just wanted to see what other parts are paying for steel. the last time i called, a 4x8 sheet of 18gauge steel was 76.00. just wanted to see if thats the average, or if its gone down some. trey
Yesterday I bought 2 sheets of 16 ga (4x8) and 1 sheet of 18 ga 4x10 for $69 with tax... (only had 60 so that is what they sold it to me for. I have another place that cost more (cost depends on the mood of the guy selling it)
I heard that steel prices are rising because china is buying most of our scrap recycling it then selling it back to us at an inflated price. They are useing thier steel for some big airport or something like that. The guy who told me this was upset because he had contrats with people that would not allow him to raise his price even though he had to pay more for his materials. He said the government could put a cap on the price but probably would not so once the price levels off it will stay there for a while and probably will not decrease. Just be prepared to pay more. I have not checked this out it is only what I have been told.
To clarify Boones post a little...The stuff he bought was at a "salvage" steel place. Thier best grade inside stored stuff (which is excellent)is about $3.20 per pound. The same stuff at the regular steel place is about triple that. A 4x8 sheet of 18ga is going for about 70 bucks right now. PS. If you go to the regular steel store looking for scrap, don't say scrap..say "drops" Somtimes they get outta joint if you call thier stuff scrap. -Abone.
Up here in Canada the price of steel has go through the roof.It is 3x`s what it was a few years back.Seem I heard something about that China story as well.I can`t win.Evertime I get a idea to build something, the price of materials goes up. fitzee
Used to pay $85.00 for a 4 X 10 sheet of 10 gauge cold rolled steel. Now I pay $130.00 for the same sheet and that is now through a direct supplier not a smaller shop like I used to deal with. There is no hope of the price going down in the near future. Just like we are going to have to get used to $2.00/gallon gas.
about a month or so ago i payed 80 for a 48"x56"peice of 16 guage. first time i ever bought steel so i dont know if thats good or not
I bought a 4x8 sheet of 14ga back in fall through the tin shop here at school (got the shop rate) paid $86 or so for it (cold rolled) nice getting it through them though since they will cut and form it for free
bout a month ago.. I bought four 4 x8 sheets of 18 ga. (I needed 2) the price was 100 bucks cash (for all 4) It sounds like I sould have bought 8.. maybe I'll go buy a few more sheets tomorrow..
for all you guys buying steel & metals any time soon...we buy it for work and we're already scrambling to find vendors that aren't getting too out of hand with the pricing... in the next month or so, price of steel is supposed to go up about 65% from the average cost. up again throughout the year. best way to go? find metal suppliers that have scraps, salvage pieces, and irregular sheets, tubing, plates, etc. sometimes you can get good deals on all of these...
My neighbor can get me half sheets from his work for 6 cents a pound. Usually tells them 1/4 of what he really grabbed! I may need to load up if prices jump.
China is building the Three Gorges Dam. http://www.4windstravel.com/shows/china/dam.html When it is finished it will be the largest man made structure in the world. They are actually importing steel rebar from any place that they can get it and paying a high price. Steel producers have the option of making rebar for them or higher grade stuff for industrial consumption. They are pricing the good stuff the way they are because they need to make as much profit as they would on rebar for China. Steel producers are reluctant to increase capacity because they know this is a one time demand situation. The good news is that in a few years capacity will again exceed demand and the price will fall.
last month, maybe in december i bought 3 4'x8' sheets of 18 and paid less than $200 for the three... so 65-75 bux average i would say aint bad . . . but with that chinese dam... sheesh stock up now fellas
This thread makes me somewhat curious, in that no one seems be using anything less than 18 gauge when purchasing new metal, frugal old fellow that I am, I do most of my fabrication with sheetmetal that I salvage off of old 70s barges, particularly the hoods and decklids off of big old Caddy's. The only times that I have employed 18 ga. is in fabricating new braces and brackets, as 20 ga. is so much easier to form and matches the OE thickness. So my question is, do you guys use 18 ga. to make repairs in exteriour panels such as fenders and doors? or just floorpans?
i use 18 for floors, and most exterior patches if i was to do any extensive body kustomizing or patching of a tight radius, i might want to go a little thinner, say 20, but not any thinner than that... i am one of those "never build it too strong" kinda guys, that often OVER builds shit that said, i dont have 15-20 car builds under my belt either. just simple patch work, and repair on dailys untill my '54 project, so this comes from the everyday run-a-the-mill average motorhead. T
I had to pay $160 for 4 x 10 of 16 guage out here in the country. I bought the 16 for floor pans overkill and heavy but then I only have to do it once.
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