We are a Steel Service Center! For more than 50 years Tell Steel has supplied Stainless Steel, Aluminum, Alloys, Carbon Steel and more to the Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties. With 4,000 line items including steel flats, angles, shapes, plate, beams, tube & pipe, we are a full line supply company. We have what you’re looking for with over 15 million pounds of steel in our warehouse. Our facility boasts several on-site Band Saws, Waterjet, Flame and Plasma Cutting Tables, Shears, Punches and Drill presses to fill your order fast and accurately. Tell Steel supplies steel for builders, construction, aerospace, naval, aviation, transportation, and any other industrial need. We have procurement services to handle all your business with one PO.

Tell Steel was founded in 1959 by Tell D. Tuffli and his son, Don L. Tuffli. After several years in the metals industry, Tell Tuffli knew that giving the customer what they wanted when they wanted it was true customer service.Our motto “First In Service” was the cornerstone in the building of our Company. In the early years, Tell, Don, and his daughter, Dale, depended on a power hack saw and one truck to fulfill their promise of “First In Service”.Today we offer our processing services using 10 automatic band saws, 1 aluminum plate saw, 3 multiple torch programmable flame cutting machines, 1 plasma cutting machine, 2 plate shears and 2 water jet machines. Other services now offered include punching, drilling, Blanchard Grinding and miter cutting. Our fleet of trucks has grown to 9.

The Tuffli Family rewarded the employees for their commitment to the motto “First In Service” by giving them the opportunity to purchase the Company. In 2006, Tell Steel became Employee Owned and Operated.We now have over 50 people dedicated to serving you as our customers. More than one quarter of our current Employee Owners have been with the Company for 25 years or more and learned the value of service first hand from the founder. We intend to keep that tradition alive.Throughout our history, Tell Steel has continually worked to increase and diversify our inventory based on our customers needs. From the original 5,000 square foot single Bay, we have grown to a 100,000 foot multiple Bay facility stocking over 4,000 different products and sizes.

Services

• Waterjet cutting is a method of cutting steel and aluminum by combining a stream of water at a high pressure and velocity with an abrasion material. At Tell Steel we use a special garnet for cutting abrasive material. Waterjet cutting produces no “heat affected zone” because no high temperatures are used in the cutting process which can change the intrinsic properties of the metal being cut. It is considered a “green” technology by producing no hazardous waste. Additionally, the process eliminates airborne contaminates, fumes and smoke. Our waterjet machines are capable of cutting material up to 6” thick.
• Plasma cutting is a process of cutting metal using a plasma torch. The torch puts an inert gas under high pressure and blows it through a nozzle while at the same time creating an electrical arc. When the arc is created through by the torch nozzle and the material being cut it turns the gas into plasma. The plasma produces sufficient heat to cut the metal quickly and accurately. At Tell Steel we have several standard shapes or we can do custom shapes to fit our customers’ needs.
• Flame cutting is process using fuel gasses and oxygen to cut metals. The process begins by the torch heating the metal to kindling temperature; this is turns the metal cherry red. Once the temperature is achieved a pressurized steam of oxygen is then used to significantly increase the temperature of the metal and cut it. This process produces an oxide slag which is later removed from the material by taping or grinding. At Tell Steel our experienced burners can cut up to 12” thick material.
• Shearing is the process of cutting sheet and plate without producing chips or using burning or melting methods. Typically speaking, the blades are straight with one of them fixed and the other moving. At Tell Steel we have a few mechanical guillotine style shears. They work by first clamping the material with a ram. A shearing blade then comes down across the fixed blade to cut the material. For thicker metals the blade is “rocked” or set at an angle to cut the material from one side to the other.
• Blanchard Grinding also known as rotary surface grinding is the process of removing stock from one side of material. To Blanchard grind, the metal is placed on a spinning magnetic chuck. The magnets hold the material in place as a grinding wheel on a vertical spindle moves in the opposite direction of the magnetic chuck, grinding it to specifications.
• We have standard shapes we can use or send us your own shapes or designs and we will cut them. Additionally we have a HP DesignJet T2300 Copier and Scanner. With this equipment, we can take a drawn Template, even if it is in pencil, and copy it, send it to our Cad System and reproduce the product via Flame Cutting, Plasma Cutting or WaterJet Cutting. The width is 44" but can be multiplied as needed in sections. If you have a part without a drawing and you need it reproduced, we can do it. We will even trace your actual part, scan it clean it up and cut it.
• On our facility, Tell Steel has 10 band saws. Band saw cutting is a process of cutting metal using a blade made of a continuous band of metal with cutting teeth on one side. The band moves around two rotating wheels and produces an even straight cut. We are capable of mitre cutting, bullet nose cutting, large quantities, or just one piece.
• Aluminum plate sawing is a process to cut aluminum plate with tighter tolerances. The process of aluminum sawing starts by first clamping the material with a ram. A saw blade then moves across the material at the correct dimensions. The process is fast and clean. Tell Steel is capable of sawing aluminum plate up to 6”.
• Punching is the process of using a punch and die to create a hole in the material. The material is secured on a hardened steel die and the punch press forces a tool, called a punch, through the material leaving a specified hole. This process is similar to shearing. At Tell Steel we have several punch sizes to complete your order.
• Using a drill press, material is secured down and positioned precisely to ensure the holes are drilled at specified locations. At this point a mechanical drill with the proper drill bit size attached is lowered and cuts a hole into the material. With a wide range of sizes Tell Steel is capable of handling your metal drilling needs.
• While we specialize in supplying and cutting metal, there are times when a little forming is needed. At Tell Steel we have a brake to handle some light forming needs at our customers’ request. The brake works by firmly clamping down a piece of material while a hinged plate bends the material at the camps edge creating a straight bend.