How much steel do you keep in stock?

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Just curious as to what the norm is among you welders or hobbyist.   Do you buy as you go? or do you keep some metal in your residence or location like the all common stuff like square tube, angle etc.
Reply:what I need for my next proj, and then let over rems.IF it Catches...Let it Burn
Reply:If you have a local metal yard, it's probably best to let them store it.  The only steel I keep on hand is stuff I find and scraps or over-purchases from the last project.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:at the shop where i work..i can get most anything for whatever i need in house....vast stock rack dating back to the late '50'sbut if its not there its only a phone call away...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:If you have room it is nice to have on hand. Also, the more you buy at one time the cheaper it gets, up to a point.
Reply:Depending on what you do, some stock could be like sugar and flour in a kitchen.  I try keep some 3/8" and 1/2" round and/or square.  I use it for hinges, axle, brackets and some forging.  I keep 1/8x1-1/2 for brackets/tabs.  3/16x3" for  mounting plates.  These are my staples,  They are pretty versitile. I usually have at least 20'-40' of each item.In general I usually have much more new metal since I do lots of railing. I usually purchase surplus 1/2" sq and 1" sq.  I usually take 600-1000 lbs of drop to the recycler about 4 times per year.
Reply:store as much as you can afford to buy and store dry. the more you buy the cheaper it is (usually)  Fire doesn't burn a good Christian !
Reply:Since I am only hobby and miscellaneous ag repair for a few friends, it doesn't make since to keep a lot since you really never know just what it is you will need for sure. That said, I hoard as much as I think I'll need to at least get started on a project, which is quite a bit. I'm a box tubing nut. I have ten footers of everything from three inch qtr wall down to 1 inch .050 wall. They way I do it is add one ten foot stick to almost every project. It adds up after awhile. I also have a bit of the common angles like 1 1/2 and 2 inch. A little flat strap and shorties of small bar stock. Don't keep much pipe or tube. Don't know why for sure.
Reply:Thats what I did with my welding table and Cart.  I knew more or less how much I'd need and buy 20 extra feet.   I just hate starting something only to have to go buy my materials.  I guess since right now I'm in an excited pattern and I'm anxious to build anything since I'm new to welding.  So I'll think of project and want to start right away only to have no metal LOL.    I have a crap load of room here at home and it doesnt hurt have multiple 10 foot sections of different size square tube and round tube.   Next pay check I'll probably go buy some 50 feet of 1" square tube and another 50 feet of 2" square tube.  That should hold me for a while.   I'll use the 1" square to do my Mig cart and I'll have a lot left over and the square tube is for a gate I plan to work on soon.
Reply:I find for many folks, typically most hobby folks, round stock like pipe isnt as user friendly.  Its tougher to make the fishmouths than is to just cut 45's and 90's from square.  From a structural standing, I do believe square is stronger, but this always creates a debate, but I do believe its atleast as strong as pipe, and much easier to work with.IF it Catches...Let it Burn
Reply:Originally Posted by TxRedneckI find for many folks, typically most hobby folks, round stock like pipe isnt as user friendly.  Its tougher to make the fishmouths than is to just cut 45's and 90's from square.  From a structural standing, I do believe square is stronger, but this always creates a debate, but I do believe its atleast as strong as pipe, and much easier to work with.
Reply:I just hate starting something only to have to go buy my materials.
Reply:I find for many folks, typically most hobby folks, round stock like pipe isnt as user friendly.
Reply:Ive found while there are methods to use fo drilling pipe,  a piece of angle set like a v welded to a plate is perfect, folks have trouble making sure its all lined up right.  Inevitably, the square tube is just much simplier.  Combined with that, you cant stack the pipe easily like tube to duplicate.  For instance if you want to make two frames..and they gotta be the same.  You build the first, then you can build another ontop of it.  Course if youre like me you dont botehr.  But this is a big helpful thing, and in production you will often make a jig which can often consist of this with adding a couple pieces to help lock things in place so to speak.  Pipe..heck no...only tube will allow for this. Another reason, welding.  Pipe youve got this round constantly changing poisiton.  Wtih square the welding is much simplier.  Another point would be tube's sizing vs pipe.  Pipe is done by schedule.  Most hobby folks especialy would have a hard time understanding the schedule idea.  Doable but more of a challenge.  Pipe though is real simple.   Schedule up to a certain point, maybe 12in I dont remember, is an inside diameter.  Therefore 2 inch sch. 40 is 2 3/8 in outside dia.  This means a 3/16in wall thickness.  Tube is outside dia.  Therefore 2in tube could be 1/8in wall, 3/16in wall, 1/4in wall.   This makes for many much easier.  You can take 2.5in tube withh a .25in wall and fit a 2in tube into it.  The 2.5 minus the (.25 X 2=.5) = 2in.  Life is but a dream. IF it Catches...Let it Burn
Reply:Had a nice response just aobut finished and then poof.    Don't you just hate that!In any event the shortened answer is very little do I stock.  That would be for home or work.   Of course little is realtive and many people might consider my cellar cluttered.    As for work there is another shop that does the majority of the fab type work.   We do hoever stock a few things that are required or handly to have.Generally though to much stuff laying around either professionally or the hobby endeavors is just a reciepe for  problems.   It is a storage question in my mind.   If you can store the supplies well then there is little negativity to having a stock.   If you can't your have to focus on what youo may need for quick and dirty repairs.    Projects are just that and a part of any project is getting supplies.So the answer is less than none and we don't go to the supplier just to buy stock.    Atleast for the most part.It is sort of like home remodeling.   You don't generally buy more than you need to do a project.   On the other hand it never hurts to have a few 2x4's laying around.    Now I suppose that in metal ones guys 2x4 won't be the same as another.   Some like round some like square.    The really big issue with stock is that you never have the right size available anyways, or atleast that seems to be the case.    So while not throwing stuff out can lead to having stock, often that stock is of limied usefullness.    \Dave
Reply:Raised on the farm and always had the iron pile. It is mostly salvage from old machinery, etc. I purchased a old farmstead which had a lot of iron piled around then inherited my dads iron pile. It has all kinds of fun stuff but I have to store it outside.  I have a small amount of new stock and it is stored in the shop.
Reply:You should build a carport ...then later you can inclose it and build anotherIF it Catches...Let it Burn
Reply:I try to keep some misc. 1" and 1-1/2" tube around for truck works. I have leftovers in many sizes, and my production based product has about 300ft. of 1-1/4" tube(RND) in my garage. It's kind of like walking on a floor covered in banana peels sometimes... My friends are always coming by for a fix on this and that, so I need to keep some sheet& tube in stock. I like square, but it makes for weird looking rollcages on offroad trucks. But it does make great stands, frames, etc.
Reply:I would agree ugly roll cage IF it Catches...Let it Burn