Figured I’d start a thread to maybe corral fellow Canadian builders.
First we can complain about the lack of frame building supplies available in Canada.
Maybe chat about doing some group orders to cut down on shipping and brokerage fees?
Anyone have a Canadian source for brazing rod?
Canada welding supply is a good source to buy brazing rod in Canada. There are also Canadian sources for Gas Flux type B around on the internet.
Great, I went back to my notes and seems it was 2018 last I was looking for Canadian supply of rod. The place I found that had GasFlux rod was in Edmonton but would only sell in 10lb minimum. At the time my googling didn’t turn up and simple shops with online ordering so I just added more rod to a tubing order from BFS. Will grab some of the “Blue Demon” there from Canada Welding.
MAG tool inc is a gasflux distributor and where I get all my brazing stuff within the country.
I order from MAG as well. They have a 5 pound minimum, which is manageable.
liked and subscribed.
I currently get most of my stuff from the states, but use a shipping forwarder who only charges ~$20 per package to get it over the border. They add a couple days to shipping, but I’ll take it verse the $120+ in customs fedex likes to charge.
Barry hamel (the store not a person) carrys most of the Harris products and an alright selection of bronze rods too. They’re out in Coquitlam bc and have a few other locations in the lower mainland as well as a store in Victoria bc
I have been hearing good things about the shipping forwarder route. Going to look into an Ontario option. It’s nice that you can gang up packages there and go pickup at once.
Tom Milton Tom? Nice to see ya here!
Danielle! Omg I was going to email you this week because I listened to your podcast episode with Joe while picking up a bike in Cornwall over the holidays! It’s been such a long time, and so glad things are going well for you!!! Will reach out to say hello!
Amazing! Send me an email!!
Hey all,
I’m overdue to order a case of paste both type b & type u flux from mag tool. If I recall a case is 12 or 16 jars. I usually only buy 1 case a year but if there is enough interest I can order an extra case of each and am happy to sell it at cost to those in the country. The only additional charge would be shipping to you which maybe is the price dealbreaker as we all know how the canada post prices are currently. I will need to order in the next couple weeks so I can get a price per unit + shipping if there is enough interest. It would probably (hopefully) round out to be less than buying from the states and paying shipping/exchange/duty.
Hey all,
This is only viable if you live by a land border with the US, but I’ve been getting things shipped to a package pickup place in Blaine with good results.
It’s super simple to set up an account, and costs about $5 a package to get delivered. They give you a week to pick it up before charging you extra.
I use 24/7 Parcel because you can go anytime and skip the waits if you don’t mind go early or late. http://247parcel.com/
So you save some on shipping, save lots on brokerage fees, and depending what you’re getting, save some more on customs.
I don’t know if it’s viable to coordinate trips for people around the Lower Mainland, but the next time I’m putting in a Bike Fab Supply order I’ll let you all know.
Heyya, if you’re in the Vancouver area in early March we’re doing a meetup. All welcome. Hopefully this builds towards a larger “show and tell” in early summer!
Link: BIKE MAKER MEETUP Tickets, Sat, 4 Mar 2023 at 5:00 PM | Eventbrite
Hello ladies and gents, this is my first post at this great new to me forum. I have never built a bike frame. I have ordered a bunch of tubing from Nova (very happy with their service) and need to do another order from bike fab supply. Question #1 do any of you Canadians order tubing from Aircraft Spruce? I have been seeing lots of builders south of us do, but I am not sure if its cheaper for us? Question #2 where can we source 4130 plate/flatbar/sheets? I live in Calgary and work in the steel industry but the only place I see it is Aircraft Spruce.
1 - I order a lot of stuff from them, shipping from Ontario to BC isn’t great (~$100 for 6ft lengths) but still better then customs.
2 - ACS has some flat bar and sheets. Metal supermarket has some sometimes too. If you want flat bar for chainstay yoke or similar, I’d recommend drawing it up and getting it laser cut by send cut send. The ACS 1/4” ‘flat bar’ is never flat.
Hey thanks for the reply Wzrd. I had a look at the shipping from ACS and it was about $55 for 2’ long pieces. Seems cheaper for me now to just order chain/seat stays from the states. Maybe in the future I will want to bend my own tubes. Looks like I am going to buy a small chunk of 4130 plate and a bargain bag from ACS for now. It will hurt paying $150 for such a small load of steel.
Just got the Fedex bill from a PMW shipment.
$86 dollars in fees! $45 just to bring it across the border, on top of the $USD shipping charge from PMW.
Over $100CAD for shipping…
Not Candian, but I have heard tales of the legendary Pirate Joes
To facilitate his business model, Hallatt made weekly trips to Trader Joe’s stores in nearby Washington (particularly Bellingham) with an unmarked van to purchase products, spending $4000 to $5000 on each trip. He then brought the products back to Vancouver, and sold them at Pirate Joe’s on a grey market basis with markups between $2–3 per product.
@Neuhaus_Metalworks has a sketchy unmarked van. Should we fill it with Paragon headtubes and bottom brackets? 
You never want to see a FedEx bill in the mail. It’s usually $30 shipping at checkout, then $120+ in fees.
I’ve been meaning to ask @Coco_PMW if they can start shipping DHL to Canada. Shipping rates are reasonable, brokerage fees are very reasonable and most importantly - easily payable online.
@Daniel_Y there was a Pirate Joe’s across the street from the shop I worked at in Vancouver. Such a strange operation!