors are less fussy. Calibration for basic stuff can be done by third parties but if you are using something like a 8.5 digit multimeter you don’t have much choice. And yes hobbyists do use such things. I have a 8.5 digit meter but it’s not an HP / Agilent / Keysight model and I don’t need calibration.

[Graham TitmanParticipant @grahamtitman81812]

As has been said i when when i first started in model engineering about 20 years ago never been back i am surprised h i9s still alive let alone trading .What a r****.

[jimmy bParticipant @jimmyb]

Big steel stockists won’t deal with the public due to volumes.

If you want 3″ of bar, they scrap the rest of the bar.

We buy most of our steel in tonnes, also the admin cost doesn’t make it practical. Same amount of paperwork for 1 meter of material as there is for 4 tonnes.

 

I have to use tonnes in place of tons at work…..

 

Jimb

[Mark RandParticipant @markrand96270]

I used to find Macready’s (in Rugby) very useful. I always used cash/cheque sales, but never bought in less than bar quantities for 2 1/2″ or smaller or metre quantities for 4-5″. They seemed to be happy to deal with a member of the public as if I were a sole trader.

They got taken over and several times, but still the same people at the site. The last incarnation went broke in 2023 and got bought by Barratts, who have closed the site (it was leased and the owners wouldn’t sell).

I try to completely avoid buying from the ME suppliers, because I don’t like paying the same for a metre of metal as I’d pay for a whole bar (‘middled’ if needed for transport) or buying material that doesn’t have any grade/composition.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

I don’t think your last point a problem if you use the more regular ME hobby retailers. They do know their materials and you do know the specifications they sell.

As for price / quantity, only you can decide if you want to pay £5 and use the foot, or pay £5 and wonder what you are going to do with the remaining nine before it corrodes away. If you are in a model-engineering society it may be worth asking around to see if you can share it with other members.

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

While on the subject of suppliers, has anyone used Rapid metals

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, as far as selling sheared material as stripe, it happens in industry, but mostly in stainless steel, but if you are looking for non standard sizes of strip material, having it sheared is the only way to get it, not much different to having plate cut to size.

Regards Nick.

[Dalboy]

On Dalboy Said:

While on the subject of suppliers, has anyone used Rapid metals

Yep been to Redditch branch, good place, model engineers are not a problem.

[howardbParticipant @howardb]

I ordered a metre of 5/8 dia 316 stainless from this clown about 5 years ago to make repairs to our septic tank output filter here in France.

He supplied a metre length minus 10 cm.

I called him, he said he didn’t have the correct spec at the ordered length.

He didn’t call or email to advise me of this.

Fortunately I was able to fudge what I wanted to achieve within the delivered length.

Avoid.

If you are in France and need steel, stainless, ali, brass, CI, or plastics search for blockenstock.

It’s not cheap, but reliable and properly packed and delivered,

I didn’t know about them before I ordered from the milton keynes

swamp.

[derek hall 1Participant @derekhall1]

I have used M – Machine metal stockists for many years. Thoroughly recommend, the only connection I have with them is a happy customer!

Yes you have to buy material by the foot/300mm, but the quantities I use is ideal and I have nowhere to store long lengths of material that will outlast me.

Perhaps we ought to have an “unofficial” list of suppliers in a thread on here that we have had a good experience with rather than a “black list” of those companies not use, as this might get us into trouble!

[derek hall 1]

On derek hall 1 Said:

 

Yes you have to buy material by the foot/300mm

I don’t think you do, Derek. Their more expensive lines are priced by the inch, and they will “cut to any length required”.  Their only stipulation seems to be that you spend a minimum of £12.

[grubscrewParticipant @grubscrew]

Dalboy

I use Rapid Metals regularly. Very reliable. I once had a large order arrive, which despite being very well packaged, the courier had managed to ‘burst’. A phone call to them resulted in the missing materials being replaced with no quibble. The only downside I find with with them is, although having ‘rapid’ in the name, delivery usually takes around a week…..

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

There is another practical reason the big firms are reluctant to have small customers. They tend to use their own transport, and getting a lorry some thirty feet long to a house in a street, and unloading there, is not like getting it to a factory. As one driver said to me, having had to deliver to a farm down a very narrow track before delivering to our works on a trading-estate!

[Bill Phinn]

On Bill Phinn Said:

On derek hall 1 Said:

 

Yes you have to buy material by the foot/300mm

I don’t think you do, Derek. Their more expensive lines are priced by the inch, and they will “cut to any length required”.  Their only stipulation seems to be that you spend a minimum of £12.

You are correct Bill !

Regards

Derek

 

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