Metal Supermarkets

10/22/2026

Congratulations to Kevin Berera, our Metal My Way Grand Prize winner! He and a guest are heading to SEMA in Las Vegas this November.

Kevin's winning project is a giant RC buggy. It's 5 feet long, weighs about 160 lbs and runs on a 70cc engine. He designed and machined almost every part himself, from the welded tube chassis to the 6061 aluminum components. He even built the tube notcher and bender he used. It took seven years of weekends, with metal from Metal Supermarkets Vancouver (Richmond).

Check out the RC buggy in action: https://youtu.be/NBfW_0HRV2Y?si=478LeBgcuDaq1ToR

Thank you to everyone who entered this year. You made the judges' job very hard.

10/21/2026

Metal Supermarkets is at FABTECH USA in this week! Come find us at booth N10012!

Stop by to spin our prize wheel and talk to the team about your metal needs. Whether you have a project in the works, a question about metal, or just want to say hi, we'd love to see you.

📍 Las Vegas Convention Center, Booth N10012 📅 October 21–23

10/20/2026

Congratulations to our 2026 Metal Supermarkets Trade School Scholarship recipients! 🎓

Skilled tradespeople build, repair and maintain the things our communities rely on every day, and the demand for them keeps growing. We're proud to support these students as they start their careers.

Thank you to everyone who applied. We can't wait to see what these students achieve!

10/13/2026

North San Diego, your new local metal supplier is open.

Metal Supermarkets San Diego (North) carries more than 8,000 types, shapes and grades of metal, including steel, aluminum, stainless, copper and brass. We'll cut it to size, and there's no minimum order. Whether you're a contractor, fabricator, machine shop or weekend DIYer, we'll have what you need, when you need it.

📍 7030 Carroll Rd, San Diego, CA 92121

10/12/2026

Extraordinary service sometimes means being inconvenienced.

It’s the customer who walks in five minutes before close with a rush job. It’s the contractor who needs one more cut after the order is already wrapped. It’s the DIYer who isn’t sure what they need and takes twenty minutes of questions to figure it out. It’s the phone call that interrupts a busy afternoon.

Those moments are where our reputation is built. Anyone can provide good service when it’s easy. What customers remember, and what keeps them coming back and telling others about us, is the time we stayed a few extra minutes, double-checked a measurement, tracked down a hard-to-find size, or walked them through options patiently.

Being willing to be inconvenienced doesn’t mean having no limits. It means choosing to see the customer’s problem as our problem and asking, “What can I do to make this work?” before we ask whether it’s convenient.

Every extra mile we go is an investment in loyalty, referrals, and pride in the work we do.

10/07/2026

Stretch steel, also called expanded metal, is made by cutting a steel sheet and stretching it, not by punching material out.

Our latest blog covers how it's made and how steel behaves when it's stretched.

Read it here:

Learn what stretch steel is, how elasticity and ductility work, and what yield strength means for metal projects.

10/05/2026

Choosing Metal for Around Your Pool in Arizona

A pool area in Arizona combines three tough conditions: chlorine or salt water, constant splashing, and extreme sun. The right metal choices keep everything safe, rust-free, and comfortable to touch.

Basketball hoop posts
Use galvanized steel with a powder-coated finish. The galvanizing protects against rust from splash and pool chemicals, and the powder coat adds UV protection. Choose a post set in a concrete footing, and add a post pad for safety near wet decks.

Handrails, grab bars, and ladders
Go with 316 marine-grade stainless steel. It resists chlorine and is the best choice for saltwater pools, which are common in the Valley. Avoid 304 stainless, which can pit and show rust spots around pool water.

Pool fencing and gates
Powder-coated aluminum is the top choice. It never rusts, needs little maintenance, and is lighter and cheaper than wrought iron. Make sure your fence and self-closing, self-latching gate meet your city's pool barrier requirements.

Furniture, shade structures, and other features

Powder-coated aluminum works well for patio furniture, shade frames, and pergola hardware.
Stainless steel fasteners should be used everywhere so screws and bolts don't rust and stain decking.
Skip plain or painted steel near the water. It will rust quickly.

Arizona heat tips

Metal in direct sun can get hot enough to burn skin. Choose light-colored finishes, add shade over rails and ladders where possible, and test surfaces before letting kids grab them.
Rinse metal with fresh water now and then to remove chlorine and salt residue.

Safety note: Metal within 5 feet of a pool, including rails, ladders, and fences, generally must be electrically bonded under electrical code. Have a licensed electrician or pool contractor confirm it's done correctly.

10/05/2026

Choosing and Protecting Metal Exterior Doors in the Arizona Heat

Arizona summers are hard on exterior doors. A south- or west-facing door in direct sun can reach surface temperatures well above 150°F, so the metal and the finish both need to handle heat, UV, and constant expansion and contraction.

Best metals for the job

Galvanized or galvannealed steel is the most common choice. It's strong, secure, and its zinc coating resists rust. Look for 16–18 gauge steel with an insulated polyurethane foam core to keep heat out of your home.

Aluminum won't rust and is lighter, which makes it popular for security screen doors and storefronts. It conducts heat readily, so thermally broken frames help.

Wrought iron and steel security doors are common in the Valley, but they need a good finish to avoid rust during monsoon season.

Finishes that hold up

Powder coating is the most durable option. It's baked on at the factory and resists fading, chalking, and chipping far better than liquid paint.
100% acrylic exterior paint over a rust-inhibiting, direct-to-metal (DTM) primer is a good choice for repainting by hand. It flexes with heat instead of cracking.
Urethane or polyurethane enamels give a hard, UV-resistant finish that keeps its gloss longer in intense sun.

Arizona tip: Choose lighter colors when you can. Dark doors absorb much more heat, which can cause warping, seal failure, and faster fading. Some manufacturers will even void the warranty for dark colors on sun-facing doors behind a storm door.

https://www.metalsupermarkets.com/location/phoenix-west

10/02/2026

Real Projects, Real Metal: A Week at Metal Supermarkets Phoenix

Every day, businesses and builders across Arizona come to Metal Supermarkets Phoenix for the exact metal they need, cut to size and ready to go. Here are a few recent jobs that show what we do:

🚐 RV Repairs: A local RV company picked up 6061 aluminum 2" x 2" square tube for frame and structural repairs. 6061 is strong, lightweight, and corrosion-resistant, which makes it a go-to for RVs that need to stay road-ready without adding weight.

🚚 Commercial Truck Repairs: A commercial truck rental company purchased 1" x 6" aluminum rectangular tube to repair their fleet. When trucks are off the road, they're losing money, so getting the right material quickly matters.

☀️ Solar Panel Base in Northern Arizona: A customer used 4" Schedule 40 galvanized pipe to build a sturdy base structure for a solar panel array. Galvanized pipe stands up to Northern Arizona's weather, from summer monsoons to winter snow.

From fleet maintenance to renewable energy projects, this is everyday work for us. No minimum orders, precision cutting, and fast turnaround.

Need metal for your next project? Stop by or call Metal Supermarkets Phoenix today.

10/02/2026

Success by a thousand cuts.
Some weeks the work speaks for itself. Over the past three days our team pushed out:
🔧 70 structural steel tubes — 1,500+ linear feet, 43,000 lbs — headed to a hyperscale data center
🏠 400+ sheets of 26-gauge galvanized, split between roofing contractors and a local welding school
⚡ 1,000+ cuts total, across these and dozens of other customers
That's 21 tons of steel that left our floor and went straight into the ground, onto rooftops, and into the hands of the next generation of welders.
We don't pour the foundations or set the trusses. We make sure the material shows up cut right, on time, every time — so the crews who do can keep moving.
Proud to build this community one cut at a time

10/02/2026

At Metal Supermarkets Phoenix, our goal is simple: an extraordinary experience for every customer who walks through our door.
That starts with knowledge. Our team knows metal — the grades, the tolerances, the tradeoffs — and we're happy to talk through what will actually work for your job. It continues with selection. We stock a wide range of metals in the shapes and sizes you need, cut to your specs, with no minimum order. And it comes down to service that's fast and personal. You're not a ticket number here. You're a person with a deadline.
We genuinely care about helping each and every customer. Whether you're a fabricator running a tight production schedule or a hobbyist working on a weekend project, we want you to walk out with the right material and the confidence to get it done.
Your project's success is the whole point. Come see us.

10/02/2026

Metal doesn't forgive shortcuts.
Whether you're on a job site, in a production shop, or cutting stock in your garage on a Saturday, the same rules apply. Sharp edges, hot chips, flying sparks, and heavy material don't care how experienced you are or how quick the cut was supposed to be.
The basics matter every single time:
Eyes — Safety glasses with side shields at minimum. A face shield over them when you're grinding or cutting. Metal fragments move faster than you can blink.
Hands — Cut-resistant gloves when handling sheet and bar stock. Freshly cut edges are razor sharp, and burrs will get you before you notice them.
Feet — Steel or composite toe boots. Dropped bar stock is a broken foot, not a bruise.
Lungs and ears — Respiratory protection when grinding, welding, or working with coated metals. Hearing protection around saws and plasma.
Skin — Long sleeves and natural-fiber clothing near hot work. Synthetics melt.
Add to that: secure your workpiece, keep guards in place, know where the fire extinguisher is, and don't rush the last cut of the day. That's when most injuries happen.
A few seconds putting on PPE is cheaper than an ER visit and a project that stops dead. Work safe out there.

10/02/2026

New Product Offerings:
Alloy 400 instrumentation tube: Alloy 400\ Monel 400, ASTM B163/ASME SB163/SB165
Nickel alloy 400 tubing is a durable and corrosion resistant material primarily composed of nickel and copper it provides resistance to a wide range of corrosive environments including acids and seawater. It is known for its strength and toughness an excellent heat resistance. It is ideally suited for aerospace, marine environments, food and beverage, pulp and paper, heat exchangers, and chemical processing
Alloy 625 Instrumentation Tube: Alloy 625 (UNS NO6625), Inconel 625, ASTM B444, ASME SB444 Grade 1, domestic and DFARS
Alloy 625 is a high performance material that provides a superior combination of strength corrosion and resistance and high-temperature performance. It is an excellent solution for a very demanding applications including aerospace, oil and gas, chemical processing, nuclear, and pollution and waste processing
317L Instrumentation tube: 317 L UNS S 31703, ASTM A213\ ASTM SA213 AW
Alloy 317L is a low carbon austentic stainless steel that is highly resistant to attack from sulfurous, acetic, formic, chlorides and citric. It is ideally suited to chemical plants, refineries, power plants, food & beverage applications, and textile use.

10/02/2026

Tolerances separate a part that fits perfectly from one that doesn't fit at all.

Length, thickness, diameter, flatness... Every dimension needs acceptable limits, and different manufacturing processes deliver different levels of accuracy. Our latest blog explains what dimensional tolerances are, why they matter, and what to consider when specifying them.

Read it here:

Learn what dimensional tolerances mean for metal parts, how they affect fit and function, and how to specify them correctly.

09/30/2026

What. A. Year. 🔥

Thank you to every single person who shared their work with us. Your builds are a reminder of just how much skill, creativity, and dedication lives in this community.

Stay tuned... We'll be announcing our winner soon!

09/28/2026

3 days... That's it.

Metal My Way ends September 30 at 5pm ET. If you've got a build sitting in the shop or on your camera roll, now's the time to share it for a chance to win!

Submit at metalmyway.com before time runs out.

09/23/2026

7 days. One Grand Prize. Your project. 🏆

You've got just one week left to enter Metal My Way. Got a build worth showing off? It's now or never.

Submit at metalmyway.com.

09/22/2026

Heading to FABTECH USA? Come find us!

We'll be at North America's largest metal forming, fabricating, welding, and finishing event in Las Vegas on October 21–23.

You'll find Metal Supermarkets at Booth N10012. Stop by to meet the team and talk metal!

🔗

Visit us at Booth N10012 to meet the team, discuss your metal needs, and learn more about our products and services!