Weldable materials-where do you get it?

[hoping2retire35]

So, at some point in the near future I hope to get a welder and the necessary equipment however I would like a lot of raw metal to work with, at least before I buy higher quality stuff. As of now I just save old pipes and other farm equipment I find. Going to a junk yard is not too expensive but it is a hassle. Craigslist is sometimes free but decent stuff is rare or has to be torn down or otherwise is difficult to get.

So where do you get materials for cheap or free?

[lthenderson]

You mentioned my source, going to farms and scrapping old equipment but that is harder to do these days since it is fairly easy to get money for those items and farmers take advantage of it.

[Fishindude]

What are you building / doing?
New steel really isn't all that expensive; angle, tube, bar stock, etc.    Heck of a lot cleaner and easier to work with too.

[HPstache]

So, at some point in the near future I hope to get a welder and the necessary equipment however I would like a lot of raw metal to work with, at least before I buy higher quality stuff. As of now I just save old pipes and other farm equipment I find. Going to a junk yard is not too expensive but it is a hassle. Craigslist is sometimes free but decent stuff is rare or has to be torn down or otherwise is difficult to get.

So where do you get materials for cheap or free?

Find a local fabrication shop and ask if they have a scrap metal bin you can root through.  Tell them that you are learning to weld and they will probably let you have it for free.

[sokoloff]

Metalsupermarket is a very convenient / easy to use (though somewhat expensive) supplier. The one near me sell "drops" (the off cuts) for reasonably cheap.

It is sometimes worth it to learn on paid materials rather than trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with your welds because you don't know what the material is, or it's heavily contaminated and inadequately cleaned, etc. If you're struggling mightily with a certain junk material, I'd consider jumping to a different material after standard troubleshooting, but before wasting tons of time trying to wrack your brain to figure it out.

[691175002]

You need to poke around and see who is selling locally.  Metal is extraordinarily expensive to buy in a retail setting - often 4-10x as much as you will pay for the exact same piece from an industrial supplier.

You need to phone around and be buying in full lengths though.

[Just Joe]

Every town has a fabrication shop. Your local industrial supply stores or welding supply stores will know who they are. You just need to do the sleuthing.

I have one near my house. I went the other day to buy several pieces of steel and it was cheaper b/c I was buying the castoffs/scrap bin stuff.

I find that the online welding suppliers have the price advantage but don't discount the local guys who can advise you about so many different things.

Once everything is mail order (Amazon, eBay) what choices will we have locally?

[sokoloff]

Most anything over 6' on its longest side is likely to be locally sourced for a long while due to shipping costs.

[Just Joe]

True on long materials - I meant buying welding equipment and supplies.