When I came to the steel business, one of the first things I learned was how heavy steel is. I was shocked to see how few bundles of cut length sheets it took to fill a truck. The fact that master coils weigh so much in spite of the fact that they take up such a small portion of the space of a flat bed trailer was a real surprise. Certainly a learning experience for me. Another thing that I had never really noticed was how many flat bed trucks there were on the road – including those carrying master coils underneath a tarp. I was always under the impression that van / box trucks ruled the roost. Boy! Was I wrong about that. I guess I just never really paid any attention to it because I was not living and dealing with it. Right there is a powerful lesson to be learned: When you live inside of your comfort zone and never venture out, you will never come to learn new things. Being armed with additional perspective based on broad knowledge can be very useful and helpful in more ways than you would normally imagine. It never hurts to be curious and inquisitive…..Don’t be afraid to discover new facts, knowledge, technology, techniques, or really, anything else. I have coined the following phrase: “You better embrace change or be prepared to get left behind by it!”

Where was I?? Ahh! Yes! The weight (and strength) of steel. Steel has incredible thermal mass (I think that I may have illustrated this in a previous post but I cannot seem to find it….) – Try baking a pizza on a plate of steel (cleaned up and seasoned of course :)). The oven spring (that is how high the dough rises when the yeast gets activated quickly from heat that is transferred to it) in a pizza baked on steel is HUGE! That is because all of the energy stored in the steel from pre-heating gets easily incorporated into the pizza. Due to steel’s high thermal mass, it can hold a significant amount of energy in a relatively small space. (I know, I know, WAY TOO technical).

I was quite intrigued then to read this:

https://www.ien.com/advanced-manufacturing/video/20974097/rubber-bands-200-times-stronger-than-steel-are-on-the-way

I never knew that graphine even existed or what it is about – I’ll bet that you didn’t either! 🙂

The next thing we can discuss is why Canadian trucks are allowed to carry up to 90,000# on a load and U.S. carriers can only carry 47,000# maximum on a load…….

Keep in touch.

Ben

To learn more about Premium Steel Sales, LLC and what we can do for you, check out the rest of our web site at: https://premiumsteelsales.com/

Ben Levi – Premium Steel Sales

Ben@PremiumSteelSales.com