Metal Prices

[aaytay]

Does anybody here know what's been happening with the price of steel and other metals (copper, etc) since our recent economic downturn/tailspin?

I would guess prices have gone down, but I really haven't been watching it much.

(Maybe there IS a silver lining to this dark cloud!)

 

[kmcconaughey]

What ya gonna build????

 

[klejeune]

I know the scrap prices have gone down quite a bit. The Chinese have slowed down on taking our metals.

 

[kide]

My son in law buys good "scrap" for his welding business. He sez scrap steel is around $30.00 a ton now..

 

[aaytay]

Kendell-
Do you know what it was priced at a year ago?

Kraig-
You'll have to wait and see....

 

[stanner]

I hope the price drops.... Last year it was cheaper to buy an engine hoist from Harbor Freight just to get the steel for a car rotisserie is am building...

 

[aschumacher]

Be nice if we could get good American steel again (at a reasonable price). I had a piece of 5/8 round stock from HD recently that I drilled 2 holes thru. Hit 2 hard spots on one end and one on the other, good thing I wasn't using a Chinese bit!

 

[aschumacher]

Scott...A car rotisserie!?? How long you gotta roast them before the tires are tender enough to chew!

 

[aaytay]

Scott-
About a year ago I had plans to build a tractor-rotisserie until I found out how much the steel was going to cost!

 

[kide]

Art:
At one point recently, it was $300.00 a ton...

 

[aaytay]

 

[junderwood]

Art,

Harbor Freight has there 4 wheel engine stands on sale for $50 right now. Those would be a real good start for cooking a cub on. Just make different mounting plates for the different tractors that bolt to the stand. Then hook the two stands together in the middle.

 

[dfrisk]

ART - Do a Google on "American Metal Market". That's the Wall Street Journal of the metals industry. Like Kendell said scrap was $200-$300/ton about 3-4 months ago and it's dropped to about $30/ton now.
The price You pay for metal now at a service center is pretty much determined by When THEY bought it now.

Also, I bet I know where there's a rotisserie for 1961 to 1964 Cub Cadets sitting probably unused right now.

 

[jsdavis]

I work for a HVAC company and about 4 months ago I was gittin over 3$ a pound for clean copper and just under 3 for insulated wire!Now 60 cents a pound for clean copper!!

 

[kide]

Does this mean that I can lay off the security guard watching the aluminum siding on my house??

 

[kide]

John:
Watch and check carefully any tool from HF that is fabricated from separate components and then welded together (like an engine stand or wheel stands or a cherry picker). I've seen some examples of verrrrry shaky welds. One guy claims to have found weld joints tacked and then filled with bondo and painted. I am not condemning Chinese mfrs on this - this stuff is being made to a buyers specs and if they gave a d@#m, all they'd have to do is put inspectors in the factories...woops this isn't My Rant - sorry

 

[jsdavis]

Kendell
You are not kidding!!!Replacing Units(air conditioners) was VERY common this summer.A KMart had close to 300grand in replacement costs this summer,stinkin thieves cut every coil out of all the units in one night.Churches,new homes,and even homes for sale were pillaged.On the siding,moible homes were stripped!

Looks like the new recycling/salvage laws came a bit to late!!Stuff aint worth a thing anymore.

On the price of steel,my neighbor went down to a supplier and picked up a stick 1 1/2 wide 3/8 thick and 10 feet long and paid 40+ dollars(cant rember exactly)for it.

 

[aaytay]

Thanks for all of the thoughts guys. Looks like now is a better time to buy steel than this past summer.

I wasn't planning on building a rotisserie, but a loader from scratch. I did some online snooping today, and by the time I by the pump and the cylinders, it will be close to what it costs to just buy a used Johnson or Kwik-Way.

Denny-
Since we're on the subject, tell me more about the Original rotisserie..

 

[dfrisk]

ART - With all the "CCO's" Dan restored (beautifully I might add) He built a rotisserie. Last time Bryan & I were up there, must be like 6-7 yrs ago now He was putting the finishing touches on one. I remember He proudly showed Us both the paint sag in the battery compartment stating "Just like They did at Louisville!" Then We all went in and raced slotcars for an hour.
Unless Dan modified that piece to work on His BOSS 302 I bet He still has it. Last chance I had to talk with Dan was at the Red Power Roundup in Penfield in '03. All Us Cheeseheads should plan a visit some weekend. Just hang out in the shop for an hour and chat with Him.

Unless You really need another project buying a used loader should be a lot cheaper than building one. Like My big hyd. dump trailer I got last summer. By the time I would have bought the wheels, tires, spindles & hubs, and the cylinder & hoses I'd have had as much $$$ in it as what I paid for it. I had to buy two six-foot hoses and the complete couplers for the front remotes on the 982 but I only had to tow it home 4-5 miles behind My pickup. I should have used one of the FARMALL's but I was in a hurry.

JASON - Worst I ever got stuck was for a foot long "drop" of 2" x 2" cold-rolled 1018 square bar I needed for a project, eleven pounds for $22.00, no cutting charge, just $2/pound. Best I ever did was buying over 500# of assorted thickness's of sheet & plate, some assorted angle iron, some full 4'x8' sheets, some flame-cut sheets and a couple "Drops" for about $135. That was for My home-made lawn vac about 10-12 yrs ago.
Real good Buddy was warehouse mgr. for a tubular steel service center back when I still lived in East Moline, IL. I could "BUY Steel" from their scrap bins for some of My projects. I remember from 25 yrs ago when I designed up the current fenders on the #72 I used 1" x 1" x 11ga welded steel tubing for the framework and 11 ga sheet for the fenders, There's about 25# of steel per fender, like another set of rear wheel weights on the tractor. The tubing I bought from a junkyard in Rock Island and the sheet "Followed Me home from work from the dumpster".

 

[kmcconaughey]

Denny, would that have been this trip?

Left to right: Dan H., Denny F., Jim S., Bryan M.

Last time I was out to visit Dan was when I delivered the K301 to David Kirk. I had to pick up the blade for the Original that I bought from Bryan. Some of the blade parts were being stored in Dan's shop. That was in December 2006. I wonder if Dan would want a bunch of us showing up at one time. Last time that I know that a group paid him a visit was Dec 2004 when Art A., Robb K., Mike H. and myself drove out. With the dropping gas prices it might be time for another road trip.