Best place to buy Aluminum

[ProudCitize]

Greetings all,

I just joined a maker-group here in North Houston and now have access to a wide range of tools and tech.

I now want to start prop designing and building in earnest and am thinking of starting with a bunch of simple(ish) metal pieces such as Batarangs etc.

Can anyone advise me of any good sources for buying aluminum?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[obiwan kowalski]

I use Ebay or onlinemetals.com. Search your area for local metal suppliers. Don't get ripped off by lowes or home depot.

 

[6644Invader]

I personally use http://coastaluminum.com/ . They have everything and at a reasonable price. Honestly, you'll probably be best buying from a metal supplier near you where you can pick it up and not pay for delivery/freight.

 

[Sundowner]

I use speedymetals.com

 

[TazMan2000]

A quick google search yielded Texas Iron & Metal. They deal in surplus too, so you may be able to find stuff on the cheap if you go to they scrap pile.

TazMan2000

 

[JPH]

Onlinemetals. Sign up for discount code. In Orlando, fl myaluminumsupply...on Nashville street

 

[MrSouthpaw]

Check your local area for recycling centers and scrap dealers.

 

[Dope]

www.metalsupermarkets.com for local sources if you don't want to ship. Onlinemetals.com if you want to ship.

Dope

 

[TazMan2000]

www.metalsupermarkets.com for local sources if you don't want to ship. Onlinemetals.com if you want to ship.

Dope

My local Metalsupermarkets didn't have a lot of what I was looking for. They offered to ship it from another location at twice the cost of what I could get it online and an open ended arrival date. I've had good luck with onlinemetals though.

TazMan2000

 

[Dope]

My local Metalsupermarkets didn't have a lot of what I was looking for. They offered to ship it from another location at twice the cost of what I could get it online and an open ended arrival date. I've had good luck with onlinemetals though.

TazMan2000

Huh that's a shame. I buy most of the common stuff locally from my metalsupermarkets and they are very competitive and easy to deal with. I do a get a lot of smaller, one-off or uncommon stuff from onlinemetals though and have never had a bad experience. Just shipping things like plate steel and such tends to ruin any sort of cost savings in a hurry Guess it depends on what you're looking for, if I need bulk amounts of metals I go to a real mill for the cheapest prices. But there's a metalsupermarkets 10 mins from my house so it all depends.

Dope

 

[ProudCitize]

Thank you all for the suggestions!