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Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / wieght of steel
- - By ranger6011 (*) Date 04-13-2011 16:59
i see a lot of different formulas for measuring the wieght of steel bars and plates,some ive read in books,others ive seen on the welding web forum i belong to.since i do mostly field repair and erection on im not all that concerend about wieght cause its usually not to critical but i would like to know whats a good simple formula that i dont need a calculator for.
Parent - - By MBSims (****) Date 04-13-2011 17:05
If you don't have a calculator, you can estimate based on thickness and surface area.  A 1" thick plate that is 12" x 12" square weighs about 40 lb.  So, a 1/4" thick plate of the same size would be 10 lb., 1/2" thick would be 20 lb., 3/4" thick would be 30 lb., etc.
Parent - By Lawrence (*****) Date 04-13-2011 17:12
Nice device!

Gonna remember that one.
Parent - By jwright650 (*****) Date 04-13-2011 18:09
If you need to get a little closer use
40.84 per foot for 1" thick x 12" wide.(1"x1'x1')
20.42 per foot for 1/2" thick x 12" wide.(1/2"x1'x1')
10.21 per foot for 1/4" thick x 12" wide.(1/4"x1'x1')
Parent - By G.S.Crisi (****) Date 04-13-2011 18:11
Complementing what Marty and John said:

A square meter of 1/2 inch plate weights approximately 100 kilograms, or:
multiply the thickness of the plate in millimeters times 7,85 (the specific weight of iron in kilograms per cubic decimeter) and you'll have the weight of a square meter of that thickness in kilograms.

Giovanni S. Crisi
Sao Paulo - Brazil
Parent - By ranger6011 (*) Date 04-14-2011 03:37
yes. thats a good way to figure .otherways good too but donr always have a calculator!!.thanks
Parent - - By G.S.Crisi (****) Date 04-13-2011 18:16
Here in Brazil there are dozens of tables showing the weight of plate, flat bar, shapes, round, pipe etc., published by manufacturers and distributors.
In the USA there must be hundreds. Get hold of one of them and keep it for years to come for your professional use.
Those tables are usually published by manufacturers and distributors of steel products.
Giovanni S. Crisi
Sao Paulo - Brazil
Parent - - By jwright650 (*****) Date 04-13-2011 18:55
Hi Giovanni,
There are several on-line charts where you can look up the weight per foot of all sorts of shapes.

But I found one here that will also look up weights for other materials beside just mild steel....check this out

Online Weight Calculator
Parent - By 99205 (***) Date 04-13-2011 20:36
Handy site, that got bookmarked on my phone.
Parent - - By welderbrent (*****) Date 04-13-2011 20:47
Ranger,

Remember, channel iron and wide flange beam use the weight per foot as part of their size, as in W12X26= 26 lbs per foot and C6X8.2= 8.2 lbs per foot.

Then, as the guys have said, just remember that at 1" of thickness steel is ROUGHLY 40 lbs per square foot.  Now, that makes it easy to estimate any size: 1=40, 1/2=20, 1/4=10, 1/8=5, 1/16=2.5.

So, with a piece of 3/16 flat bar 3" wide and 15 ft long you have 7.5 lbs per square foot and you have 3.75 sq ft so you have just over 28 lbs.  That was done in my head as I was typing.  But, if you don't do it all the time it may take a bit longer.  And if I am busy or lots going on around me I write it down with the ever present soap stone.  Preferrably with a calculator though.  :lol:  OH, that was the purpose of an easy way, no calculator handy. 

And thanks John for that site.  That is faster IF YOU HAVE A COMPUTER HANDY  than figuring out tubing and others in your head.

Have a Great Day,  Brent
Parent - - By Bob Garner (***) Date 04-13-2011 21:10
Maybe not so simple, but I usually calculate the cubic inches of the stock, length x width x thickness, and multiply by 0.283 pounds per cubic inch.  I always remember the 0.283 because my first car had a Chevy 283 cu. in. small block.  Aluminum is 0.101 pounds per cubic inch.  Wasn't there a 101 cu. in. Harley?
Parent - By DaveBoyer (*****) Date 04-14-2011 03:59
That is how I always did it, or 500#/cubick foot for an aproxamation on big stuff.
Parent - - By MMyers (**) Date 04-15-2011 13:33
Same here.  I use 0.305 for Nickel alloys, and ~0.290 for stainless.  Most of the time the only reason I'm doing these calculations is to see if I have enough wire on the spool so being super accurate isn't an issue.
Parent - By swnorris (****) Date 04-18-2011 16:47
ranger,

You mention steel bars and plates.  Steel is 490 pounds per cubic foot.... 12 (wide) x 12 (long) x 12 (thick).  The multiplier I've always used is .2836  If you multiply 12 x 12 x 12 x .2836, it equals 490.0608 pounds.

For a 1" plate........... 12 x 12 x 1 x .2836 = 40.8384 pounds

For a 3/4" plate........ 12 x 12 x .750 x .2836 = 30.6288 pounds

For a 1/2" plate........ 12 x 12 x .500 x .2836 = 20.4192 pounds

A couple other examples:

For a plate 3/8" x 7 1/2" x 11 1/4".........   .375 x 7.5 x 11.25 x .2836 = 8.97328125 pounds

For a bar 5/8 x 9 x 1'-7 7/8".................   .625 x 9 x 19.875 x .2836 = 31.70559375 pounds
Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / wieght of steel

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