Need Bar stock source for lathe

[Tom Hintz]

I am getting my new Jet BD-920W 9 x 20 metal lathe tomorrow and am going to have to find a source for bar stock to play with as I get familiar with this machine. I was wondering if there are any good online suppliers or someone in the Concord, NC area. I would imagine some basic aluminum and not-so-hard steel will get me going to start with.

Also, anyone have experience with this lathe, suggestions for tooling, I am all ears.

 

[rockwithjason]

Re: Need Bar stock cource for lathe

get a subscription to home shop machinist magazine. in additin to the nifty articles, they have a bunch of suppliers for both tooling and stock

 

[MotoDave]

Re: Need Bar stock cource for lathe

Honestly ebay isn't a bad source for small amounts of metal.

onlinemetals.com
speedymetals.com
mcmaster.com

all sell metal, probably won't be as cheap as if you find the local supplier and get drops.

 

[larry_g]

Re: Need Bar stock cource for lathe

http://www.onlinemetals.com/app_groups.cfm?step=2&id=2&app_id=2

You could start here. Years ago I bought some assortment packages from some where that had 2' lengths of various shapes and sizes of the same material. Good for learning ans stock. Notice that I linked to the 'free machining' tab for materials that are easy to machine.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Dave455]

Re: Need Bar stock cource for lathe

Can't help with suppliers, but in my experience buying metal by mail is an expensive way to do it as the shipping is a big part of the cost!

In the U.K. there is usually an engineers supplier in or near most big towns that keeps this sort of stuff, and I'd be surprised if the U.S. is that different!

Most folks want to turn steel, but if you can get the 'free machining' grade mentioned above it makes life really easy! It has an additive, often lead, which makes it nice to machine (although hard to weld)!

If you are new to turning, you may not want to get straight into tool grinding, so consider a replaceable insert turning tool early on! You don't need loads, just a simple bar turning tool! With turning tools, quality is everything, but you can get decent stuff at a fair price from MSC! Worth getting their catalogue too!

 

[paulsomlo]

Re: Need Bar stock cource for lathe

I use speedymetals.com, their shipping is expensive, but a bit less than others. If you want to play with steel, try 12L14.

 

[rsanter]

eBay or find a local machine shop that has a scrap room that will sell the scrap/cut offs/surplus for cheap ( not full price)

Bob

 

[gm54210]

As others have said, local source is the cheapest, but I will add that Enco can be reasonable for stock when they have their free shipping codes. I load up on drill rod and specific sizes I need.

Enco

 

[rockwithjason]

Fastenal can also get most stock for a reasonable price

 

[A_Pmech]

Pick up your local phone book and seek out the nearest metals supplier.

 

[hischj]

Fastenal can also get most stock for a reasonable price

I agree. Fastenal will also cut to the length you need if you are doing multiple pieces.

 

[Stooge]

i can't speak for bar stock specifically, but i recently ordered some stuff from onlinemetals.com that my local steel house was a little steep on. i was happy with the price, shipping wasnt bad at all considering it was multiple packages with some weight to them and i got them in about 2 days. for short sticks of tubing or plate, i would definitely order from them again.

also, forgot to mention that about a week or 2 after i ordered, they emailed me a 20% off storewide coupon code for my next purchase

 

[JonnyC]

I've ordered aluminium from speedymetals. They are in my state, easy to order from, and got my order out the door quick.

 

[C_Hoyt]

Williams Metals does a lot of dealing in aluminum. I'm not sure how well they deal with individuals rather than businesses but it's local. They're on commerce drive right off 601. If not there, Metal Supermarkets is off 77. 6601 northpark Blvd, Charlotte.

 

[lilredex]

Junk yard is the best place for basically "free" material. If in doubt, take a file with you. If you have any kind of industry left there, there will be lots of shorts in there for you to choose from.

Last time I bought any new bar stock, was a few years ago when Princess Auto cleared out a bunch at ridiculously low prices.

Have also picked up a few pieces off the street and junk at construction sites.

 

[Tom Hintz]

Re: Need Bar stock cource for lathe

get a subscription to home shop machinist magazine. in additin to the nifty articles, they have a bunch of suppliers for both tooling and stock

Just signed up for the HSM mag, looks great.
Got my lathe set up, made a simple cut using autofeed, didn't kill anything! Now to get familiar with this thing so I can try some real turning.
My father, now passed, was a master machinist for decades so I never need to operate a machine. I just told him what I needed and ****, there it was! I sure wish he was around now though with all that knowledge....

 

[JBradley500]

eBay or find a local machine shop that has a scrap room that will sell the scrap/cut offs/surplus for cheap ( not full price)

Bob

I was going to say this. My uncle owns a machine shop and I bet you could buy short steel and aluminum from old jobs for cheap. If you had a small shop local I would search for that.

 

[MadMechMaster]

With Prime, Amazonsupply.com is also an option.

 

[Falcon67]

Look in the phone book for metal recyclers. Go and ask to dig in the aluminum, etc scrap. Buy it by the lb at the going rate.

 

[Ign]

Use-Enco.com or search Amazon for "the deals." Find their listings with dozens of sizes and scroll along until a price looks out of place.

 

[ajchien]

I use these guys:

http://www.onlinemetals.com/