Quote Originally Posted by tonyfoale View Post
Alan,
I have been self employed since 1973 so I haven't have much opportunity to accumulate scrap, except for the 3 years 2008-2010 when I had a real job in the US. It was like Xmas everyday when I passed the scrap bin, not just lumps of metal but bearings, nuts and bolts, gearboxes, old tooling and so on. Like you I didn't take full advantage of it. When I returned to Spain I put all that I had in a container to be sent back, along with a Bridgeport, lathe etc. The US is such a great place to get nice machine tools for little money. I like living in Spain but it is far from the best place to pursue my interests.
I'm sure this won't come as a revelation to you, but if there are material vendors and shops within decent radius, I recommend paying a visit. I've always worked in shops, at least half let me haul off steel at scrap rate or less. It's been .30¢ a pound long as I can remember. Others didn't restrict me at all, as long as it was drop [fall-off].