Figuring the Weight of steel stock, some simple methods
spaco
obtaining the wieght of steel that you might be buying, etc.:
http://www.spaco.org/Blacksmithing/SteelStockWeight.htm
These ideas have only been around for a few centuries, so I don't think
I will try to take personal credit for them.
Pete Stanaitis
Jerry Wass
Unfortunately, the 1X1X12' bar weighs approx 3.4 #---Not .34
John Martin
Not quite. A 12' bar would be a 12 FOOT bar, which weighs in the
neighborhood of 48 pounds. You may have been thinking of a 12 INCH
bar, which would be 12".
John Martin
Jim Wilkins
> ...
I use the shipbuilding assumption that steel a foot square and an inch
thick weighs 40 pounds. 1/2" steel is 20 pound plate, 1/4" is 10 pound
plate, etc. Rather than using formulas for pipe and tubing I measure
the wall and wrap the tape around the outside.
For channel I figure 3" as 4 Lbs per foot and 4" as 5 Lbs, which
aren't exact but are close enough when I'm out wading through the mud
and the calculator and Manual of Steel Construction are back safe in
the vehicle. I keep a 50 Lb fishing scale and loop sling in the car
for smaller stuff like angle.
This is a good deal:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=65613
The hooks fall off so I replaced the top one with a carabiner and
squeezed the lower one to a snug fit. It matches the reading on my
bathroom scale pretty well.
jsw
Pete C.
Somewhere I have a nice little reference book I got from a steel
supplier that lists each standard shape, all the dimensions, tolerances
and the weight per foot. Unfortunately I misplaced it somewhere in a
move and haven't seen it for a while.
spaco
"3.4" I did fail to enclose the formula, tho.
I'll fix that right now.
Pete Stanaitis
--------------------
spaco
"So, a 1" square piece of steel 1 foot long weighs (1 X 1 X 12 X .283)
or about 3.4 pounds."
Is it okay to say "1 foot" for "12 inches"?
How should I have written it?
Pete Stanaitis
------------------------
Snag
>
> How should I have written it?
>
> Pete Stanaitis
> ------------------------
>
>
> John Martin wrote:
>
>
>>>
>>> Unfortunately, the 1X1X
>>>>>12' <<<<< RIGHT HERE - The single tick ' , rather than " means feet
>>>>>... " means inches .
I've missed the shift key once or twice m'self .
--
Snag
"90 FLHTCU "Strider"
'39 WLDD "PopCycle"
BS 132/SENS/DOF
Jim Wilkins
> spaco wrote:
> Somewhere I have a nice little reference book I got from a steel
> supplier that lists each standard shape, all the dimensions, tolerances
> and the weight per foot. Unfortunately I misplaced it somewhere in a
> move and haven't seen it for a while.
Glover's "Pocket Reference" gives the sizes and weights for sheet,
plate, angle, bar and tube stock. It should be good enough to identify
the scrap you're buying, lacking a hard-to-find steel suppliers
reference or the AISC manual which contains design values.
I leave the calculator, reference book, 4" dial caliper and big tape
measure behind when looking for structural steel that I'll have to
safari out across bad footing. A 1/4" x 3' tape measure doesn't make
enough of a pocket bulge to catch on anything and I can inch-worm it
down the length of the stock.
jsw
Jim Wilkins
> The text says:
>
> "So, a 1" square piece of steel 1 foot long weighs (1 X 1 X 12 X .283)
> or about 3.4 pounds."
>
> Is it okay to say "1 foot" for "12 inches"?
>
> How should I have written it?
>
> Pete Stanaitis
That's up to the editor who paid you to write it.
I'm a poor typist using a laptop. You don't want to see how bad my
posts are before editing.
jsw
John Martin
>
> - Show quoted text -
Not you, Pete - Jerry's post. "Unfortunately, the 1X1X12' bar weighs
approx 3.4 #---Not .34"
John Martin
Jerry Wass
I GOTTA QUIT LOOKING AT THESE THINGS LATE AT NIGHT!!
Jim Wilkins
> approx 3.4 #---Not .34"
>
> John Martin
The 40 pound formula gives 40* 1/12 or 10/3 or 3-1/3 lbs, easy mental
math and close enough for estimating scrap.
jsw
Ignoramus14095
steel pieces.
i
Jim Wilkins
On Mar 15, 8:47 am I wrote:
"I keep a 50 Lb fishing scale and loop sling in the car
for smaller stuff like angle."
If the bucket weighs over 50 lbs pass the sling through the handle,
lift the scale with one hand and the sling with the other and try to
equalize them. The scale should show about half the weight. Beyond
that use leverage with a length of pipe.
The sling is any of several short pieces of climbing rope for tying
down loads.
jsw
Ignoramus14095
> On Mar 15, 12:52?pm, Ignoramus14095 <ignoramus14...@NOSPAM.
the bucket weighs, more like 350 lbs
Jim Wilkins
14095.invalid> wrote:
> On 2010-03-15, Jim Wilkins <kb1...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Mar 15, 12:52?pm, Ignoramus14095 <ignoramus14...@NOSPAM.
> > 14095.invalid> wrote:
> >> And how do you estimate the weight of a bucket full of rectangular
> >> steel pieces.
> the bucket weighs, more like 350 lbs-
The 440 Lb scale:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=65613
It's not that bulky, the dial is less than 7" across. You could take a
small block and tackle if there isn't a forklift or your pickup crane
nearby.
Add one of these to the order and you can double the weight range to
880 lbs:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96013
My portable 1500 Lb hoist:
http://picasaweb.google.com/KB1DAL/Firewood#5287788505171720306
The legs are 2-3/8" chain link fence posts, about half the weight of
the 2" water pipe I use for heavier loads.
jsw
GeoLane at PTD dot NET
>
>My portable 1500 Lb hoist:
>http://picasaweb.google.com/KB1DAL/Firewood#5287788505171720306
>The legs are 2-3/8" chain link fence posts, about half the weight of
>the 2" water pipe I use for heavier loads.
>
>jsw
How do you know that the weight limit is 1500 lbs?
What's the weight limit of the one with 2" water pipes?
Brian Lawson
<kb1...@gmail.com> wrote:
>On Mar 15, 6:30 pm, Ignoramus14095 <ignoramus14...@NOSPAM.
>14095.invalid> wrote:
>> On 2010-03-15, Jim Wilkins <kb1...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> > On Mar 15, 12:52?pm, Ignoramus14095 <ignoramus14...@NOSPAM.
>> > 14095.invalid> wrote:
>> >> And how do you estimate the weight of a bucket full of rectangular
>> >> steel pieces.
>
>> the bucket weighs, more like 350 lbs-
Hey Iggy,
You can measure the dimensions of the bucket to determine its volume
in cubic inches. Fill the bucket with water, measuring the amount you
use, also in cubic inches. Deduct that amount of volume of water from
the bucket volume and multiply by .283 (which is 1 cu in of steel
weight)
Messy but accurate
Jim Wilkins
wrote:
1500 is the rating of the orange lever hoist. I've proof-tested that
tripod on a stump with a chain fall and my 5000 Lb load cell. However
there are too many variables to say that anyone else's tripod will
hold a certain weight without actually testing it, and I just removed
the photo of the top connection from my Picasa site. It was meant to
be a pinned joint with the load equalized on both sides. I'm not
convinced it really worked that way.
You can determine recommended axial column loads from tables or
formulas but the difficult trick seems to be avoiding bending forces
at the ends or if something accidentally hits the post in the middle.
I give it a good shaking as soon as the load is barely off the ground
to see if the feet are stable, and sometimes they slip and it tips
over. I overloaded one of my previous tripods right to the Euler limit
and the legs bowed out with a slight touch.
The 2" pipe one belonged to a friend who used it to pull engines. A
dumptruck ran over it and bent one leg, so now it's weight limit is
zero. I found 100 lbs of pipe plus some chain at the top, with its
center of gravity over 5' above the ground, awkward and risky to set
up alone. When I bought the chain fall for it I chose the highest-
capacity one that I could lift overhead with one hand, leaving the
other hand holding onto the stepladder.
Army manual TM 5-725 contains a lot of good information on field-
expedient rigging, unfortunately it assumes plenty of free hands to
help set things up.
http://www.wilderness.net/toolboxes/documents/tools/rigging/Army_rigging_manual.html
jsw
not an engineer
Ignoramus25445
at the top, is done well, your tripod can hold far more than 1500 lbs.
i
Jim Wilkins
It has, much more than I want to claim in print. The practical limit
is where the feet slip, sink or overturn the base plates. The rock +
sand soil here doesn't support heavy loads evenly. If necessary I tie
them together but that adds a tripping hazard right where I stand to
work the hoist, since the rope usually has to run between the ends in
a triangle instead of forming a Y into the middle, where the load
interferes.
If you aren't working out in the woods a shop crane or gantry is
better. The tripod is very awkward for loading a log or boulder onto
my trailer. Portability is its only advantage.
jsw
wmbjk...@citlink.net
<kb1...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >My portable 1500 Lb hoist:
>> >http://picasaweb.google.com/KB1DAL/Firewood#5287788505171720306
>> >The legs are 2-3/8" chain link fence posts, about half the weight of
>> >the 2" water pipe I use for heavier loads.
>> >jsw
Cool.
I built something similar for pulling multiple wells at a remote
location. http://www.citlink.net/~wmbjk/images/tripod.htm
It had to be clear to about 12', collapse for slinging under a
helicopter, and lift smoothly. The griphoist copy came from Northern
Tools. Allows free-fall, and the operator gets to work at ideal height
and stay out of the way. As first tested the leg on the cable side was
bending a bit so I added a pulley to counteract that. It's visible in
the first and third photos.
Wayne
Jim Wilkins
> On Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:43:39 -0700 (PDT), Jim Wilkins
> I built something similar for pulling multiple wells at a remote
>
> It had to be clear to about 12', collapse for slinging under a
> helicopter, and lift smoothly. The griphoist copy came from Northern
> Tools. Allows free-fall, and the operator gets to work at ideal height
> and stay out of the way. As first tested the leg on the cable side was
> bending a bit so I added a pulley to counteract that. It's visible in
> the first and third photos.
>
> Wayne
Nice! It looks very professional.
I suppose the well stays put. In order to move loads around like onto
the trailer mine is loosely joined at the top so I can lower, walk the
legs sideways and lift again. I moved an 1100 Lb boulder that way,
about 50 feet in an hour.
The Sherline crane scale isn't terribly expensive and a risk-tolerant
hobbyist could make their own:
http://www.sherline.com/lm2.htm
I have a 10,000 lb compression gage that's made the same way, a 1
square inch piston and a pressure gage.
It looks like an oil seal failure wouldn't drop the load. I might make
the upper piston attachment stronger, perhaps turn the piston from a
Grade 8 bolt and screw on a forged eye nut so the piston isn't
weakened by machining.
http://www.smithfast.com/regeyenut.htm
I made the adjustable hydraulic pressure relief for my tractor out of
a bolt with the head turned round and grooved for an O ring and it
hasn't leaked, yet.
jsw
wmbjk...@citlink.net
<kb1...@gmail.com> wrote:
>The Sherline crane scale isn't terribly expensive and a risk-tolerant
>hobbyist could make their own:
>http://www.sherline.com/lm2.htm
>I have a 10,000 lb compression gage that's made the same way, a 1
>square inch piston and a pressure gage.
>
>It looks like an oil seal failure wouldn't drop the load. I might make
>the upper piston attachment stronger, perhaps turn the piston from a
>Grade 8 bolt and screw on a forged eye nut so the piston isn't
>weakened by machining.
>http://www.smithfast.com/regeyenut.htm
I made a high-capacity scale with a 4" cylinder and a big hydraulic
gauge, so it can be read from a distance. I just chose the cheapest
cylinder from Surplus Center along with a large-face gauge. One has to
multiply the reading to get the weight, but for something like $110 in
parts it's useful and affordable.
Wayne
Ignoramus25445
You could get a real scale for this amount.
i
wmbjk...@citlink.net
It's brand new and safe for about 14 tons. Which makes it plenty real,
5 times the capacity, and half the price of the Sherline. I know
somebody who might like one with even more capacity though. Please
post any leads.
Wayne
Jim Wilkins
> ...
> It's brand new and safe for about 14 tons. Which makes it plenty real,
> 5 times the capacity, and half the price of the Sherline. I know
> somebody who might like one with even more capacity though. Please
> post any leads.
>
> Wayne
For 5 tons you could take the return spring out of one of these:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=33611
You would have to open it anyway to measure the cylinder ID to
calculate the force/pressure scale factor.
jsw