How To Measure Sheet Metal Gauge
Metal sheet thickness is measured in gauge.
How to measure sheet metal gauge. It might be obvious to some but also less obvious to others more and more these days fabricators take delivery of their sheet metal do what needs to be done then simply ship it onwards knowing already that its dimensions and thickness are correct all is well and never even needing a sheet. Since ferrous and non ferrous metals of the same gauge have different thicknesses different metal gauge tools are used to measure ferrous. Originally used in the fields of medicine and jewellery the larger the number the smaller the diameter and now it is also used to indicate the thickness. Multiply the number of millimeters by 0 03937 to convert to inches.
For example 18 gauge steel according to a gauge conversion chart is 0 0478 inch or 1 214 millimeter. To put things into perspective the largest gauge for standard sheet metal is called 0000000 and it is equal to 0 5 inches. The equivalent thicknesses differ for each gauge size standard which were developed based on the weight of the sheet for a given material. How to measure sheet metal gauge thickness.
How to measure sheet metal gauge and thickness. Use the millimeter hash marks to find the most accurate measurement. The gauge number 18 holds no relevance to the actual measurements. Wire conductor sizes are also measured in gauge and are equivalent to the non ferrous thicknesses listed below but we have an article specific to wire gauge.
Essentially one inch is equal to 25 4 millimeters or 0 0254 meters. Gague ga is a length measurement unit for diameters originating in north america and belongs to the browne sharpe metering system. A gauge conversion chart can be used to determine the actual thickness of sheet metal in inches or millimeters. If your measurement was 55.
The table below provides conversion to inches. The most commonly used sheet metal sizes range from 30 gauge thinner to 7 gauge thicker. When working with sheet metal the term gauge is often used. A sheet metal gauge tool is used to measure metal thickness and show both the gauge number as well as the thickness of the metal in thousandths of an inch.
Different gauge thickness applies to different metals. Sheet metal gauge size chart gauge or gage sizes are numbers that indicate the thickness of a piece of sheet metal with a higher number referring to a thinner sheet. Use a tape measure to find the thickness of your sheet metal piece.