STANDARD SIZES & LENGTHS IN METAL​

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GENERALLY, WHEN YOU BUY METAL TUBES, FLAT BARS, ANGLES, CHANNELS, & I-BEAMS THE SHIPPED

LENGTHS ARE IN 20 FT FROM THE MILL DEPENDING ON THE MATERIAL BEING PURCHASED​

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• STEEL TUBE IS GENERALLY SOLD IN 20 FT LENGTHS - OCCASIONALLY 24 FT & 40 FT OR LONGER

• THE DIMENSIONAL SIZE OF TUBE STEEL IS MEASURED FROM THE OUTSIDE EDGE TO THE OUTSIDE EDGE AND THE THICKNESS GROWS TO THE INSIDE​​​

  • EXAMPLE - 2"x 2" x 1/4" THICK TUBE HAS AN OUTSIDE DIAMETER OF 2" x 2" AND AN INSIDE DIAMETER OF 1-1/2"​​

    • 1/4" WALL THICKNESS + 1-1/2" OPEN SPACE + 1/4" WALL THICKNESS = 2"​​

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• STEEL PIPE IS GENERALLY SOLD EITHER IN 21 FT OR 24 FT LENGTHS. THE DIMENSIONAL SIZE IS MEASURED FROM THE INSIDE DIAMETER AND THE WALL THICKNESS IS MEASURED IN "SCHEDULE" - SCH 40 BEING THE MOST COMMON. THE SCHEDULE THICKNESS IN PIPE IS DETERMINED BY THE PIPE BURSTING PRESSURE.

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• EXAMPLE - 2" SCH 40 PIPE HAS AN ACTUAL OUTSIDE DIAMETER OF 2-3/8" AND A THEORETICAL INSIDE DIAMETER OF 1.939" OR ABOUT 1-15/16" & IS APPROXIMATELY .218" OR 7/32" THICK

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• CHANNELS & I-BEAMS HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS THAT MAKE UP THEIR SIZE. THE INDUSTRY CALLS OUT THESE MATERIALS IN TERMS OF DEPTH IN INCHES & POUNDS PER FOOT TO SAVE TIME.

• CHANNELS AND I-BEAMS ARE GENERALLY ORDERED IN 20' LENGTHS IN STOCK; HOWEVER, WE CAN ORDER THEM UP TO 60' IF REQUIRED.​​​​

  • EXAMPLE - CHANNEL​ - A PIECE HAS A DEPTH OF 4" - A FLANGE WIDTH OF 1.580" - AND A WEB THICKNESS OF .180" - THIS IS SIMPLIFIED TO - (4 x 5.4#)

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• EXAMPLE - I-BEAM - A PIECE HAS A DEPTH OF 6" - A FLANGE WIDTH OF 4" - AND A WEB THICKNESS OF .230" - 

  • ​THIS IS SIMPLIFIED TO - (6 x 12.0#)​

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• ​ANGLE IS GENERALLY ORDERED IN 20' LENGTHS IN STOCK, HOWEVER, WE CAN ORDER THEM IN 40' AS NEEDED.​

• ​ANGLE IS SOLD BOTH IN EQUAL OR UNEQUAL WALL LENGTHS. ANGLE IS MEASURED FROM THE OUTSIDE EDGE TO THE ANGLE POINT.  THE THICKNESS OF THE MATERIAL IS MEASURED IN INCHES.

  • EXAMPLE - 1 LEG MEASURES 5" - 1 LEG MEASURES 3-1/2" - THICKNESS IS 1/4"​

  • 5" x 3-1/2" x 1/4"​

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• FLAT BARS, SQUARE BARS, AND ROUND BARS ARE SOLD IN HOT-ROLLED STEEL IN 20' LENGTHS. MOST OTHER METALS INCLUDING COLD ROLL STEEL, 6061 ALUMINUM, STAINLESS STEEL, COPPER, & BRASS ARE GENERALLY SOLD IN 12' LENGTHS.  YOU MAY FIND SOME LARGER DIAMETER HOT-ROLL ROUND BARS SOLD IN 12' OR SHORTER LENGTH

• YOU WILL SOMETIMES HEAR FLAT BARS CALLED 'STRIPS' OR 'STRAPS'

• WHEN ORDERING FLAT BARS IT SHOULD BE REQUESTED AS THE THICKNESS OF THE METAL AND THEN THE WIDTH.

  • EXAMPLE - 5/8" THICK x 1-1/2" WIDE

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• WHEN ORDERING SQUARE BAR OR ROUND BAR, THE DIAMETER OR SIDE LENGTH IS ALL

  • EXAMPLE - 7/8" ROUND BAR OR 1/4" SQUARE BAR​

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• HEX BAR IS CALLED OUT BY THE DIAMETER ACROSS THE FACE OF TWO OPPOSITE FLAT SIDES.

  • EXAMPLE - 5/16" HEX BAR​