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
- posted
16 years ago