[TowerTalk] Aluminium wanted

[jimlux]

Rick Karlquist wrote:
> 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.
>

It also depends on what your time is worth.  If you're buying something 
at work, and you're burning $100/hr burdened cost, spending an hour to 
save $10 is a poor economy.  I think McMaster-Carr is well aware of 
this. Their big virtue is that they seem to have an amazing variety and 
fast delivery.