Several workshop projects have been on hold due to the high price of steel. In late 2019 a 24′ piece of 1″ x 2″ 11 gauge steel tubing was $65. In early 2020 prices started climbing – today that same piece of steel tubing is $156! A 5′ x 10′ sheet of 1/4″ steel plate has gone from $413 to $1240. Ouch.
Even worse, steel prices show no sign of declining. Steel is in short supply and prices continue to go up, with corrections not predicted until 2022 or 2023.
I’ve been keeping an eye on CraigsList for the last year but haven’t seen anything. Then a listing appeared for some 7′ long pieces of 14 gauge 1″ x 2″ tubing for $8 each. Hmm, this is about half of 2019 prices and one eighth of today’s prices – worth checking out! A little bit lighter than originally planned, but still plenty strong enough for my needs. I believe I’ve mentioned my propensity for overkill? 7′ long pieces will work for my applications and are much easier to handle than 24′. Running some quick math said that 26 pieces would cover all of the projects I have planned.
The seller was in New Hampshire, so I arranged a time and hopped into the pickup. The material was as advertised so I took it. The deal was for 26 pieces for $220. He had a pile of 40 pieces – mostly the full 7′ lengths but a number of shorter pieces. While we were loading the tubing he decided “oh, just take the whole pile”. Score!
I now have 250’+ of steel tubing which should cover all planned projects. Stay tuned for details!
Those fingers sticking up from the ends of the tubing? Those are a bonus – they are 2″ wide pieces of 5/8″ thick steel. I’ve got plans for how to use them in various projects…
Next: using some of this steel tubing in How Much Does A “Free” Drill Press Cost?