Metal Guides
Straight answers about buying, cutting, and shipping metal in Canada, written by the sales team that cuts it.
Start with your question
Buying answers
Where to buy, what it costs, and how ordering by the inch works.
Material guides
6061 or 6063, 304 or 316: what each grade is for, with real prices.
How-to
Cutting, welding, drilling, and finishing, the way we'd do it at the shop.
Shipping & trust
How metal moves across Canada, what MTRs are, and what ±1/8″ means.
Halifax & local
The counter, free pickup, and buying metal in Atlantic Canada.
Latest guides
Metals 'R' Us vs McMaster-Carr: can Canadians even order?
Canadian businesses can order from McMaster-Carr; their June 2026 terms exclude individuals buying for personal use. On the same six-piece basket we ran $130.70 CAD plus $42-55 measured shipping against their $139.72 USD (about $195 CAD) before border costs.
Metals 'R' Us vs Metal Supermarkets: store counter or shipped cut-to-length?
Metal Supermarkets is the better choice in one case: you need metal in hand today and you're not in Nova Scotia, where their only store sits a 10-minute drive from our free-pickup Dartmouth shop. Buying to a spec? The same...
Metals 'R' Us vs OnlineMetals.com: what a US metal order really lands at in Canada
OnlineMetals publishes no Canadian shipping path we could find as of June 2026, and self-importing its US$120 six-piece basket lands at about $340-380 CAD after the exchange rate, 25% surtax, GST, and brokerage. The same six pieces from our rack:...
Why is Metals 'R' Us cheaper than big box metal chains?
One Dartmouth warehouse instead of 25 storefronts, no franchise royalty, and a B2B engine that's paid for the racks since 1997. The same 1″ 6061 bar at 36″ ran $32.69 here against $59.68-71.38 at the chain in June 2026. Usually...
Steel grades across countries: 44W vs A36, CSA vs ASTM vs EN
Close enough to buy, not identical on paper. 44W is Canada's structural steel at 44 ksi minimum yield, A36 is the US name at 36 ksi, and EN S275 sits between at 275 MPa. Most North American merchant bar is...
Pipe sizes explained: NPS, schedule, and why 1/2 inch pipe isn't half an inch
Because pipe sizes are names, not measurements. A 1/2 NPS pipe measures 0.840″ outside, and the schedule 40 bore is 0.622″. For any size the OD never changes; the schedule sets the wall, so one fitting fits every wall thickness....
What can you build from one bar of metal?
A shop's worth of first projects. One 36″ stick of 1/8″ × 1″ 6061 flat bar ($8.13 CAD, June 2026) becomes shelf brackets, drawer pulls, a bench square, and a griddle scraper with hand tools. Six bars from our rack...
Why buy metal from a Canadian supplier? Duties, exchange rates, and lead times in 2026
As of June 2026, a US metal order usually lands in Canada at 1.85-2.4x its sticker price once the exchange rate, the 25% surtax on US-melted steel and aluminum, GST, and courier brokerage stack up. Our comparable six-piece basket landed...
Anodizing, brushing, or polishing: how do you finish aluminum after you buy it?
Brush it with one-direction grit steps, buff through tripoli to white rouge for a mirror, or anodize it for hard permanent colour. 6063 anodizes cleanest, bare polish needs wax to hold its shine, and prep decides every result. June 2026...
How do you drill and tap each metal? Speeds, lubricant, and bits
One formula sets drill speed: RPM = (SFM × 3.82) ÷ bit diameter. That's about 1,375 RPM for a 1/4″ HSS bit in mild steel, 460 in stainless, press max in aluminum. Oil steel and stainless, WD-40 on aluminum, brass...
Chrome-plated steel rod guide: when chrome, and when stainless
Chrome-plated rod is induction-hardened 1045 steel under a hard chrome skin, about 65-70 HRC at the surface: the standard material for hydraulic cylinder rods. It resists rust only until the plate is breached, so for food, washdown, or salt water,...
What does plasma cutting cost, and when do you need it instead of a saw cut?
Plasma cutting is priced per job, not per inch: thickness, cut length, pierce count, quantity, and the metal itself set the number. Saws and shears handle straight cuts; plasma cuts holes, slots, brackets, and full 2D shapes. Send a drawing...
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Each guide covers the grades we stock, what they're good for, and what they cost. Or skip the reading and go straight to the shelf.