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The Fab Shop

Metal, Plastics & Equipment Supply
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For my coloured acrylics I order from Robertson plastics in Surrey prices are bases per square foot as for shipping I don’t know as I order when my brother is passing through my normal order size is 12x24 as that fits in my locker

In doing fabrication projects with steel, aluminum or plastics I've found it hard to find short lengths of materials. Most steel suppliers won't sell you anything shorter than 20' and fabrication shops are hit and miss. Princess Auto has some stuff, as does the other hardware stores but it's all totally overpriced and limited selection. Then there are other items like Fasteners which are always way overpriced at general hardware stores.



Here is my list of places to go for those interested:

Aall Glass is local and great for both acrylic and polycarbonate.


BC Fasteners is local to Kamloops and already hook up the Makerspace with stuff for the shop consumables. They should have a cash account for Kamloops Makerspace there for discounted purchases. Even without any discount they are far less expensive than any of the hardware stores, have a huge selection, and sell in small quantities. If you need two Stainless Steel 3/4-11 nuts they will sell you exactly that. I end up using them for most of my work purchases.


Millennium Alloys in Kelowna has been pretty good to me, pretty decent selection and reasonably quick turnaround and low shipping through Ace Courier. Their pricing is all online but they recommend you checking in directly with them first.


Metal Supermarkets exists in Kelowna but I haven't used them yet. Same premise where you can get short lengths of pretty well anything.


McMaster-Carr deserves a mention, their shipping cost is expensive but fast, and everything is in USD. But they have literally everything, and CAD files of pretty much all that they sell. They do sell some raw materials, I've bought UHMW plastic off them as well as some polycarbonate. Aluminum can't be imported easily due to anti-dumping fees except for T-Slot Framing. At the least it's a great place to browse when trying to figure out what parts you need.

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