Where can I buy basic metal?

[spokes]

I'd like to make a very simple rack for my wife's bike to go over the front wheel and support a basket (the only 'made up' ones I can find are way more classy than I need...with prices to match. All I need is about a yard of mild steel - perhaps 1" x 1/8" - that I can bend to shape and drill a couple of holes in...but can I find it? Any advice much appreciated.

[Don Spumey]

Local scrapyard?

Don.

[Nige Danton]

You could ask uk.rec.models.engineering they are a quite helpful.

-- Nige Danton

[George]

Ebay,bought some sheets of aluminuim awhile back.

[TMC]

The offcuts rack at a steel stockholders

Anywhere making wrought iron gates

Tony

[robgraham]

Try Yellow Pages for Metal Supermarkets or locate on this website :-

[Cicero]

=================================== B & Q have a selection of steel and aluminium sections - worth browsing. You might also look at their large selection of coat hooks to see if you can adapt something to attach to your basket.

You don't actually need steel for this job. Basket workers' cane or even ordinary softwood would do the same job if you're reasonably skillful.

Cic.

[spokes]

[Mary Fisher]

Good idea. Spouse has just taken a trailer load to ours.

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

Look in Yellow Pages. You'll be inspired when you see what the yard has to offer :-)

Mary

[meow2222]

[dennis]

Asda do a wire basket and frame to hook over the handlebars for

[Steven Campbell]

Or the OP could always "borrow" one of the supermarket baskets!!

[The Natural Philosopher]

metals warehouse. Yellow pages etc.

[Mary Fisher]

I thought you can still buy proper bike baskets, made in wicker.

Mary

[Arthur]

Tool-net sell expament restraint straps.

[Autolycus]

As do Screwfix and Toolstation, and in my experience you're far more likely to get what you ordered, when you want it, and without having to invoke your credit card company's help. YMMV.

Model engineering suppliers can be a good source of small quantities of metals.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

The larger B&Qs have steel, brass and aluminium strip, tube, angle and rods of various sizes.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "spokes" saying something like:

Sounds like you could use the pierced straps that hold roof plates onto walls - they're a yard+ and are about 1.5" x 1/8" with 5mm holes along their length. Any builders' supplier will have them.

[Gus Noon]