Is $10.47 per stick of 1"x4' squared tubing too much?

[MustangFergy]

Is $10.47 per stick of 1"x4' squared tubing too much?

I bought some "sticks" of it today for my fuel cell project in my car. I'm going to be looking around in the phone book more Monday to see.

But what do you think, overpriced?

[Mike W]

4' long? That is way too high.

[78chevstepside]

Best place I found to buy steel is at a steel yard. buying steel at a hardware store is a rip off.

[kenfusion]

I recently purchased 40' of 1 1/2" square tubeing with 1/8" wall it cost me $98.00 came up to $2.45 a foot. So you might of paid a little much. Did you buy it at a metal distibuter or at a hardware store like Home Depot

[Thomas Harris]

Find a steel yard if you can. Most of them will rough cut the pieces to make it easier to fit in a pick-up. Usually no charge. No matter how you slice it the stuff is pricey now.

[Vipernut]

I think everyone is seeing a lot of this lately - even from steel distributors. The best thing to do is call around before you buy anything. I find the one guy in town that carries thin wall square tube is really putting it to people. I called there 3 separate times in one day asking for a price on the same thing - all 3 times I got a different price, from one end to the other. The next time I go in I'll be asking for the guy in charge.
And don't let them give you the old "but China is buying up eveything" crap - keep an eye on the business section and you'll see profit reports from U.S. Steel, Stelco, ect. - they're raking in hundreds of millions of dollars in PROFIT per quarter. Trust your gut instinct when you hear their price.

Kevin
"Steel is pricey
in Canada too!!"

[JTMcCracken]

And don't let them give you the old "but China is buying up eveything" crap - keep an eye on the business section and you'll see profit reports from U.S. Steel, Stelco, ect. - they're raking in hundreds of millions of dollars in PROFIT per quarter. Trust your gut instinct when you hear their price.

Kevin
"Steel is pricey
in Canada too!!"

So you'd rather they lost money and went out of business? How would that help you?

When you have millions and billions invested (and at risk) you can and should make a suitable profit.

JTMcC.

[HeloMech]

Ouch... I get 20 foot lengths of 1" square tube for about $20... depend on what thickness I get that particular day. I go there enough, I don't get charged for them to chop it to lengths that fit in my fraud exploder spot.

www.metaldepot.com here in California..

[shortarc]

Man I don't know where you guys are buying steel but I just went to my local steel supplier yesterday and bought three pieces 1 piece 1 1/4 X 1 1/4 X 1/4 angle 1 piece 1X1 X 1/8 and 1 peice of 1/4 X 1 1X4 flat all ten feet long and the bill was around twenty dollars. All new steel and cut off of a twenty foot peice.

Mabe I had better go back and see if he made a mistake . If he did I'm sure he will let me know when I go back.

[MustangFergy]

Crap, well I kept my receipt

[toolaholic]

I'm paying about $1 per ft in volume 20 ft sticks

[Sandy]

1x1 .120 tube

I'm paying about $1 per ft in volume 20 ft sticks

I think I just paid about $1.30 a foot for some 2"x2"x .083, 20 footers cut in half.. That would be before taxes. I'd have to go find the receipt to verify that, but it was around there somewhere.

I think the 2"x2"x .250 was around $2.67 per foot. Even at that ten bucks plus change would have bought 4 foot.

Steel supplier is the only way to go. Even if you have to buy a little volumn to get the price. Steel won't rot like vegetables so buy in bulk!!!!!

[Stimp]

Make a friend at a recycler. My buddy always calls when good clean scrap comes in that he knows i might use. He called me today in fact went and picked up a whole bunch of 2" square tubing in various lengths as good as brand new and a great heavy duty materials cart that only needed a caster tacked back on, he even drug out the stick and we welded another caster i found there on it on the spot. Loaded up the cart with the tubing and rolled it onto the scale Total 400# for 100$

[Mike W]

Way to go Stimp.

[ohmthis]

I have a problem getting steel from steel suppliers. I've called several of them on my own, 2 wouldn't sell me anything because I did not have an account with them. Another was terribly high. I ended up buying through my work to get a good price, which was a hassle on it's own. Sometimes i'd pay more just to not have to deal with all the A-holes. Of course I'd probably be broke if I did.