Steel surprise!

[Land Locked]

I went to get some steel for a gate rail this morning. As is my habit, I tacked some bits on top of the order. The add ons were some roadster material, specifically 2 lengths each of 20mm and 25mm square tube for me chassis.

Now for the wonderful surprise, 'twas about half the price I was paying 6 months ago. JOY the chassis steel is going to run under 100 pounds.

[fluxcored]

I remember 2-3 months ago Mittal announced a big drop in steel prices, I think about 32%.

You rascal, you - buying steel on the sly so that you can beat me to the starting line.

Is that red oxide it's covered with? Did you buy it like that from the supplier?

[Land Locked]

My garage roof leaks and forms puddles everywhere. I hate cleaning rust off "new steel" before I can paint the finished project, so ANY steel that arrives gets cleaned then painted with a coat of red oxide.

The red oxide also makes it a breeze to mark for cutting and in the case of the roadster to mark the bits as they are cut.

Sadly spent the day doing brakes on the lil pick up so no cutting yet.

ps. Sorry for the blury pic, phone camera sucks and the "real" camera drowned and has not yet been replaced.

[fluxcored]

Red Oxide - Good tip!!