Metal Rods Key Terms

Understand important concepts when buying metal rods

Metal rods come in many shapes and sizes and have many uses. Although most metal rods are round, they also come in other shapes, such as hexagonal and square. They can be made of titanium, steel, copper, nickel, cast iron, aluminum or various alloys. Each of these metals has its own strengths and advantages.

Many times, metal rods are used in machines, tools and engines. They are also used in construction and to strengthen poured concrete. Other rods are used in welding or are melted down to make other metal products. Understanding the processes metal undergoes and the variety of metal rod applications will help you choose the right product for the job you are doing.

 

Rebar spikes

Rebar spikes are thin metal rods that are threaded like screws. They are driven into asphalt to make speed bumps.
Try: Traffic Logix explains how to use rebar spikes to install a speed bump.

Threaded rod

Right-handed threaded rods are configured so that turning them clockwise tightens them. Left-handed threaded rods are used in motors where motion could jar right-handed ones loose. Dual threaded rods, left-handed at one end and right-handed at the other, are used for turnbuckles.
Try: GlobalSpec provides information on threaded rods.

Machining bar

A machining bar is round bar that comes in a variety of thicknesses and lengths. These stainless bars can be polished or center-less ground. Also available in nickel alloy, these bars extend tool life.
Try: Penn Stainless Products describes the many varieties of machining bar they offer. They also discuss the importance of machinability.

Dowel pin

Metal dowel pins hold two pieces together and are used in mechanical equipment such as disc drives, pumps, and tools. The dowel pins come in a variety of sizes and have the advantage of being able to be removed without being drilled out.
Try: S. B. Whistler & Sons has pictures of metal dowel pins and demonstrates their uses.

Hot rolled

Wrought, or hot rolled, metal bars are formed first by casting. Then they are reheated so they can be rolled into their final form. When the rods are hot rolled, they end up with a scaled surface and a blue-grey finish. To remove the scale, the bars are put in acid or shot blasted. Then they go through a die, which restraightens them.
Try: Machine Design discusses the hot rolled process for carbon steel.

Cold finish

In contrast to hot rolled metal, which is shaped after it has been heated up, a bar is cold finished if it is turned or ground when it is cold. By not undergoing the heat and pressure that hot rolled metal does, cold finish metal retains its original steel gray color. Because steel is much less malleable when it is cold, it is much harder to shape. Thus, fewer cold finish products are produced.
Try: OnlineMetals.com gives specs and uses for cold finish metal rods. Metalreference.com gives information on cold finished steel.

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