Steel supplier in Western suburbs of Chicago?

Your not gonna find a sat. shop. Northern Illinois steel Corp. Channahon Il.

Steel to exotics in stock and a major supplier in Will Co. and surrounding areas. Rt6 to Industrial Drive right by the Empress Casino to be geographically close for reference.

Rob

Fraser Competition Engines Chicago, IL. Long Beach, CA.

Can't help too much on the west side, but I use Kloster Steel, they are closer to down town. Good people there. Not sure if they are open Saturdays though, as we use them for my company during the week. Worth a call if your interested. They are near Randolph and Ogden. Let me know if you want more info.

Jim

Thanks, I will keep them in mind. They are about 25 miles from me.

i

This is PERFECT for me. I called them and the person on the phone was very nice. They open at 6am, which is very helpful. They can order hot rolled steel for me, takes a couple of days. I told them that I am just an amateur with a garage, not some big shot, and he said that he was fine with that.

I need some idea of what is good prices. Say, how much is a sensible price to pay for 1.5" (for a greenhouse) and 3" (for trailer) angle iron or a 4" I beam (for generator frame)?

thanks!!!!

i

Found another one next to the one you mentioned

William J Matthews Inc Steel Supplier Address: 215 N Laflin St, Chicago, IL 60607 Phone: (312) 666-1388

i

Youve found "the zone". The metalmongers in Mnpls are nearly all on 2d Ave N near Broadway, all get about the same price. Price has varied a lot with market lately, some shapes are higher than others. It was about 40c/lb last fall, but I think I paid 80c/lb for square tube a few weeks ago. Check on cutting charges. Some will do one cut per 20' piece free, others will charge $1 for torchcuts in the yard, up to $5 for saw cuts. They often prefer cash to creditcard, will sometimes round down a bit if you have cash in your hand when you go to pay up.

That's all very helpful. Thanks. I am very tempted to make a trailer from new steel and old axles. A few years ago, I basically threw away an old, rusted boat trailer (for a 3000 lbs boat) with perfectly good axles, brakes etc. I am quite regretful of that now, as I would need to find new axles with springs etc.

i

Wow, that's close to me. I just make orders with a chassis builder for a discount we split. I'll have to check them out. Do you want maybe a chance to try some tig work on my gear I have pretty much everything up and running. I'm in the Loop. Maybe check out some of the different torches and such, see what you like before dropping cash into it? Just a thought.

Rob

That's an interesting thought. I work in the loop... Where are you? You can write me at ichudov AT algebra DOT com or ichudov AT yahoo DOT com (to make sure that your email gets here, write to both addresses). If I use your equipment, I would like to compensate you at least for inert gas and electricity and consumables.

Thanks!

i

No biggie, I weld in my apt. now that my shop is in moving mode. Michigan ave at Roosevelt in front of Grant Park. Just find some scraps, I'm short but plenty of gas and filler so don't sweat it. I have an Aerowave and a SD180 along with my plasma cutter and mig. Yea, my kitchen is a bit of a weird place but ya gotta make do with what you have.... For $2300.00 a month in rent I'll weld and the kitchen and like it!

Rob

Thanks Rob... I will try to find some scraps now... I am also low on scraps... I have plenty of aluminum aircraft parts saved up in a big pile, but little steel.

i

Metal Express, in Addison and Loves Park (near Rockford).

C'mon, Rob, it's Iggy you're talking to. He's got more sources than Radar O'Reilley.

I consider these parts to be worthless crap (most of the time). I sell military surplus stuff and sometimes I get pallets with valuable stuff, plus a shitload of worthless junk. Examples: Tiny stainless compressor blades, the size of a matchbox, that originally cost $25 each. Looking like shark teeth. What should I do with them? Aircraft pieces, all aluminum, which I initially wanted to use as holders for chicken feed containers in my chicken coop, but now they are in a pile in the bushes. An aluminum F-16 test set. My son has a piece of that test set that he considers to be a toy TV, because it has a square opening. I have a nice stainless tubular piece from an F-4 aircraft,

4" diameter and 8 inches long, maybe 7 lbs of stainless steel. Etc etc. Military surplus dealing is finding gold nuggets in a big pile of manure. i

they seem to have pretty outrageous prices... unless I am mistaken.

$23.55 per 10 ft of 2x2x1/4" steel angle.

Maybe I misunderstood what I heard on the phone, but I was quoted under $5 per such piece by the second dealer I mentioned.

i

Iggy,

There used to be a place like Metal Express in Addison or a nearby suburb, but they may have gone out of business. Places like that are much better for supplying a few inches of stock for a project and probably prohibitively expensive for the size and quantity of metal that would be needed to build a trailer.

For medium quantities (1, 3, or 6 foot lengths) I buy from McMaster-Carr, which usually ships from Elmhurst, IL. Their prices are probably a little high, but they'll usually deliver within two days and I'm pretty sure that the Will Call desk is open on Saturday mornings. Enco's prices are usually better for mail order, but the selection is much more limited. There are also a couple of scrap yards near me (a bit west of you) that have been good for accumulating various odd stock if you don't mind mystery metal.

If you want more commercial sources for larger stock, email me and I will see who the shop at work (Lemont, IL) buys from.

Mike

Iggy,

There used to be a place like Metal Express in Addison or a nearby suburb, but they may have gone out of business. Places like that are much better for supplying a few inches of stock for a project and probably prohibitively expensive for the size and quantity of metal that would be needed to build a trailer.

For medium quantities (1, 3, or 6 foot lengths) I buy from McMaster-Carr, which usually ships from Elmhurst, IL. Their prices are probably a little high, but they'll usually deliver within two days and I'm pretty sure that the Will Call desk is open on Saturday mornings. Enco's prices are usually better for mail order, but the selection is much more limited. There are also a couple of scrap yards near me (a bit west of you) that have been good for accumulating various odd stock if you don't mind mystery metal.

If you want more commercial sources for larger stock, email me and I will see who the shop at work (Lemont, IL) buys from.

Mike

$5 is what I might pay for a couple of 2x4's at Menards. $25 for 10' is in the ballpark for small quantities. Just the same, it's easy enough to check their prices online.