A.R. Plate

Grind on it and compare the color and shape of the sparks to a plain ol' piece of mild steel...use different wheels on each one so there is no contamination in the wheel..I think the AR will be a brighter orange with more "firey" tails off the chunks. Doobie

Well you could try shearing it. If your shear dismantles itself in a explosion of steel parts, or attempts to leap out of the floor, then it is likely AR plate.

We had to ban the stuff at school because of the damage done to our power shear by students who weren't paying attention.

That stuff has to be plasma or oxygen cut.

The oxide colour has a bit more red in it much like Corten. You can form it in a brake at thicknesses under 1/4 inch. If you form it so that the bend line is parallel to the grain it will crack. Use at least a 2 inch bottom die and stand aside because it can fracture completely. You can shear 1/4 plate if your shear has a capacity over half inch. I would not recommend shearing A.R over 1/4 inch. Shearing across a flame cut edge is not wise because it can chip a blade. Grinding sparks will appear different compared to mild steel. Best shop practice is to always transfer plate heat numbers and specs to all crops using a paint marker. That is in a perfect world or in a pressure vessel shop being run properly. You are more likely to get a brittle tear out if you tack weld a tee joint together. Run a one inch long bead and then snap it apart.

Randy

I can relate. My very FIRST session with a shear was 8' sections of 5/16" AR plate in a 1"x96" shear. Impressive sound effects. :)

As I recall, that was my first run > >

In our case the kid tried to shear 7/16" AR plate in a 3/8" plate shear. The 1" socket head bolt holding together the upper frame guide missed his head by 2 inches and blew out a window 30 feet behind him.

6 blade mounting bolts shattered, and the upper blade came completely out of the machine. It took the Cinncinati guy 6 days to put it back together once the parts came in.

We were without the shear for 2 weeks. We all got a lot better at flame cutting.

- Roy J - spluttered in news:WwfXb.201$ snipped-for-privacy@news.uswest.net:

Sounds sorta like a shop I worked in. They didn't have a shear when I worked there.

I almost always "took to GD long on jobs". 'Course, none of my work came back.

But in the winter, we just pulled the doors down. "Hey boss, do-ya think we could get some kind of filter sytem in here?"

"Whaaaa?"

Wearing a filter for 8 hours got to be a pia.

And now, the lawyers are going after the rod manufacturers. Yeah.

Someone please have pity on my ignorance: What is A.R. plate?

(I have the feeling that when I hear the answer, I'm going to say "Oh! Of course!")

Abrasion Resistant. Used for snow plows, etc, anything that rubs, scrapes the ground like box blades, road grader blades.

Ah! Of course!

Thanks!