quoting for steel advice.

[MartZ0r]

Hi fellas

just looking for a spot of advice. im emailing a few places for some quotes on steel. i am building some gym equipment.

would it be cheaper to buy larger lengths of steel and cut it myself or ask for near the size i need per length? either way i will still have to cut it anyway. they will probably have offcuts that will be cheaper at the lengh i need? 2400mm?

 

[Welderpaul]

Get full lengths delivered - usually 6m for flat bar, angle, round bar, and 7.5m for box section, round tube etc.

You will be charged a cutting/handling fee for cutting. A lot of stockholders dont bother keeping offcuts of small stuff. A fabricator might be able to help you out with what you need.

 

[Hitch]

Id be asking for a quote along the lines of....

'....quote for steel to cover the following
1 @ 2400
2 @ 1500
5 @ 1000'

Do you have the facility to transport full lengths? Full length being probably 6.0m for light stuff, 7.6 for the heavier material. If you dont, ask them to cut it for you.

 

[MartZ0r]

Id be asking for a quote along the lines of....

'....quote for steel to cover the following
1 @ 2400
2 @ 1500
5 @ 1000'

Do you have the facility to transport full lengths? Full length being probably 6.0m for light stuff, 7.6 for the heavier material. If you dont, ask them to cut it for you.

i dont they offer delivery, so i was counting on that.

Thanks fellas.

 

[Hitch]

Just get full lengths then, or as Paul suggested, find a local fabrication firm, i doubt you'll be buying masses of stee.

You could be paying £5 a cut from a big stockholder, a fair bit toward the price of a length.

 

[Welderpaul]

I get stuff over 800mm cut (Cos it doesnt go in our saw), or if theres lots of mitre cuts as its cheaper than us doing it. We're charged a couple of quid a cut - all depends on how big the section is, if it needs to be turned for mitres and if it can be 'stack cut@ i.e lengths bundled together in the saw and cut in one go. For small stuff, the cutting charges would be more than the steel is worth.

 

[chunkolini]

Another thought.
Work out what lengths you need in which sizes.
Check what lengths your supplier stocks.
Then see what is the most efficient way of cutting them yourself.
Sounds a hassle but can avoid having loads of stupid short lengths of leftovers.
If you use lots of material this matters less as offcuts can always be useful.
If I am doing a job for a customer I dont bother working out the most efficient way of cutting it, I price the materials as it works out easiest.
I may do the maths later though.
A spare 6m length of box section is a nice surprise.

Chunko'.

 

[Hitch]

Nearly always cut all the longest bits first.

 

[chunkolini]

Nearly always.
But not always.
Probably usually.
Does tend to work though.

Then again, I made a load of shelves last week, long and short.
If I had cut all the short (like 200mm) ones first I would have had a whole length of wood spare. Ok they were really short.
Chunko'.

 

[Welderpaul]

Cut the long bits first - the shorter bits come out of the offcuts. Plus if you cut a long length wrong, it can become a couple of shorter bits.

 

[MartZ0r]

i got a quote back today, to my shock it was miles cheaper than a;ll the rest i had because i asked for a full length like you guys suggested.

£25 for 7.6M of 50 x 50 x 3 and £29 for 60 x 60 x 3.

fairly cheap i think. iv been quoted more by other local places.