Thread: Drill Rod and HSS

You'll get the same reaction if you go to a very general "steel supplier" (ie sells RHS in any colour of blue you want) here too. But these days so many companies are set up for internet purchasing and freighting stuff around the country, it really doesn't matter as much where you live anymore. The difference is, living on the edge of a big city, I can drive to a place within an hour (this is Sydney after all!) and purchase pretty much any grade of steel available in Australia, drive back (another, groan, hour) and begin using it. Provided I don't go anywhere near the Western suburbs there's a good chance I'll eventually make it back alive too! Someone living more remotely would probably have to order it in, but that goes with the turf unfortunately ... add that to all the other stuff Landmark won't keep in stock You'll also almost certainly be limited in the min quantity to make it viable. Conversely, try and buy a tub of Rapigel here and see how you get on :P

As much as I dislike cities, and especially Sydney, my hankering to get back to the bush is often tempered by the fact that we sometimes take for granted the availability of things, like, I don't know, electricity and telephones. But for those who are out there, gone are the days of peering into The Land and trying to find something suitable in adverts alongside farm gates, stock grids, and pallets of fence posts. Jump online and order some in.

Anyone use OneSteel? There's a branch up here, I'll give them a go.

Ben.

Originally Posted by bwal74

Anyone use OneSteel? There's a branch up here, I'll give them a go.

Ben.

The only big name supplier in Mt Gambier. They can be a funny lot tho. A while back I bought a length of galv angle 50 x 50 x 6, except they don't keep it in 6mm so it had to be 5mm and it was folded angle, not rolled. I queried it and was told that was all they carried in the galv. Seemed strange because in all the years of buying steel I have never even seen the folded type in store. The people I normally deal with were out of stock and when you tow a trailer 100km each way you don't like to come back next week.

OneSteel did order in a length of 65mm diam x 600mm 1045 a few years ago. It cost $64 which I think was ok. They ordered it from another branch. Very limited range of alloy steel here. My normal suppliers do have some offcuts with the grade marked, but only a few.

Dean

There's a Bohler's at Cardiff so I'll make an excuse to get up there. They sell MS 1020 1030 etc and leaded steel plus Tooling Steel ect.

Ben

HI,

I turned up a small flywheel the other day for a little engine I'm making. I found the bar in the bottom of a wooden scrap box I have (a secondary prize from a purchase I made ages ago - its full of brass, aluminium, steel scraps and even a full brass artillery bass shells). Anyway I found the size diam bar I needed and off I went.

As you can see by the photo's it was in pretty poor shape on the outside but turned up rather nice. I'm guessing without having any idea of what it really is, that it's a leaded steel bar? I'm vaguely remember the old bloke I bought the box from saying material came from Hawker de Havilland Bankstown circa the 60's or 70's.

Also, I'm picking up some 8 mm Silver Steel x 1000mm next week. $35 for the length. I have no idea of what I'll do with a metre of it!

Ben.

Also, I'm picking up some 8 mm Silver Steel x 1000mm next week. $35 for the length. I have no idea of what I'll do with a metre of it!

And in 6 months time you will be wondering where it all went.

Cheers
Roger

Originally Posted by bwal74

Also, I'm picking up some 8 mm Silver Steel x 1000mm next week. $35 for the length. I have no idea of what I'll do with a metre of it!

Seems expensive. This is what I'm paying for W1 in Melbourne, and you guys usually have more options in Sydney:

6mm= $17.65+ gst per 1m length
10mm= $26.85+ gst per 1m length
12mm= $49.50+ gst per 1m length