Choosing Sheet Metal Gauge

A gauge conversion chart can be used to determine the actual thickness of sheet metal in inches or millimeters.

Choosing sheet metal gauge.

As the gauge number increases the material thickness decreases. For example 18 gauge steel according to a gauge conversion chart is 0 0478 inch or 1 214 millimeter. This is choosing the right thickness or gauge of sheet metal. The equivalent thicknesses differ for each gauge size standard which were developed based on the weight of the sheet for a given material.

Step 1 use a tape measure to find the thickness of your sheet metal piece. The gauge number 18 holds no relevance to the actual measurements. Gauge to thickness chart gauge stainless galvanized sheet steel aluminum fraction inches mm inches mm inches mm inches mm 30 0 0125 0 33 0 0157 0 40 0 0120 0 30 0 0100 0 25. Selecting sheet metal thickness requires familiarity with material gauges.

Galvanized steel sheet metal measuring 30 gauges equals 0 0157 inch but the same gauge standard steel sheet metal measures 0 0120 inch and 30 gauge stainless steel measures 0 0125 inch. The thicker the piece of sheet metal the heavier in weight the material is for building. It is very important that you are using the correct product to optimize efficiency and functionality. Sheet metal thickness gauges for steel are based on a weight of 41 82 pounds per square foot per inch of thickness.

It should be noted that aluminum is usually classified by inches rather than gauge as there is no official gauge standard for aluminum. Engineering toolbox resources tools and basic information for engineering and design of technical applications. If you want to find out what gauge your sheet metal is measure its thickness using a regular tape measure. With custom sheet metal fabrication always note that the higher the number of the gauge the thinner the metal.

Then using a sheet metal gauge chart you can match that thickness up with the appropriate numbered gauge of your product. Search is the most efficient way to navigate the engineering toolbox. One important note however is that ferrous and non ferrous sheet metals of the same gauge have different thicknesses so you ll need one gauge for ferrous metals and one for non ferrous. A sheet metal gauge sometimes spelled gage indicates the standard thickness of sheet metal for a specific material.

Sheet metal gauges used in ductwork. Choosing the right gauge sheet metal for your fabrication now moving into something that will be more specific to each customer and each sheet metal project.