Finding off cuts?

[Munty Scruntfundle]

Hi there.

I'm in the middle of Lincolnshire, there are plenty of metal stockists around, but finding off cuts is a real problem. No one wants to admit to having any, those that do charge over the odds.

Do any of you folks know a reasonable supplier who's happy to supply at decent prices? I could order meters of stock, but I'd end up with a huge collection of lengths with bits nibbled off the ends!

Thanks.

 

[Trevanion]

Tried any of the guys who actually make stuff from the metal? I pop in with the engineer/nut+bolt shop on the local industrial estate regularly for nuts and bolts and the occasional piece cut off from their stock or an offcut for a little bit over cost price.

Last length I bought from there was a 1m long 25mm cold rolled mild steel bar for about £9, which is about the going rate.

 

[Lazurus]

I call on a local fabrication shop, struck up a rapport with the boss and now raid the skip at will. I always throw a tenner into their "bun Fund" though.

 

[Munty Scruntfundle]

Hmm, there are a couple of places that might be worth a go, I'll pop in next week.

Thanks for the ideas.

 

[AES]

Me? Skip diving (even though the notice at our local collection points starts off with some carp about "Es ist stark VERBOTEN .... ").

 

[TFrench]

Fab shop on our industrial estate order me anything I want in mild steel if its a full length, or there is a really good stockholder in leicester that have a great offcuts selection for solid section.

 

[Richard_C]

If you venture one county south to Cambridge you could try Mackays. They have a website. Worth dropping in if you are nearby but may not be worth a special journey.

They cut to size, including small orders, a fair range of sheet, sections and bar and they have a modest off cuts bin/rack opposite the counter so you can root through it. I often pick up odd bits there, either offcuts or small quantity like 2 m of stainless round bar or 30x30 cm copper sheet. I don't do enough to judge price but suspect they are a bit high - you can put examples in on their website to get an idea. Offcut pricing is I think theoretically half normal price but depends who is serving, sometimes they measure and do sums but other times it's a bit of a guess.

The metal shop is in a separate building with shorter opening hours than the main store, look carefully on website. Small car park at the back that you can usually get in.

Their main shop is a browsers delight, odd mix of ordinary retail and serious quality tools etc., their website is a bit rubbish at showing what they have. They sell a huge range of 'nuts and bolts' singly - again a bit expensive but where else do you go if you urgently want five M8x30 stainless allen head setscrews or ...... etc etc.