Gunsmithing Place to get good Steel

[grunt0311]

I dont know if this is the right place to put this but like the title says Im looking to get some good quality steel to make some stuff with. Does anyone know where to get some in the Jacksonville, NC area? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[SmokeRolls]

Re: Place to get good Steel

Just to help someone in answering you; what do you need the steel for?

Machining ? What are you going to make?

Simple welding/fabricating like angle iron/ plate/pipe?

Knife /sword making?

Knowing this will help us answer your question.
Just trying to help.
...SmokeRolls

 

[bcr229]

Re: Place to get good Steel

We've always gotten excellent service from http://www.onlinemetals.com/.

 

[grunt0311]

Re: Place to get good Steel

I want the steel for machining mostly for making some gun stuff and mandrels. I will be using this on a mill and a lathe.

 

[neutronics]

Re: Place to get good Steel

+1 for onlinemetals.com. Selection is so-so but the prices and delivery are good.

I've had good luck buying cut-offs on eBay. Mostly bar stock in lengths less than a foot sold by the pound.

 

[HarryCallahan]

Re: Place to get good Steel

speedymetals.com - good selection, ordering process thru the site, decent shipping prices, fast.

 

[DAVETOOLEY]

Re: Place to get good Steel

Here's three in Jacksonville. Don't know what there specialty is but they can at least point you in the right direction.
Seven more in the phone book in the Wilmington area.


Superior Steel Supplies Inc
Brown & Steele
Southeastern Steel

 

[grunt0311]

Re: Place to get good Steel

Thanks a lot for the help guys. I appreciate it.

 

[oldolds442]

Re: Place to get good Steel

just look in the yellow pages for a local place like general steel, etc...shipping steel is pretty expensive

 

[operator1]

Re: Place to get good Steel

Try Dillon Supply. There's one in Greenville and Wilmington.

 

[Clark]

Re: Place to get good Steel

I got 100 pieces of 1018 cold rolled steel pre cut by speedy metals two weeks ago.

http://www.speedymetals.com/

It arrived in two days, pre cut per my dimensions and their specified cut tolerances on their web site.

They arrived 2.55" x 2.00" x .25" and cost me $1.50/each delivered.

I got it just a little bigger than my finished drawing calls out. It took very little time to square up the parts and get them sized in the mill.

This sure beats me band sawing or hack sawing off bigger pieces.

With the time I saved, I am already shipping parts.

 

[grunt0311]

Re: Place to get good Steel

I have looked at the site for speedy metals, now which type of steel is better to get? For example is 1018 better to get than 4160? Is there one thats better than the other.

 

[HarryCallahan]

Re: Place to get good Steel

The type of steel you get is fully dependent on what you're using it for. If you just want to play, make a few things that require a bit of machining and skip a lot of frustration, 12L14 will be your friend.

 

[Clark]

Re: Place to get good Steel

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Harry Callahan</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The type of steel you get is fully dependent on what you're using it for. If you just want to play, make a few things that require a bit of machining and skip a lot of frustration, 12L14 will be your friend. </div></div>

12L14 costs extra, but if I am just making one of something and it does not need to be uber strong, I love working with 12L14. It has Lead in it, and that is why it cost so much and works so easily. It is still steel with the same Young's modulus [stiff, not like Aluminum] and wear resistance [not like Aluminum]

1018 is not bad.

4160 is a Nickel-Chromium-Molybdenum Steel, like 4140.
4140 can be a pain. It is tool steel. If not bathed in coolant while drilling, it can get a hard spot and dull the drill. Then the drill is no good, and I need to find a carbide drill to punch through the hard spot. I do not have 115 piece Carbide drill set, so I wind up faking it. Then I learn to keep the drill wet and drill slowly.
But if you want strong, heat treated tool steel can be made to be more than twice as strong as the other above steels.

 

[Ranger Bob]

Re: Place to get good Steel

I am in the DFW area and I use Discount Steel almost exclusively. They are in Ft. Worth so it makes it easy for me however, they also have an online store and are very competitive.
Discount Steel Online

As far as steel for machining, I use 1018 and 1026 for general use parts that are not going to need to be hardened. They have good machinability and weldability. If I need more strength or will need to have the part hardened, I go for the 41xx series. You need flood coolant with the 41xx or you will burn up cutters and work harden the material. Since you're asking about what type of steel to use and where to get it, I would recommend you visit some of the home machinist forums and start reading up. There's a lot to learn.

Bob