# Sourcing aluminum



## Chris Cramer (Feb 18, 2021)

Does anyone know what the best place in calgary would be to buy aluminum? Federal metal only sells steel. I'm looking for some 1" aluminum square tubing to build the frame for my 3d printer. the milling machine that I built wasn't very big but it still weighed a ton since it was almost made completely out of steel; so I think I'm going to build the fraim of my 3d printer out of aluminum instead.


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## YYCHM (Feb 18, 2021)

Maybe check this guy out.... https://canadianhobbymetalworkers.com/threads/new-kid-in-town-and-it-looks-pretty-good.2812/

MSM carries all kinds of aluminum but I'm reluctant to say it's the BEST place to shop.


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## Desab (Feb 18, 2021)

I buy my aluminum at samual metals 20 footers and they dont cut


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## PeterT (Feb 18, 2021)

I seem to recall that kind of stock isn't too expensive so Metal Supermarket might be the place. I had to buy some brass rod last year & was preparing for sticker shock but, it was same price as I would have sourced elsewhere. Called in the order day before, they brought out to me waiting in warm car.

There was also a link posted recently selling 80/20 bolt together extrusions & hardware from BC, Vancouver maybe? They had price list available.


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## David_R8 (Feb 19, 2021)

Depending on your design 8020 extrusion would make a good choice. 
Rocky Mountain Motion is an 8020 dealer. Also look at Makerparts.ca. 
I’ve ordered stuff from the latter for my CNC plasma build and they are excellent to work with. Plus they have 3D printer items in their online store.


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## Dabbler (Feb 19, 2021)

try these guys.  they had some aluminum when I was in there last, adn are willing to stock more.

Daniel Polini
CalgaryMetalMarket
225 41 Ave NE
403.475.9858
[edit] Calgarymetalmarket@gmail.com


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## Chris Cramer (Feb 19, 2021)

David_R8 said:


> Depending on your design 8020 extrusion would make a good choice.
> Rocky Mountain Motion is an 8020 dealer. Also look at Makerparts.ca.
> I’ve ordered stuff from the latter for my CNC plasma build and they are excellent to work with. Plus they have 3D printer items in their online store.


I'm using some aluminum v slot extrusion for some of the railing, but most of the gantry is made with linear stainless rod and some linear bearings; so I'm planning to make the frame with aluminum square tubing and angle as that would be cheaper than 2020 extrusion.


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## PeterT (Feb 19, 2021)

Just one more thing to be aware of. Most of this structural square / rectangular / angle stock is 6061 which is probably preferred. But sometimes you will see it in different alloys like for decorative, furniture or whatever. Just mentioning if it affects things like welding or finishing methods


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## Johnwa (Feb 19, 2021)

Spool3d in Calgary carries some extrusions.


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## Janger (Feb 19, 2021)

Steel inc. ironically also has aluminium. I’ve bought a fair bit from Dylan. Be worth checking too. Steel inc 1 (587) 349-4766


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## Chris Cramer (Feb 23, 2021)

Thanks for the info, steel inc definitely has great prices for aluminum. I purchased twice as much aluminum for half the price that I got from rona or MSM.


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## PeterT (Feb 23, 2021)

Chris, did you happen to notice what kind of selection for aluminum solid round/rod?


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## Chris Cramer (Feb 23, 2021)

No, sorry, I forgot what you said about 6060 aluminum being the most sturdy. I ordered all 1/8" square tubing, angle, and flat bar, I haven't picked it up yet, so I could ask them tomorrow what type of aluminum they stock.


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## PeterT (Feb 23, 2021)

No rush, was just curious, thx


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## Bofobo (Mar 5, 2021)

I’ve got a lot of hex aluminum extrusion, you can have 2 pieces, from old painter poles they are 8’or less in length


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## Chris Cramer (Mar 5, 2021)

What size of extrusion do you have, do you have 2020 or 2040?


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## Bofobo (Mar 5, 2021)

It’s a Wooster Sherlock paint pole I have no idea what alloy they use, you might be able to find it on the Wooster web page, i use them for Christmas lights and just keep them around for parts or whatever. It just looks like this


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## Chicken lights (Mar 9, 2021)

6063 is pretty cheap, $1.25/pound


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## YYCHM (Mar 9, 2021)

Chicken lights said:


> View attachment 13655
> 6063 is pretty cheap, $1.25/pound



Are those solid or rolled sheet?


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## Chicken lights (Mar 9, 2021)

YYCHobbyMachinist said:


> Are those solid or rolled sheet?


Solid. 5000 lbs per stick


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## PeterT (Mar 9, 2021)

AlexCaffe said:


> I recently bought some aluminum corners and sheets of aircraft grade aluminum from some guy. He assured me that it was real aircraft grade aluminum.



Alex, 'aircraft grade' could mean almost anything. The alloy properties like strength, density, modulus, heat treatment, extruded/rolled/cast/forged/weldability... and price have a big say in what the component will be made from whether its a door hinge or critical engine mount. If you got a good deal & are happy for your application then that's all that matters. But just know that usually people source & compare based on a defined alloy. Here are some common ones but I'm sure a more extensive list is in the hundreds.
https://www.aircraftspruce.ca/menus/me/aluminum.html


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## PeterT (Mar 10, 2021)

Great! Does he have any more? LOL I'm not interested in sheet but discount solids will always find a welcome home.


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## Dabbler (Mar 11, 2021)

you got a great deal!!  7075 aluminum is a great material to work with (if you aren't welding it).


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## PeterT (Mar 11, 2021)

Dabbler said:


> you got a great deal!!  7075 aluminum is a great material to work with (if you aren't welding it).



good point & same for 2024 apparently


then theres annodizing issue if thats a consideration
https://www.metalsupermarkets.com/what-aluminum-alloys-can-be-anodized/


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## Janger (Mar 12, 2021)

AlexCaffe said:


> He sold corners, sheets and cylinders 5-7 inches in diameter. He recently sold a top hat to the guys in the workshop. Today I went and bought the remaining sheets of aluminum. He has nothing else. If anyone is wondering how I found out that my aluminum sheets are grade 7075. Then my friend helped me with this. He works for .He scanned my metal for me for free. Something like a pistol with a screen.



@AlexCaffe  where do you live?
Are you doing SEO for clients? We don’t allow that. Please reply.


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## Janger (Mar 12, 2021)

A few people have asked me what seo is. Seo is search engine optimization. Ie placing links to sites in our forum to improve their ranking on Google. Ie spammers. I almost don't even care about the post to a link - like the one above (well Josh deleted it). What drives me insane is pretending to be somebody and basically just BSing their way to 4 posts, depositing their turd, and never seen again. The nice thing about hitting the SPAM button is it bans them from our forum - the site won't work from that location again and it reports that IP address to all the other xenforo based forums and there are thousands of them. It's part of why we don't tend to get that much spam because the other admin's ban them first. They're getting sneakier though. That guy knew something about metal work. I just hit the spam button on him.

I'm sure his name wasn't Alex, that wasn't his picture, his email was something like alex46@gmail. he's on his 46th email address in other words. his posts came from somewhere in the Ukraine. All that crap he wrote about aluminium was BS and he didn't buy any metal or have his shop buy a metal top hat whatever the hell that is. ok rant over...


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## Dabbler (Mar 12, 2021)

His deal on sheets had 2 flaws:  7075 sheet is like unobtanium, and his price was 10 cents on the dollar cheap.  Almost scrap price.  I wondered about metal 'top hat'.


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## Janger (Mar 12, 2021)

Dabbler said:


> His deal on sheets had 2 flaws:  7075 sheet is like unobtanium, and his price was 10 cents on the dollar cheap.  Almost scrap price.  I wondered about metal 'top hat'.



How common is this sort of thing on hobby machinist Dabbler?


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## Dabbler (Mar 12, 2021)

We haven't had the pleasure, as we disallow external commercial references unless targeted to the subject matter.  None of the spammers have found out how to break our code, yet.


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## DPittman (Mar 13, 2021)

Well thank you to those people that keep the site clean of the garbage detailed above.  I didn't even have a clue what stuff goes on but I appreciate the people that do all the behind the scenes work.
Also thank you for explaining that particular post did not make sense cuz I sure the he'll didn't understand what he was talking about and I was feeling dumb.


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## Janger (Mar 13, 2021)

Dabbler said:


> We haven't had the pleasure, as we disallow external commercial references unless targeted to the subject matter.  None of the spammers have found out how to break our code, yet.



That seems very sophisticated. How do you do that? What is the approach? So if I wanted to put in a reference to federal metals dot com then what happens?


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## Dabbler (Mar 13, 2021)

Our members help us a lot here.  it is a totally manual system. It is a membership rule against self linking for commercial purposes unless you pay the commercial membership fee.  People link to commercial things all the time, in context, and as appropriate.  If any link seems dodgy or commercial by a non-commercial member, it usually gets _reported _by a member.  We get about 5 false positives a month.  The Mods (there are 16 of us) also scan the new postings, and we catch unacceptable links also

Now all this is in light of the fact we have only 2 or 3 dodgy links a month, in about 1800 posts.  If it gets _reported _then a second link by a member gets the user banned.  We use the same Xenforo reporting system as you guys do.

The scam artists that are offering a perfect item at reasonable price and disappear are more of a problem right now.  To combat that , we have made a 10 post minimum before anyone can use the trading post or classifieds...  We've only had one scam since.


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## Dabbler (Mar 13, 2021)

Oh - and I forgot.  we have an anti-SPAM add-in that Nelson installed many years ago.  it looks up  some SPAM site and disallows it if it is suspect.  we get about 4 complaints about it per month.


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## Swharfin' (Mar 13, 2021)

Hmm I have to admit I'm not tech savy at all. I wondered about John's Post off and on today Thanks for the explanation. 
Top Hats off to y'all.


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## Degen (Dec 23, 2021)

I stock some sizes of Aluminium 6061 bar, rod and tube.  I buy in bulk (and import if needed) typically a 200lbs and up so I get great pricing, let me get through the holidays and I'll think about offering up on my site. Please be aware I use it for business and don't mind giving deals but I do need to make a small profit.


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## fluffy (Dec 28, 2021)

i have been getting it at Steel Inc. They are great.


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## YYCHM (Dec 29, 2021)

This is interesting......






The website link in the RH panel takes you here https://canadianhobbymetalworkers.com/threads/steel-inc.521/????


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## Janger (Dec 30, 2021)

I guess Google thought that was the most relevant content - funny that. I hit the suggest an edit button and put in the link to his facebook page instead.


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## LenVW (Jan 2, 2022)

Ryerson Metals have sites across Canada.
Mississauga, Edmonton, Calgary, etc
I dealt with them to purchase a lot of aluminum in the past.
They were under the name . . . Integris Metals back in 2005.


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## architect (Jan 4, 2022)

LenVW said:


> Ryerson Metals have sites across Canada.
> Mississauga, Edmonton, Calgary, etc
> I dealt with them to purchase a lot of aluminum in the past.
> They were under the name . . . Integris Metals back in 2005.



How do you find their prices/availablity/services vs the MSM for home hobbiests? I'm about 45min from Mississauga in Scarborough and looking for a place that's priced better than MSM. I'm willing to buy a bit larger quantities to make the drive worth it as well. Any other sources you recommend in the region? This is for metal in general.


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## LenVW (Jan 4, 2022)

I had good pricing from Ryerson for large quantities 
(ie. 150pcs 1/2” Plate #6061 - 12” x 18”) 
I bought them for a fabrication company in 2016. They waterjet cut them to our required finish size.
Ryerson is best for larger quantities, get in touch with a sales rep and see what they offer for Value added processes, etc.

Tell them you have a lot of buddies in a machining club.

MSM is kind of pricey unless you get lucky with timing, but, they are a good source of odds and ends.

All metals are quite pricey now because of availability. I have bought lately from ELMA Steel in Cambridge and they came out as best price when compared with three others.
Golden Triangle Specialty Metals (Angles and Bars) & Production Metals (Plate and Sheet) are other suppliers in Cambridge.


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## Degen (Jan 4, 2022)

Consider McKinnon Metal, 427/hwy 7 area


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## Degen (Jan 4, 2022)

LenVW said:


> I had good pricing from Ryerson for large quantities
> (ie. 150pcs 1/2” Plate #6061 - 12” x 18”)
> I bought them for a fabrication company in 2016. They waterjet cut them to our required finish size.
> Ryerson is best for larger quantities, get in touch with a sales rep and see what they offer for Value added processes, etc.
> ...


I'm surprised you bought it as plate stock about a 25-30% premium over bar stock, I buy 1/2x12x144 on a regular basis and cut to 18" lengths.


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## LenVW (Jan 4, 2022)

At the time it was what was available and they gave us a good deal because the plate was already at the waterjet shop.


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## trlvn (Jan 5, 2022)

architect said:


> How do you find their prices/availablity/services vs the MSM for home hobbiests? I'm about 45min from Mississauga in Scarborough and looking for a place that's priced better than MSM. I'm willing to buy a bit larger quantities to make the drive worth it as well. Any other sources you recommend in the region? This is for metal in general.


The Toronto Society of Model Engineers has a list of suppliers that their members have recommended:






						Suppliers - Toronto Society of Model Engineers
					

sources for metal plastic electronics tools miniature tools hobby tools lathes milling machines solder adhesives glues belts exotic material




					sites.google.com
				




They list a handful of metal suppliers that are on the east side of the GTA.

Craig


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## Aliva (Jan 5, 2022)

Locations - ASA Alloys
					

ASA Alloys - Canada's Premier Distributor of Specialty Metals.  We have the largest selection of Aluminum and Stainless Bar, Plate and Sheet, along with our Aluminum Extrusions and Custom Shapes ensures that our customers get the material they need, when they need it.  And if we don't carry...




					asaalloys.com


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## LenVW (Jan 5, 2022)

You can build a list of suppliers but you are going to lean towards ones that are near by and ones that can offer a variety of products and processes.
Develop an quick way to send out RFQs and send it to vendors that are in your area.
Vendor quotes these days are only good for a couple of days ‘at the most’.

Work with a vendor and let them know what you can live with for finish quality. 
(Ie. Flame cut, HD Plasma, Waterjet, Sawcut, Shear)
For us as hobbists our quantities are relatively small, so explain that to the vendor when you are looking. Good customer service will help to find vendors that you will go back to again and again.


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## Degen (Jan 5, 2022)

One of the things in pricing depends on the quantity.  Some now have dollar minimums and line item minimums.  The dealers generally charge more but you can get significantly smaller quantities.

So if you only need a less than 100lbs you are generally going to pay more.


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## chip4charlie (Jan 19, 2022)

Just bought some 2” and 2.5” round 6061 from ABC Recycling in Langley, BC for $2.20 per pound. Search “ABC Recycling “ for their ads on Vancouver Craigslist. I took these pics:


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## PeterT (Jan 19, 2022)

Dang! You guys get all the good stuff.


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## Degen (Jan 19, 2022)

chip4charlie said:


> Just bought some 2” and 2.5” round 6061 from ABC Recycling in Langley, BC for $2.20 per pound. Search “ABC Recycling “ for their ads on Vancouver Craigslist. I took these pics:


You did well, wholesale new is about $4.00/lbs


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## LenVW (Jan 19, 2022)

Degen said:


> You did well, wholesale new is about $4.00/lbs


There is no better feeling then a good deal !!


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## chip4charlie (Jan 19, 2022)

Only some stuff is $2.20/lb. Some other stuff is $4.50/lb. Their Craigslist ads tell you what they have, and how much.

ABC Recycling has mutiple branches, but apparently they only sell from Langley.


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## Clipper (Jan 21, 2022)

I  get industry news from Millenium Alloys in Kelowna and recieved this a few days ago. I can't post lionks so here it is: 
From Breitbart dot com.  China's magnesium cut backs stemming from power shortages, etc, etc.
As far as I know Canada doesn't have magnesium mines.
Personally I would like to see Canada  cut back on trading with China as well as curtailing Chinese ownership of Canadian industries  before we become part of The New Silk Road. No obvious solutions tho....


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## Chicken lights (Jan 21, 2022)

Clipper said:


> I  get industry news from Millenium Alloys in Kelowna and recieved this a few days ago. I can't post lionks so here it is:
> From Breitbart dot com.  China's magnesium cut backs stemming from power shortages, etc, etc.
> As far as I know Canada doesn't have magnesium mines.
> Personally I would like to see Canada  cut back on trading with China as well as curtailing Chinese ownership of Canadian industries  before we become part of The New Silk Road. No obvious solutions tho....


Agreed but it’s not a popular opinion


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## BMW Rider (Jan 22, 2022)

Clipper said:


> Personally I would like to see Canada  cut back on trading with China as well as curtailing Chinese ownership of Canadian industries  before we become part of The New Silk Road. No obvious solutions tho....


And while we're at it, stop with carbon taxes here and slap one on products produced and imported from pollution heavy countries like China.


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## Degen (Jan 22, 2022)

Let me refresh you of exactly what Tariff stands for and how it works.....

Government......we will not raise our taxes.
People....Yahoo.
Government.....we will protect you from the following (insert, foreign polution, outside Canada Manufacturers or anything esle you want to insert) by putting Tariffs on them.
People.....Yahoo.
Government....Quietly so the people don't hear....dumb s*&#s don't realize that they are paying a hefty tax on their products.....evil laughter.
People that know....crying.

Look the solution is localised small scale manufacturing.  Reduces green house gas and pollution by reducing mass shipping both raw material in one direction and finished products in the other. To do this we need lower realty costs, but unfortunately in Canada thats seems to be a near monopoly (that pays government), so that happening, good luck.  


Sorry my rant of the day.


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## Degen (Feb 24, 2022)

Here is my stock for the next month or so, not including what I have in a storage unit.


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## LenVW (Mar 1, 2022)

Not including your storage unit ??
Are you Hoarding all the 3033 rod for something ?
I think you have more selection then Ryerson does !!


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## Degen (Mar 1, 2022)

3/8 6061 and 6061 flat stock.  Wish that was the case. I have bought out my suppliers twice already last year (and one is an international supplier).  Currently I am sourcing stock 40weeks out as that is the current time lines for delivery.  Not sure what the Russia situation is going to do with prices and time lines, hopefully it doesn't justify the price gouging.


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## LenVW (Mar 1, 2022)

Hey, good talking to you this morning.
Have a relaxing time in Cuba and don’t get burnt !!

Ornithology - Check it out on the Cornell website.
Their resources are renowned for studies into evolved species.
If you have a chance you can visit the campus in Ithaca, NY.


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## LenVW (Mar 1, 2022)

Guenther,
Here is the company I could not remember this morning.

Situated at #21 South Field Dr in Elmira, Ontario, Trylon Manufacturing Company Limited is an enterprise inside the communication towers & antennas section of Canpages.ca online directory.
Phone 519-669-5421 to do business with Trylon Manufacturing Company Limited that is near your area.

‘Trylon‘ had a complete line of cell towers back in 2002.


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## Degen (Mar 1, 2022)

Thanks Len, I know Trylon Towers, they gotten bigger since I learned of them about 20 years ago.  The tower market has changed greatly in the last 20 years with a lot of mergers.


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