Steel specs catalog

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the link, this is a nice little reference. I see it has some appendixes describing color classification for new steel too, plus a few other things. Cool!

My steel supplier sends us a book with most of the same info. included in the book. A couple of other steel suppliers seem to have the same book with their name on it. I would suggest that you ask your steel company if they had a steel reference book that they distribute.

John

According to Leon Fisk :

Beware that each steel vendor has its own color codes, so you have to know who it came from to know which color code to use. :-)

If you are ordering new steel from multiple vendors, it is a good idea to buy some cans of paint and repaint new steel to a color code which *you* use (probably that of your most frequently used vendor) so you *know* that they are all coded to the same standard.

If you are getting drops -- especially off eBay -- you have no hope of knowing by the color code what you actually have. :-)

Good Luck, DoN.

Hi Don,

I suspected as much concerning the color coding. I've seen it on different pieces of metal before and knew it was there to identify them, but had little to reference it to. I'll make sure I don't take any match ups too seriously. But sometimes it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, walks like a duck...

Almost all of my metal is "mystery metal" bought (or found) at ~30 cents a pound (my favorite supplier). New metal prices are _SCARY_ nowadays for tinkerers on a fixed income.

The color coding will vary by supplier. Two of our suppliers use different colors for the same material.

John

:-)

That they are. I'm on a fixed income too. Every once in a while I will get a project which causes me to *buy* stock, but that will have some form of income related to it. :-)

Enjoy, DoN.

Its scary in the commercial market too. I ordered 700 lb of 304 stainless a week ago and the price was 3.37 a pound..... ordered another bar this week and they quoted me 4.60 per pound. I beat them down to

John

Hi John,

I'm glad not to be in your boat, but I don't see how you can do it any other way (clause). With price fluctuations nowadays it would be like playing Russian roulette and/or suicide. I would think that most reasonable clients should understand the clause. If not I doubt that they are really worth having as a client/customer (shrug).

What really is bad is when you get a material quote from a vendor and he doesn't honor it. Another shop I know got a quote on some stainless steel plates that was supposedly good for a month. The price went up and they passed it onto him even though he had a quote. He probably could have pressed the issue. I think they finally split the difference.

I had a bunch of ss i" round drops about 6 inchs long lying around for 6 years. I got tired of kicking them around so a couple of months ago I finally scrapped them. Yup I could have used them on this last job.

John