I’m working on a secret project, but steel is hard to come by for a decent price. Don’t need much just a 20 gauge sheet about 6 inches by 5-6 feet. Id post pic’s of my currant project, but I never seem to finish things, and I don’t feel like getting you guys hopes up.

So when looking for sheet metal where is the first place you hit up? The local junk yard wants 2 dollars a pound, and the sheet I found is over 40 pounds. Witch really doesn’t make sense to buy. The point of my build is because I couldn’t afford the part that I needed witch is around 500-600 bucks (hint) I have id guess 40 dollars into this project so far, hoping to keep the fabrication cost under 100 dollars.

I’m thinking of buying a hood. Any hood really and cutting it apart for sheet metal good or bad idea? Craig’s list has some cheap options for me… what do you guys think

 

Check Ebay, there are some good deals on there, even with shipping. There are also sites that will sell steel sheet online. www.metalsdepot.com and www.speedymetals.com come to mind.

For stuff that thin, you can also try local HVAC contractors. They sometimes have keep large pieces of sheet metal for fabbing air ducts. Siding contractors are another good one, although you may only find aluminum there. Its used for trim and under porch roofs.

Do you have any steel mills in the area? There are several near me(I live outside an old steel town) and prices are reasonable from what I have heard.

 

what i like to do is cut the roof's off junked cars with a flat roof like vans, 80's Honda's ,jetta's anything boxy with very little bracing under the roof skin ,and a good reciprocating saw for easy fast removal

 

I almost forgot about used appliances. Old fridges, washers, dryers, ovens, etc can easily be had for very cheap or even free from craigslist, recycler.com, and other sites. I can't believe I forgot about that since I have panels from 2 washers, an oven, and an old oil furnace in my stockpile of sheet metal.

 

just open that book that no one uses any more, I think it is called the Yellow pages, and look up medal or steel suppliers and you will find that they will have what you want. may be they will give it to you if you get it out of the scrap pile.
the more you use the same suppler the better deals you'll get.

 

I have a place that supplies me with what i need for cheap but its "secret"

 

Do what he said, go to a supplier. When I bought a 4'x8' piece of 20 gauge a couple months ago I think it only cost $55. not really worth it to buy a hood or roof, since you'll need to clean it up and straighten it out before you can use it.

 

got some steel ordered two sheets of 4 inches by 6 feet. They said it would cost me around 25 bucks... im happy with that

teaser pic... :P