Best place to get material?

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I am new to welding and am only doing my own personal projects.  It seems that the price of materials (steel in this case) is a bit scattered.  I have only gotten a few prices but they range from 80 cents to 1.20 per pound for A36 steel sections and plate.  Does that sound reasonable to those of you with experience and are there any tricks to getting good pricing as an individual.  It just kills me to see completed pieces of equipment for sale for less than what the materials would cost me. I am in the Central Florida area. Thanks in advance,Rene
Reply:Hey Rene,Here are a few suggestions I like to pass on the youngsters & newbies to help them get started and some material to practice on. Go to your Yellow Pages, look up "Welding", "Fabrication", Manufacturing", "Metal Fabrication", "Machine Shop", "Awnings", and any other manufacturer of metal products. All these places have scrap. Your best results will be to go there in person. Just simply explain that you are in a tech school, college class, or adult education class, and would like too have some scrap to enhance your learning skills and homework assignments. Most will give you some material and some may charge you a few bucks. It will be a lot more reasonable than most scrap yards. AND!!! Be most gracious to THANK THEM!!! They usually will let you come back for more on occasion....  Good Luck....DennyComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:You're absolutely right...if anyone came in with that story at our place...they could leave with 100 lbs of mild steel...no problem. The f**** ups alone in the scrap bin could keep a hobbyist going for weeksI think the number used for estimation is that 30 % of all sheet ends up in the scrap . I pitch all channels, flat bars and angles under a foot in length.
Reply:I've also had some luck recently asking muffler shops, because I'm specifically after tubing. But for other stuff, most steel fab places will be happy to give stuff away or charge you scrap prices (a dollar gets you as much as you can carry  If that's hard, start teaching a female friend to weld... often a woman can get the scrap free *and* the guys in the yard will help load it for her...
Reply:I just had this same conversation with my main supplier and yes that's about right.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:I really appreciate the tips.  I'll give that a try soon.  I've been reading on this site for a couple of weeks so far and haven't really contributed anything yet and so I really appreciate the time that you guys spend helping the uninitiated.  When I do something worthy of a photo, I'll post it up for a critique.Thanks again,Rene
Reply:Originally Posted by MozI've also had some luck recently asking muffler shops, because I'm specifically after tubing. But for other stuff, most steel fab places will be happy to give stuff away or charge you scrap prices (a dollar gets you as much as you can carry  If that's hard, start teaching a female friend to weld... often a woman can get the scrap free *and* the guys in the yard will help load it for her...