this might sound really dumb but to me i have never ordered a big sheet of metal before. i have a metal catalog but have no idea what to ask for when going to the metal supplier i was under the impression that you have to order it is pounds? I need some sheetmetal for making patches for my 1964 cutal***. any help would be appreciated. thanks
if you just need patch material, go to your local metal supply house and get some s****s or have them cut you some peices from a sheet. If you have to order you will probably have to buy a 4'x8' sheet! shipping not cheap! good luck, I'm about to do the same for my 62 caddy bryan
YES. shipping is expensive. find a local sheetmetal supplier in the phone book. if you cant find one look up a sheetmetal shop or a/c duct fabrication shop. you are probably looking for 16-22 gauge depending on what you are patching. get cold rolled. or you could do as suggested above, or hit the junkyard and get a hood
Ok, I work for a steel company here in Buffalo, NY. There are a few things you need to be aware of. 1. You have to order by gauge. Your Cutl*** is probably 19 gauge most pre seventies cars were. You can use 18 or 20. 2.Only order a full sheet. You will be charged for shearing and if you don't order a full sheet they will also gross weight you and charge you for a full sheet even though you are getting less. 3.Ask if they have any drops available. This will cancel out any other charges (shearing or grossing) 4. This is what I would do. Look in your local phone book for sheet metal fabrication shops (Not heating and Ac. They use galvanized you need cold rolled) Ask them if they have any drops for sale. This will be your cheapest route.
the stuff that "drops" on the floor after they cut of the piece they want i go to two different metal supply business's and all i buy from them is drops
I just got a sheet of 16 gauge, 4x10 and it cost 70.00 including tax. This was at a local metal house.
My understanding is that the galvanized is near impossible to get paint to adhere to, and it has a sort of oily film as well. Is this correct?
For patch work including floors, I use 18 ga cold rolled. Never galvanized or stain coat. Some of the metal yards have minimum orders of say $250, so you need to find one that'll sell you a single sheet. Drops are great if you can find them. I find some of the best deals are at steel crop outfits... including full sheets. I just paid $110 cdn for a 4 x 10 sheet. Yikes it's getting expensive!! Has anyone ever had luck finding DQ.... draw quality steel? It's apparently much more workable that regular 18 ga cold.... but I've never found it so I wouldn't know.
drops, s****s, remnants..............i've only bought 2 sheets before at a local metal supply place and the first cut was free so i had them cut it in half to get it in my car. the rest of the time (which is alot) i get the remnants, super cheap and easy to manage. here's a the place i go: http://www.imsmetals.com
just off the web: Praxair Inc 96 Glen Carran Circle, Reno, NV 89501 (775) 355-5882 Reno Salvage CO Po Box 2207, Reno, NV 89505 (775) 323-7109 Reno Iron Works Po Box 30500, Reno, NV 89520 (775) 329-3555 (775) 329-3555(Fax) A & B Precision Metals 1300 Selmi Drive, Reno, NV 89512 (775) 323-2546 Twisted Metal Works 65 North Edison Way Suite 7, Reno, NV 89502 (775) 858-8999 Diversified Metals 35 North Edison Way Suite 19, Reno, NV 89502 (775) 857-1576 if nothing else you could ask them were a metal supply place is at.
Try your local NAPA store. Mine sells partial sheets of a couple of gauges,16 and 18 I think. Anyway,it's close, there's no shipping and you can get a AAA discount if you ask.
we sell the 18 ga. ak steel sheet 4 x 10 sheet is 70.00 plus tax I can get it to sac. this weekend if it helps? borrmannsteel.com
The steel you are looking for is typically called AK, for aluminum killed. It's relatively hard to find at any local supplier, but you can buy it from Ron Covell. It is remarkably easy to form if you are doing any complex shaping. Unfortunately I don't have Rons # handy, but you should be able to Google it.
I don't think that Ron sells AK anymore and from what I've heard on another site, most CR that you can find now is actually AK steel. This has been an ongoing topic of discussion for a while on MetalMeet.com.
Hey, For your cutl*** project, Ak steel wouldn't be really necessary. Ak is at its' best use when used for hammer forming and press work. Even the flanges of the wheel houses on your Cutl*** could be formed of cold rolled steel, probably because a good portion of steel sold today contains AK qualities. Hell, even the local True Value Hardware store is sellin small pieces, not cheaply, but they are sellin it. S****ey Devils C.C.
would it end up being cheaper buying a whole sheet I have a few projects to do on the olds or just buying drops as i need em?
Fastenal its a supply house like grainger or mcmaster car 16,18,20 gauge i think ipayed $30 for a 4x4 sheet tom
I don't know about paint, but I was trying to learn to gas weld using something galvanized and everytime it got hot a ashy film of white debris would form all over the piece. Also, my welds were even ****tier than what I normally manage and were gold...
Reading all the posts in this thread makes me wonder if all of y'all are rich guys with all the tools needed to crown flat sheets. To make patch panels for a car, use sheetmetal off of another car! Its CHEAP, its the right type of metal, its the right gauge, its not galvanized, its easy to get, no shipping costs and above all, it already has a crown. Get a hood, a trunk, a door, or cut a roof off. Look for a panel with curves similar to what you need.
Rich? Far from it. Just determined. If you haven't noticed most of this board is about doing what you can with what you have. You do it your way and I do it mine. I don't have an English wheel but, I do have a Polish knee. Crowns are made with a hammer and a bag then smoothed with a s****. Not real expensive tools.
Yer welds are now contaminated w/ inclusions. The fumes are HORRIBLY toxic too. When it comes to welding mild steel, make sure it's black iron.
If you go get a full sheet or even large drops, make sure ya bring the gloves! Should be an obvious one...but just in case. That **** be sharp and the weight of a full sheet will cut thru yer flesh like ****er if yer grip slips. Olson
You can use used sheet metal, just keep in mind that anything late model is going to be what they call galvaneal (sp) (zink imbedded into both sides) Plus it may be HSLA, (high strength, low alloy), and thin. In other words, not worth ****ing with. Anything older is going to need to be stripped, and will probably have rust to remove. New sheet metal is cheap, buy some!
I agree 100%. Usually, the **** I want to "patch up" I don't want to spend much money on, so I cut up hoods and roofs and ****. Of course, it's easy for me because I have a big supply of cars on their way to the s****per. For instance, I'm fixin' up a '73 Mercedes 220 Diesel for a daily driver right now. Floors were shot, the rear floors are now a cut up NOS '77 LTD door skin, the p***enger front pan is a '73 Mach 1 trunklid (still says Mach 1 on it) and the driver's side is being traced out on a '57 Chevy trunklid, all of which were junk (I realize the M-B ain't HAMB ****, just making a point) If I have something nice, I buy new repop panels for it (I realize that doesn't help with the '64 Cutl*** where no panels are availible, I personally would use a pair of junk '64 front fenders to get the wheel arch and fill the rest with flat sheetmetal from a junk hood)
Your best bet would be to check the Union HVAC Shops in your area. Union sheet metal workers are trained in all aspects of sheet metal work and most union shops utilize that training by doing everything from HVAC to Food grade Stainless fabrication. Along with galv. steel, the shop I work for also stocks copper, aluminum, stainless, paint-grip, color clad, lead, and rarely used stuff like Monel and 254 SMO. We also keep a good selection of round and square tubing, Angle, and Channel, all in both stainless and carbon steel. We sell metal to walk-in customers almost daily. Full sheets, or drop, we sell it by the square foot. Dirt track guys buy color-clad and paint-grip from us all the time for their body panels. Even the Amish come in regularly and buy drop and s****s from us. And we advertise as a Heating and AC shop...
The Jalopy Journal
