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
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...
Where can hobbyists buy aluminum near them in Canada?
Three real routes: a walk-in metal store if your city has one (Metal Supermarkets runs about 25 Canadian locations), the offcut rack at a local fab shop, or aluminum cut to length online and shipped. Big metros have counters; most...
Brass vs bronze: what's actually the difference?
Brass is copper alloyed with zinc; bronze is copper alloyed with tin, now a family that includes aluminum bronze. Brass is the bright, easy-machining one; bronze carries shafts and survives salt water. We stock C360 brass, C932 bearing bronze, and...
Oil, paint, or powder coat: how do you keep carbon steel from rusting?
Match the protection to the exposure: an oil or wax film in the shop, primer plus paint outdoors, powder coat or hot-dip galvanizing when it has to last decades. Prep decides the result: degrease, get the mill scale off, and...
How accurate are custom metal cuts? Saw tolerances explained
Every cut we ship lands within ±1/8″ of the length you ordered, and most land closer. That's the standard saw-cut class at metal service centres. Need ±0.005″? That's machining, not sawing, and we'll say so. Here's what a bandsaw really...
What is C110 copper? Electrical, art, and food uses
C110 is electrolytic tough pitch copper, 99.90% pure minimum, and the standard commercial copper in Canada. It's the busbar metal (100-101% IACS annealed). We stock C110 flats, rounds, sheet, squares, and hex, cut to length, with prices updated daily.
Sheet vs plate: what's the difference, and how does custom sheet cutting work?
Sheet becomes plate at a line that moves by metal: about 3/16″ for steel and stainless, 0.250″ for aluminum. Same metal, different filing; the decimal thickness is the real spec. Online, enter width and length in inches, up to 48″...
Angle vs channel vs tube: which profile for your frame or bracket?
Square or rectangle tube for frames that can twist: benches, gates, carts. Angle for edges, lips, and bolt-on brackets. Channel where you want a flat back for mounting. Tube resists twist about 100 times better than same-size angle; open profiles...
Can you weld 6061 aluminum? Filler, prep, and when to pick 5356
Yes, 6061 welds well with TIG or MIG. The heat erases the T6 temper beside the weld, dropping strength from about 45 ksi to 24-27 ksi, so design for the welded number. Run 4043 filler for general work and 5356...
Stainless steel buying guide: grades, finishes, and shapes
Buy 304 unless the part lives near salt or pool chemicals, then it's 316. 304 is the 18-8 workhorse; 316 adds molybdenum for coastal duty. Both come as lengths, sheet, pipe, angle, and tube, cut free to ±1/8″, with 2B...
Already know your metal?
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.