Begining material inventory dilemma

[dkmc]

This might be a dumb question, but how did you build up your inventory of sheet/plate materials?
I'm trying to figure out how to justify a full sheet of 3/8 or 1/2 if it only need maybe 1/4 of the sheet for the job. With accumulated left overs, this would not be a problem, but just getting started, it's tough if not impossible to justify a whole sheet for a few parts needed. Insight appreciated. Someone wanting to drop off a truck load of various drops, even better!

 

[Ries]

When steel was 30 cents a pound, I always ordered xtra. These days, when A36 can be a buck eighty i dont as often. But the only way to build a stockpile is a little at a time. I have material on the rack from projects going back to 1988.

 

[Bondo]

I remember this issue and it comes up often when my employees think I'm a horder. When I started, I would only purchase 1/2 or a full item. So say I needed a 12" circle cut from 1/4" plate. I would just get a 4x4 sheet. I hated loosing money on some jobs, but I came to realize years in how much money and time I started saving by not having to spend 2 hours and $25 in fuel to get $75 in materials.

When I purchased my 230 ton press brake, I was adding up how much money I was saving by not having to run to get things bent. Also that if I got something bent, they would only bend their materials. So I had to buy their stuff. Eventually having things yourself, if you know how to work them, always save you tons of money. You just have to figure out how to get there before the savings start.

 

[dkmc]

I remember this issue and it comes up often when my employees think I'm a horder. When I started, I would only purchase 1/2 or a full item. So say I needed a 12" circle cut from 1/4" plate. I would just get a 4x4 sheet. I hated loosing money on some jobs, but I came to realize years in how much money and time I started saving by not having to spend 2 hours and $25 in fuel to get $75 in materials.

When I purchased my 230 ton press brake, I was adding up how much money I was saving by not having to run to get things bent. Also that if I got something bent, they would only bend their materials. So I had to buy their stuff. Eventually having things yourself, if you know how to work them, always save you tons of money. You just have to figure out how to get there before the savings start.

Good points. Problem might be, at 63 I might not have enough time to use up all the extra material and
get the money out of it. Play it by ear is all I can do.

 

[Mark Rand]

A significant (internal) justification is that steel stockholders and the like often charge far less per lb for complete sheets or lengths than they do for selling little bits which leave them with the offcuts on their racks.

 

[mhajicek]

Buy a bulk lot of material from someone going out of business, for ten cents on the dollar or less. I did that when Conventus shut down, and was able to make copies of the material certs for most of it.

 

[DrHook]

The way I see it, a full sheet doesn't take up much space, costs less because most suppliers charge a "cut fee", and it ain't getting any cheaper.

 

[dkmc]

Buy a bulk lot of material from someone going out of business, for ten cents on the dollar or less. I did that when Conventus shut down, and was able to make copies of the material certs for most of it.

Yes, that was another thought....coincidentally an auction of a 75 year old shop is coming up. CNC plasma listed in the sale. I better go get sticker shock on new sheets, to better know ahead of time what a 'good' deal is at the auction.

 

[EmGo]

....coincidentally an auction of a 75 year old shop is coming up.

I swear, at auctions the best deals are not the high-falutin machines. I've done better picking up a barely-used drum of coolant for $40, or a cabinet full of knick-knacks that would retail for $500, for $35, or ten five gallon pails of hydraulic oils for $75 than I have done on machines. Usually no one is interested in that stuff and they go get a sandwich while it's run thru fast. And you don't have to pay a rigger to bring it home

 

[dkmc]

I swear, at auctions the best deals are not the high-falutin machines. I've done better picking up a barely-used drum of coolant for $40, or a cabinet full of knick-knacks that would retail for $500, for $35, or ten five gallon pails of hydraulic oils for $75 than I have done on machines. Usually no one is interested in that stuff and they go get a sandwich while it's run thru fast. And you don't have to pay a rigger to bring it home

Or a Huntron Tracker for $35 that I sold on ebay for $780. Or the Haas red indexer control box for $25. Or the time I found the folded up $50 bill on the floor. Not to mention auction leftovers that don't get bids. Like a Welles 1270 bandsaw for $150 and a Yale 6k diesel forklift for $150. I guess I mentioned them. Usually some interesting characters at auctions as well.