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
360 vs 260 brass: which should you buy?
Machining it on a lathe, mill, or drill press? Buy C360: the lead makes chips break clean and threads cut true. Bending, spinning, or deep-drawing thin stock? That's C260 cartridge brass. Our rack is C360 in flat, round, hex, and...
Where to buy metal in Halifax and Dartmouth
Most metal in the Halifax area sells out of Burnside Industrial Park in Dartmouth, and the job decides the counter. We cut steel, stainless, and aluminum to length at 85 Gloria McCluskey Ave, free pickup or walk in. Metal Supermarkets...
Aluminum buying guide: alloys, tempers, and shapes
Buy 6061-T6 unless your project says otherwise; it covers brackets, frames, and machined parts. Sheet you'll bend wants 5052-H32, anodized trim wants 6063-T5, and 3003 covers budget patch panels. We stock no 2024 or 7075. Here's the full decision, with...
What is a mill test report (MTR), and can you get one on a small order?
An MTR is the certificate the mill issues for a heat of metal: measured chemistry, mechanical results, and the spec it was made to. And yes, you can get one here on request at any order size, a single 12″...
How does metal shipping work across Canada?
Metal ships fine by courier when it's cut smart. We ship pieces up to 96″ anywhere in Canada, pieces under 48″ ride the best parcel rates, and rates quote live at checkout for your postal code. Pickup in Dartmouth is...
How much does metal cost in Canada? (June 2026 prices)
Most 12″ pieces of common stock run about $5-30 CAD as of June 2026: $4.77 for a 1/8″ steel round, $5.30 for a 1/4″ aluminum round, $26.11 for a 304 stainless flat. The metal, the alloy, and the cross-section set...
1018 vs A36 vs 1045: which steel should you buy?
Welding a frame, a gate, or a trailer? Buy 44W, the Canadian structural grade and the honest stand-in for A36 here. Machining brackets, pins, or keyed shafts? Buy 1018 cold finished. Shafts and axles that take real load, or parts...
304 vs 316 stainless steel: is 316 worth the upcharge?
Out of reach of salt, buy 304 and save the difference. Near salt water, road salt, or pool chemistry, buy 316: its 2-3% molybdenum is what stops chloride pitting. At our counter the upcharge runs about 10-50% depending on shape,...
6061 vs 6063 aluminum: which should you buy?
6061-T6 is the stronger, do-everything aluminum: brackets, frames, machined parts. 6063-T5 is the architectural one: smoother surface, cleaner anodizing, easier bends, about half the yield strength. If the part carries load, buy 6061. If it's trim or railing people see,...
Where can you buy metal in small quantities in Canada?
Buy from a counter that sells by the piece, not by the stick. We cut to any length with a $40 order minimum, walk-in stores sell short pieces over the counter, and some local yards sell drops. Mills and big...
How does cut-to-length metal ordering work? Buying metal by the inch
Pick the alloy and shape, type the length you need in inches, and the price shows up right away. We cut to ±1/8″, free, and ship anywhere in Canada. No quote, no mill minimum, no buying a 20 ft stick...
Where can you buy metal online in Canada? (2026 guide)
You've got five real options: cut-to-length shops like ours, walk-in chains like Metal Supermarkets, regional online suppliers, US sites that ship north, and your local steel yard. The right one depends on the lengths you need, the alloy, and how...
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.