different grades of steel for fabrication?

[Hal9000]

So I swung by my local steel supplier (the only one in my town) to pick up some 3/16" plate so I can fill in the ends of my frame. Got to talking to the receptionist and asked if there were different grades of steel available (because what they have looks more like cast iron than rolled steel I'm guessing it's hot rolled steel, but not sure). According to her they only carry one grade. The dimensional steel they have looks more like what I'd expect (Its all welded steel tube), so it appears to just be the flat plate that is like this...

Should I be looking for something better for all my little fabrication projects, or is this good enough?

 

[bronko69er]

Hot rolled A36 is the most common, and just fine for most projects.

 

[Skiddy]

Hot rolled A36 is the most common, and just fine for most projects.

X2 will do fine

 

[Sweathog]

Hot roll A36 plate is common, cheap and found everywhere. As long as your supplier doesn't store material outside it should be good enough for most if not all our projects. Tube steel is 1008/1010 or 1026 or in laymen's terms - less carbon and less weld splatter. All steel if not stored properly will rust and pit.

Paul
steel sales by day, Bronco wrencher by night.

 

[Hal9000]

Great, I was kind of worried for a bit there. If I get the extension cord for my welder put together, I'll be welding the patches into my frame tonight so I can mount my relocated spring perches (Longer leaf springs so they sit pretty close to the back of the frame).

Just out of curiousity, would you say that A36 plate is strong enough for load bearing items as well? I need to modify my shackles and wonder about the strength of the material.

 

[bronko69er]

Great, I was kind of worried for a bit there. If I get the extension cord for my welder put together, I'll be welding the patches into my frame tonight so I can mount my relocated spring perches (Longer leaf springs so they sit pretty close to the back of the frame).

Just out of curiousity, would you say that A36 plate is strong enough for load bearing items as well? I need to modify my shackles and wonder about the strength of the material.

I used 3/16" thick A36 flat bar to extend my shackles.
Like with any material, you could use somthing stronger, if you want to pay more and get away with less material.
Asking if a particular material is strong enough without giving geometry is a difficult thing to answer.
Its kinda like asking if ice on a pond is stong enough to hold a person.

 

[Hal9000]

Point taken. I guess I shoulda mentioned that I will be using material that's dimensionally the same as the stock shackle material (3/16" as you already pointed out). I knew it was sort of a loaded question though. I was fishing to for one of those "What?! You can't use that stuff!" sort of comments. Glad nobody bit though.

So if I wanted to heat the plate and bend it into a channel (or bend it cold) instead of welding at every corner like you did, would that weaken the metal or would I be OK? I probably won't go that route since it would be pretty labor intensive. Just think of this as one of those "for future reference" details. I don't really know the characteristics of A36 (as if that wasn't obvious).

 

[bronko69er]

Point taken. I guess I shoulda mentioned that I will be using material that's dimensionally the same as the stock shackle material (3/16" as you already pointed out). I knew it was sort of a loaded question though. I was fishing to for one of those "What?! You can't use that stuff!" sort of comments. Glad nobody bit though.

So if I wanted to heat the plate and bend it into a channel (or bend it cold) instead of welding at every corner like you did, would that weaken the metal or would I be OK? I probably won't go that route since it would be pretty labor intensive. Just think of this as one of those "for future reference" details. I don't really know the characteristics of A36 (as if that wasn't obvious).

It will bend well. For a given thickness there is a minimum recommended bend radius to prevent fracturing (probably can look this up). You can usually tell after you have bent it if the radius was too tight as you'll see the bend start to crack. Just make sure you dont put a tight bend where your load is going to be concentrated.