Small Quantities Steel Supplier - Brisbane, Ipswich or Caboolture ???

Greetings,

I'm looking to buy a small quantity of 10mm square Mild Steel (or maybe some sort of stainless steel) bar stock to make some carbide tipped Woodturning Tools. A one meter length will give me enough bar stock to make three x approx 300mm long tools. I've got the carbide woodturning cutters on the way from the USA.

Question 1:

I'm looking for a steel supplier in South East Queensland who will supply the small quantity of mild steel that I need. The two places I rang today said that they only sell in minimum orders sizes of $100.

So - does anyone know of a supplier in SEQ that happily sells small quantities ?

Question 2:

I have been considering using some sort of stainless steel (instead of mild steel) for these tools, mainly due to the nasty rust problems I get in this climate. A friend suggest that "stainless" might be too brittle. Is stainless steel to brittle to use in Woodturning Tools ?

As I need to drill and tap the material, I also need to be sure that if I use Stainless Steel, that it will be soft enough to drill and tap.

I'll be grinding the cutting the tool end of the bar stock to take the carbide insert, as well as drilling 5/32" and tapping to take a 10/24 screw. The handle end of the barstock will ground to form a tang to go into a wooden handle.

If stainless steel is feasible for this job, I'll also need to find a supplier for small quantities.

All advice greatly appreciated.

Regards,

RoyG


Read the full thread at metalworkforums.com...

Small Quantities Steel Supplier - Brisbane, Ipswich or Caboolture ???