How to Buy Steel Bar

Steel bar is is one of the more simple shapes to request – but there are some things that you should know when asking for a quote.

2. Metal Grade1. Hot Rolled vs. Cold Finished
First of all, there is both Hot Rolled and Cold Finished bar. Most typically, a full length Hot Rolled (HR) bar is 20 feet in length and a Cold Finished (CF) bar is 12 feet in length. Although it is possible to find Cold Finished bars that are 20 feet in length as well, but 12 feet is more common.

After that, as we’ve mentioned in past buying guides, with all metals, we need to know the specific grade. For example, do you need 1045 HR Round Bar, or is it a 1018 CF Round Bar?

3. Bar Shape

There are Round, Square, Flat, and Hex bar available in most grades. We can cut bars to length or ship full lengths. Additionally, we can also finish the bars the way you need them. We can have the bars Turned, Ground, and Polished (TG&P) to suit your project.

4. Bar Condition

The condition of the bar is important as well. Do you need it Annealed or Normalized? Does it need to meet a certain ASTM or AMS spec? Do you need Aircraft Quality (AQ)? Do you need the material Charpy Tested? All these things are important in knowing how to best serve your job.

5. Is it Rebar?

There is another very common bar that has a bit different sizing and that is Rebar. ASTM A615 GR 60 is most common, but it can also be Gr 40. The sizing works on a Number system, for example #4 Rebar is ½” in Diameter. We do have a complete Rebar Chart in our library that shows a breakdown of all the sizes.

6. Length and Quantities:

We need to know the lengths and total quantities needed to be able to quote any job.

7. Do you Need It Galvanized?

We can also have material Galvanized if needed.

Whether it is Nickel, Carbon, Titanium, Aluminum, Stainless, or Alloy bars we would like to be your supplier. Please let us know your specific request and we can put a quote together for you.