FAQ

Materials we readily have available

Carbon Steel (A36 mild steel) - People often refer to this as regular steel or iron. We stock sheets, plates, flat bar, tubing (square, round, and DOM), angles, channel, rectangular tube, round bars, and pipe.

Stainless Steel- We stock grade 304 Stainless Steel in sheets, plates, flat bar, square tubing, angle, shaft, and pipe. Aluminum- We stock grade 5052 (formable) or 6061 (rigid) Aluminum in sheets, Treadbright, plate, diamond plate, angle, square tube, and a limited amount of flat bar.

UHMW- Which is an Ultra High Molecular Weight plastic. We stock white (food grade) 1/8” through 3/4” in 4x10’ sheets. 

OTHER TYPES OF MATERIALS WE DO NOT STOCK, BUT DEAL WITH REGULARLY

4140- Carbon Steel has the potential to be hardened and usually used for pins.

AR400- Carbon Steel that is abrasive resistant. It's usually used for blades for skids, targets for handguns, and flights for coarse materials.

AR500- Carbon Steel that is abrasive resistant. Usually used for targets for rifles.

316- Stainless Steel that is more resistant to chemicals such as fertilizer and ammonia.

UHMW Black- Which is an Ultra High Molecular Weight plastic. Black has an added sunblock to protect it outside from the weather but is not food grade.

What aRE Slightly more uncommon Materials we work with

HDPE- High Density Poly Ethelene plastic comes in a variety of thicknesses and colors, typically slightly less expensive than UHMW.

T1- Carbon steel tool steel, strong and hard to bend but not as abrasive resistant as AR materials.

Plexiglass- often clear, but not always, in the plastic/glass family. We can cut this on the WaterJet, however it does cause the sides to splinter slightly. This is often used on guarding so that you can see through them.

Lexan- Clear plastic. We cut this on the WaterJet and it does allow a much cleaner cut. Highly recommended if you need bolt holes cut through the material. Great for guarding, but discolors easier than plexiglass when used outside, used on foods that stain, or used with abrasive materials the lexan will get cloudy.

303- Stainless steel that is comparable with 304 stainless steel, but is easier to machine. So, depending on the part the additional cost of the 303 stainless, can be made up for in saved labor.

Bronze, Brass, and Copper- There are several Grades of Bronze and Brass and are very difficult to tell apart. Some of which are more easily machinable than others.

Are you open to the public for small or large projects or repairs?

We do strive to take in all jobs from everyone, while our shop spends most of its time to support people who work out in the field, we do walk-in work. The only thing to keep in mind is that we cannot always accommodate walk-ins at the exact moment they come in. We do venture to complete tasks in a reasonable time frame.
 

Who can purchase materials?

We are open to anyone, with no minimum as far as purchasing metal materials.
 

Do you sell scrap metal?

We do sell metal, often by the square inch; however we do not buy or sell “scrap metal.” We utilize as much of the material we can through our fabrication processes. Most smaller pieces of content are still usable for us, so we do not offer discounts on those. We do offer a discount on purchases of a full stick of material. And we will cut to haul for free.
 

What is the difference between pipe and tubing?

Tubing is measured by the outside diameter, where the pipe is based on nominal sizes. As an example, 1-1/4” tubing measures 1-1/4” diameter on the outside,1-1/4” pipe measures 1.66” on the outside. Pipe and tubing both have a set of outside diameter based on size and the interior measurement changes with the thickness of the wall. Tubing can have several different wall thicknesses from .065 to .375”. The pipe has (3) standard wall thickness, schedule 10, schedule 40, and schedule 80. These schedules change, however, based on pipe size, each pipe size has a different thickness with each schedule, schedule 10 being the thinnest. Back to the example, 1-1/4” tubing can have a .125” wall making the interior dimension 1”. 1-1/4” Pipe schedule 40 will have a .140” wall making the interior dimension 1.38”. There is a common misconception that pipe measures on the interior dimension, and while that is a close comparison, close is never close enough in our line of work. If you are trying to fit one pipe inside another, it is always best to refer to a pipe chart. Added note we also stock DOM (drawn over mandrel) Tubing, which is seamless and often used at bushing stock.

Where do I go to have a job done?

Our Shop Manager, Stephanie, is located in Industrial Company Store, but anyone who works in the store will be able to help bring in a project or call us at 208-785-1552 or email us at shop@industrialmetal.biz. You can buy metal here as well.

What is Sectional Flighting?

Sectional flighting is made one full rotation of the auger at a time, this allows us to do custom set ups fairly easily, fabricate larger flights, and to do unusual style flights.

Can I get a quote on my project?

We do offer free quoting for projects which have been previously designed. We are also willing to look at a job for other fabrication and production facilities. We are more than happy to quote repairs before we start on them as well. We do not design work until after the quote is accepted.

What if I have a prototype I want to make?

Bring us a reasonably reliable design, and we can quote you what it will take to build one or point out if there is another way to fabricate it. We are interested in helping make you successful.

What can the WaterJet cut?

Almost anything from tile, wood, almost any plastic, rubber, belting, and metal except for tempered glass. Plexiglass only cracks if there is a small inside geometry. Cuts from a thickness of 1/8 to 6” with a cutting envelope of 72” x 163”

Can I set up an account?

Due to the large number of customers that IME sees on an annual basis, only regular customers will be able to set up an account to do monthly payments.

What forms of payment do you accept?

We accept cash, checks, and all major cards.

Are you hiring?

We are always looking for good laborers, fabricators and welders for our team, but we do not always have an immediate need. When a need comes up, we hire from our applications we have on hand.