How to Order Steel: Make it Easy for Everyone

You do not have to be a metallurgist or engineer to accurately order steel. But you don&#;t want to order steel plates and end up with dishes. Take some time to ensure your language will be understood by the vendor. I&#;m not speaking about dialects, but try to avoid esoteric terms that may just be what you use at your company. Avoid jargon. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the terms the vendor uses. You will quickly learn there are common terms that will help to avoid misunderstandings.

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In general steel suppliers and steel service centers are used to working with people that may need help drilling down to what they actually need. Mills on the other hand are a different animal all together. They don&#;t need calls from every person trying to fix air fryer. Still, they get calls that should never have been directed to them. As a result, and I&#;m just sayin&#;, they can get testy and come across a bit like a bear with a sore behind.

I remember a call I made early in my career. I was mumbling and stumbling around when the person kindly interrupted with; &#;Look kid, when you know what it is your looking for, give us a call.&#; It helps to get your ducks in a row before you make that call.

The first thing you are going to want to present is the &#;family&#; the steel belongs to; is it mild steel, carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless, tool steel, or a non-ferrous grade like brass or bronze. The general form the steel takes should be right here. Is it wire, coil, sheet, angle, bar, shapes, or some other form? They should ask what hardness, or what finish? Try to answer those questions with industry familiar language. &#;I don&#;t want it to be hard to machine.&#; Is not good, for all they know, you may be the worst machinist in the world. &#;I want to see a reflection but it shouldn&#;t stretch my head a lot.&#; No help there either.

Next advise the specific size shape length and quantity. Get this out of the way quickly. I have been in long conversations about applications and failures only to find out the customer was actually looking for wire or coil, or some other form that we didn&#;t handle.
If it is a repeat order, mention that upfront. It will save both of you a lot of time.

Caution on the length. Does it need to be an exact length (you will need a tolerance), or can you take a random bar length? See previous posts on random bar lengths. A common mistake is asking for a 36ft length because you&#;ve calculated your mults (finish lengths) to be optimal from that length. That results in a lot of no quotes. Advise your mults first. Then advise how many &#;finish length pieces&#; you will need.

When you are discussing quantities and descriptions, the following are universally accepted; Pieces, Bars, Sheets, Plates, Tons, Metric Tons, etc. If it is thin plate you can use the words sheet or plate; although sheet is understood to be thinner. Those items can be purchased in pieces, pounds, tons, hundred weight (cwt). Thick plate, maybe heavier than 3/16&#; thick, should always be plate.

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Bars may be pieces, bars, or rods, even sticks will work. &#;Bundles&#; should be avoided.

Food for thought; If every order you place is a &#;Rush-Breakdown&#;, you should know that after a while your urgent need won&#;t even be heard by your supplier.

A group of crows is a &#;Murder of Crows&#;. Just in case that ever comes up.

-Howard Thomas, April 5th

There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to choosing the best shooting targets. It all depends on what you want to get out of your shooting target. Whether you&#;re practicing at home short-range, long-range, or on the move. There are several factors that you need to consider before buying the perfect shooting target for you: 

1. The size and thickness that will be ideal for your shooting style &#; If you are practicing for a hostage situation, then a gong target would not be the right choice for you. You would want one of our hostage target system. So, a lot depends on the purpose behind you wanting a shooting target. Do you want it to practice close quarter combat, accuracy, or fun? Depending on your goal, you can choose between gong targets, Silhouette targets or hostage targets. 
2. The cost &#; This is also be a major factor to take into consideration for choosing the best shooting targets for you. You don&#;t want to get a shooting target with all the features and qualities if you have no use for it. Start out small and build your way up. Our systems are modular which gives you a range of applications for you to work with.  Rangetime targets offers a large selection of targets including 4 inch round targets to 18 inch x 30 inch silhouette targets.
3. How long will they last? &#; This is a question often asked when purchasing a steel target. It mainly depends on how it&#;s used. Do you only have one target you use repeatedly, or do you have a range of targets you switch between? What size and thickness is the target? From what distance are you shooting? These are questions you have to think about before you purchase a steel target and based on your answers, will determine how long they will last.  

Today we will discuss Steel Targets and what to look for when selecting the right one.  AR500/AR550 do not reference the thickness.  Those numbers reference the hardness of the metal .  3/8 inch thick AR500 works great with most pistols, handguns and light rifle calibers. If you&#;re shooting .223 or magnum rifles calibers, we recommend going with the 1/2 inch thick ar550  targets. There are a lot of benefits that you get with going for either one of these such as:

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1. Durability &#; These are the most durable and long-lasting targets that you can find on the market. You don&#;t have to worry about the paint chipping off as a quick spray from a spray can make them good as new.
2. Versatility &#; These targets come with the option of 3 mounting holes which means that you have more options on how you can use them. They also use carriage bolts which means that you will require fewer tools and it will be easier for you to set them up.
3. Safety &#; Both of these are some of the safest targets to shoot at in the market. It is recommended to place the target at a 20-degree angle, the reason for this is that when you shoot at a target that is set up in this way, it will move and absorb more energy from the ammunition meaning that there are fewer chances for a dangerous ricochet trajectory. 
4. Portable (x-base) vs Permanent(t-post) &#; You can either go for an 2×4 stand setup with your targets if you want to take them with you or you can go for the t-post mount if you want to have the target in a more permanent capacity at your shooting range. Portable and permanent are both possible with AR500 and AR550 targets.