I was just ordering a couple of pieces of metal from my steel supplier, just two pieces of 3/16" mild steel plate. I told him 24x15x3/16" and he said 'if you don't mind, I'll write it up as 15x24x3/16"'. I thought he was kidding but then he said "We always set up the grain going with the width, not the length." Now I have to say that this is the first I've heard of grain in steel. I know a bit about metallurgy, crystal structure and all that, but I never thought much about steel plate having grain. Does it? What are the implications? Is it stronger one way than the other? Does it warp more if welded on one edge than another?
GWE