Fab shops build from a mix: a few lengths of tube, some angle, a sheet of stainless, a stack of plasma-cut gussets. We source carbon steel, stainless and aluminum for fabrication and welding shops across Texas, cut to length or to your DXF, on one quote and one delivery.
The problem with buying like a small account
Big distributors are built around truckload customers. A two-person fab shop calls in a handrail job and gets a minimum order charge, a delivery fee and a quote tomorrow. Stainless is a different desk. Plate parts are a different company. By the time you've called five places, the afternoon is gone and the customer is asking for a start date.
Buying full 20 ft lengths to hit a minimum means storing drops and cutting everything yourself. We quote the pieces your cut list needs, arrange the cutting, and put steel, stainless and aluminum on one quote. Most are answered the same business day.
What fab shops typically buy
The core is carbon steel. A36 plate for base plates, gussets and brackets, often plasma cut to shape. Structural shapes for frames: angle, channel, flat bar and beam. A500 square and rectangular tube for anything that needs to look clean and carry load. A500 is structural tube with guaranteed strength; A513 is mechanical tube, fine for non-structural work and often with a smoother finish.
Stainless shows up in food equipment, handrail and architectural work. Stainless sheet in 304 with a 2B or #4 brushed finish covers most of it, with 316 for outdoor, coastal and chemical exposure. For aluminum, plate and sheet in 5052 bend without cracking, while 6061 is stronger and machines better but needs a bigger bend radius.
If you weld stainless, ask for the L grades, such as 304L or 316L. The lower carbon limits carbide precipitation at the weld and keeps the heat-affected zone corrosion resistant. Most stainless is dual-certified to both grades anyway.
Ordering tips that save a trip to the saw
Send lengths as finished sizes and let us arrange the cuts, rather than ordering full lengths and cutting in the shop. For frames with miters, say whether each length is to the long point. For plate parts, one DXF per part with the quantity in the file name keeps the quote clean. If the job is structural and the engineer wants material records, ask for mill certs now, not at inspection.
How we help
- Steel, stainless and aluminum on one quote, from one contact
- Most quotes answered the same business day
- Tube and structural saw cut to length or mitered, plate parts cut from your DXF
- Mill certs on request for structural and code work
- Delivered to your shop or the job site across Texas