[TowerTalk] Aluminium wanted

[Rick Karlquist]

Jim Lux wrote:
>
> They want a bit more than $8 for some .090 thickness 3003 alloy.. roughly
> the same price as McMaster Carr..
>
> It *is* a commodity, so all the sources are going to be in that ballpark.

My experience with McMaster is that their prices
are all over the map.  Sometimes competitive, often
prohibitive unless you MUST have some item.  For
example, a screw with a slotted head might be
cheap, and the same screw with a Philips head might
be very expensive.  Long screws are much more expensive
per inch than short ones.  Sheet metal, etc is all
over the place in terms of $/lb.  Again you will find
that certain dimensions have a threshold where the
price suddenly goes way up.  You need to have the right
paradigm to deal with McMaster.  Be flexible.  Plan on
spending a LOT of time searching and comparing prices.
Maybe even change your design to work with what they
have.  I have done that many times.

Rick N6RK