[Neosec]

Yet another newbie,
I just ordered a G0704 to make some parts for a project I'm working on and ideas I've had kicking around in my head for years. I've never used a milling machine before, but 100 years ago I ran a lathe in high school shop class. I'm expecting to work mostly with aluminum; kind of settled on 6061-T6 after a tiny bit of research. I'd like to go and buy a small quantity of stock to have in the shop and was wondering what the most common dimensions and shapes are to have on hand. I know this is kind of like asking how far is up, but nearly every US shop and garage has some 1/4"-20 bolts laying around; a very common size. I suspect there are some staples for metal stock also.

My metal supplier is about 40 miles away which drives up the cost if I have to run there very often. If your metal supplier was 40 miles away and you weren't sure what you may be needing for the coming month, what would you stock to cover 50%-70% of your likely metal (mostly aluminum) need. Especially for a newbie.

Budget? Lets say, up to $400, but closer to $200 would be better.

What say you? Thanks.

[lcvette]

Most materials supply houses sell aluminum in 12' pieces for flat stock and if you want something like 1/2" x 6" x 12' your budget won't make it past a few bars of anything with decent size.

Call and get some pricing. Some places will cut and up charge if you need some variety but most won't, they only sell full length bars. Some have scrap yards with cut mistakes and I always cruise through there before going inside just in case they have some good stuff but most of the time it's steel beams and square and rectangular tubes.

As for desire on hand stock, I find I don't use much of anything under 1/2" thickness and if I need a thick piece for a special project I scour eBay for the size piece I need, some good deals can be had there.. But not cost effective for general stocking due to shipping.

I would buy a wide 1/2" flat 6" wide, can always cut off short sections of what you need. Then get some narrower thicker sticks, 1" and 1.5". Get them as wide as your budget allows or else you'll find you need a piece just a bit wider then you have on hand. That should cover most of what you run across needing for general machining and probably out you at your $400 limit.


If there are any machine shops near by that do large scale production, you may try and see if they have remnants available they will sell you. For odds and ends projects that is a better way to go as you get a wider variety of material sizes. Most of the time they don't bother with tails of long bars like smaller shops do so you may get some 3"-8" pieces of varying thicknesses and widths. That they would normally sell off as scrap or they would likely pile up in their shop. Smaller shops hoard those pieces for odd projects but the big guys running rows of VMCs generally are focused on full blown production and trying to save a few cents here and there on scraps isn't a priority. They "may" have a size limit for scrapping. I like to go in person they are generally friendly and I've received a few shop/places tours, others don't want to be bothered and will just say no..lol. Catch them on a Friday near the afternoon.

I'm sure others will chime in with their experience. Do you have an idea of the thing you will want to make? That ultimately will drive your stocking needs.

Chris

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[109jb]

I tend to keep 4" and 6" stock on hand. More 4" though because that is the size of my vise. I tend not to kee wider than 6" because my little bandsaw can't cut wider than that. I did score some 3/4" x 8" cutoffs on ebay though and have some of that on hand. I really only bought that because it was cheap. I have also bought from e-bay and also Amazon and speedy metals. The 4" usually fits 90% of my needs, but your needs may differ.

[Neosec]

I tend to keep 4" and 6" stock on hand. More 4" though because that is the size of my vise. I tend not to kee wider than 6" because my little bandsaw can't cut wider than that. I did score some 3/4" x 8" cutoffs on ebay though and have some of that on hand. I really only bought that because it was cheap. I have also bought from e-bay and also Amazon and speedy metals. The 4" usually fits 90% of my needs, but your needs may differ.

I too bought a 4" vice, so it makes sense to get some 4" I suppose. Starting to think that some 4" from the local supplier and shorter chunks of bigger stuff from eBay would be a good choice.

...Do you have an idea of the thing you will want to make? That ultimately will drive your stocking needs.

Chris

The project I'm working on is a sort of pick-and-place machine. The frame is built from 8020 series 40 lite (I was supprised how heavy their "lite" version is) and is about 30" X 48". I've got 12mm linear rails and 270 oz/in NEMA 23 steppers driving timing belts since high accuracy isn't critical. I'll be making brackets, bearing mounts, guide bars, etc. I've got the general idea in my head and some sketches on napkins, but figured the details would become obvious as I continue to build it. One part I need to make is the mounts for the tail end pulleys. The pulleys are 1/4" bore and I've got 1/4" X 5/8" bearings for them. Since the 8020 is 40mm I'll probably be using a bit of 1-1/2" (40mm = 1.575").
Just having this discussion is already starting to give me an idea of what I might need.

Thanks for the comments.

[Hypnotoad]

There's a metal supply place in my area that has a lot of aluminum cutoffs for $2/lb. Very economical for projects.

[devo9er]

^me too. My local place has tons of remnants or 'drops' as they call them, all pretty well organized too. I always pick through there first. Its about half the cost of their off the shelf 3, 6, and 12' precut extrusions they have available as stock. Many times I have redesigned builds or certain parts so I can buy from their scrap. Or I will see some stuff thats a great deal and just grab it for future if I know it will come in handy.

[Neosec]

Off topic but thought I'd post this anyway.
I've been reading about milling machines, tooling, cutters, rotary tables, etc. for 12-14 hours per day for several days now. Trying to educate myself before my new mill shows up.
One of the cuts I'm trying to figure out how to make is a slot for an internal spring clip to retain a bearing. A slot cutter and a rotary table would probably be the best choice for a mill, but now I find myself shopping for a lathe before the mill even arrives. Think I've been bitten by some machining bug. LOL.

[hoss2006]

I keep a lot of flats on hand for different projects, typically 3/8, 1/2 and 3/4 inch thick in widths from 2 - 6 inches and lengths up to 3 feet.
This is a great place for 6061 cutoffs.
Micro 100 Carbide End Mill, Carbide Inserts items in Stoners Tools and Raw Materials store on eBay!
Hoss

[hoss2006]

Off topic but thought I'd post this anyway.
I've been reading about milling machines, tooling, cutters, rotary tables, etc. for 12-14 hours per day for several days now. Trying to educate myself before my new mill shows up.
One of the cuts I'm trying to figure out how to make is a slot for an internal spring clip to retain a bearing. A slot cutter and a rotary table would probably be the best choice for a mill, but now I find myself shopping for a lathe before the mill even arrives. Think I've been bitten by some machining bug. LOL.

Yeah in my opinion you are really holding yourself back if you don't have a lathe, rigging the mill to use as a lathe is an option but it's so much more convenient to have a real lathe.
Hoss

[Neosec]

I keep a lot of flats on hand for different projects, typically 3/8, 1/2 and 3/4 inch thick in widths from 2 - 6 inches and lengths up to 3 feet.
This is a great place for 6061 cutoffs.
Micro 100 Carbide End Mill, Carbide Inserts items in Stoners Tools and Raw Materials store on eBay!
Hoss

Thanks for the link Hoss. There are certainly some bits there that I could use. I also called the local metal place today to see about picking up some cheap drops... They wouldn't even talk to me about it. I can get any cut I want at full price but they won't sell their drops, period. A local machine shop I called had just taken all his scrap to a local recycler, he does that once a year. The recycler will sell me pieces however. I'll see what that produces.

[Fastest1]

I was going to mention a recycler. I used to live just a few blocks from one in Houston. I would stop by after dropping the kids off at school. First of all they wont spend the time to tell you what they have. If you are interested, ask if you can walk their yard (go in person, not over the phone. Insurance probably doesnt like it) You will find a variety of metals, tools, wire, stainless commercial kitchen products. Way too many times did I come home with something other than metal scraps.

Again what Hoss mentioned. Stoner has great prices and will have it at your door in a few days max. Check Ebay for the exact metal and size you are looking for.

[CL_MotoTech]

SpeedyMetals.com is pretty good. I buy a fair amount of material from them. They are way cheaper than my local supplier for aluminum, and if you join their mailing list you can get 10% off on a lot of your orders. And if you are real savvy, 20% off coupons are available and that basically negates the price of shipping in most cases. I will say that their cold rolled is of a fairly low exterior finish (i'm not sure who their supplier is) so you have plan on cleaning it up. The nice thing is that I can do my shopping online in my spare time at work and then two or three days later the metal is on my doorstep. I don't have to worry about getting in my car, making multiple phone calls with the purchasing department, making sure I have a pickup truck get the materials, try to get to the supplier when it's open, etc.. There are tradeoffs, I generally don't buy long materials as they cost too much to ship, and shipping can add up if you aren't careful about it. But the convenience is worth it for me, and since I am not attempting to buy three tons of aluminum I doubt I'm paying all the much more anyways. I can occasionally get drops at my local place, but it's all large material. It's cheap though, so hacking it up later isn't much of an issue.

[ChrisAttebery]

I work around the corner from Aluminum REM Center so I don't keep too much on hand. I'd recommend looking at what you plan to make and then buy. I have some new metal in my garage that's ~20 years old because I bought some rems that just aren't things I use. Generally, get 2" - 4" widths in .25" - .75" thickness and you'll be alright.

One thing I'd highly recommend is to buy a bunch of 1"x2" bar to use as soft jaws.

[Chophead69]

I buy my metals based on the jobs I do. If it's customer related then I order what's needed plus a little extra just in case lol. I worked in a few machine shops and I always had a good relationship with the person I would work for and most would let you gave drops or even parts that were scrapped. So I have a nice assortment of stainless, aluminum and some titanium. Lately I by have been doing a bit of crs so I been buying that in 12 ft pieces because it's cheaper and the extras are there for future needs. I go to a place near me called Fazzios in pottsville pa. They have almost everything but I found some times I am better off buying on ebay. There are a few sellers I deal with and say they have a 3ft piece of stainless or cry and the shipping is high because of the length. If you ask that it be cut into smaller parts so it fits in a flat rate box they will and for no extra charge. I had a job where I needed parts 9in long but only needed 3 piece, well the seller cut them plus .125 extra and the shipping was over half the cost. Now I just email him and tell what I need and he sends a PayPal invoice. Much nicer way of doing business. Scrap yards are ok for marked aluminum but when you have jobs that requires a certain type of stock that requires a good relationship with a supplier since being a hobbiest or small business we can't afford large purchases. I always have some angle aluminum, sheets of stainless and aluminum plus steel, round stock of stainless aluminum and crs, always 1x2 aluminum for soft jaws and some 1x6 for tall softjaws. Myself I found speedymetals to rich for my blood. And that stoner dude on ebay is great source for stock and he mails out fast as well

[Neosec]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm getting a pretty good idea how to go about getting the metal I'll need. My mill is supposed to arrive today; looking forward to making first chips soon.

[CL_MotoTech]

I buy my metals based on the jobs I do. If it's customer related then I order what's needed plus a little extra just in case lol. I worked in a few machine shops and I always had a good relationship with the person I would work for and most would let you gave drops or even parts that were scrapped. So I have a nice assortment of stainless, aluminum and some titanium. Lately I by have been doing a bit of crs so I been buying that in 12 ft pieces because it's cheaper and the extras are there for future needs. I go to a place near me called Fazzios in pottsville pa. They have almost everything but I found some times I am better off buying on ebay. There are a few sellers I deal with and say they have a 3ft piece of stainless or cry and the shipping is high because of the length. If you ask that it be cut into smaller parts so it fits in a flat rate box they will and for no extra charge. I had a job where I needed parts 9in long but only needed 3 piece, well the seller cut them plus .125 extra and the shipping was over half the cost. Now I just email him and tell what I need and he sends a PayPal invoice. Much nicer way of doing business. Scrap yards are ok for marked aluminum but when you have jobs that requires a certain type of stock that requires a good relationship with a supplier since being a hobbiest or small business we can't afford large purchases. I always have some angle aluminum, sheets of stainless and aluminum plus steel, round stock of stainless aluminum and crs, always 1x2 aluminum for soft jaws and some 1x6 for tall softjaws. Myself I found speedymetals to rich for my blood. And that stoner dude on ebay is great source for stock and he mails out fast as well

Definitely do not use Speedy Metals or Online Metals unless you have a coupon code, and even then you need to be very mindful of shipping. I generally buy in 4ft lengths. This gives you the best price per inch and reduces shipping as much as possible.