Metal Sizing – Imperial Vs Metric

We stock Aluminium and Brass sections in a huge range of forms and shapes – the majority of which have imperial dimensions.

Imperial measurements (Feet, Inches, Eighths and Sixteenths of Inches) can often prove confusing for the layman. The main reason behind this is that the Metric system has been the primary system of measurement that is taught in British schools since 1974. Therefore, unless you are of a certain age, or your day job involves working with imperial measurements then there is a good chance that ordering Aluminium Tubes and Bars that are sized in inches is a daunting prospect.

In Aluminium and in Brass imperial sized sections such as Angles, Channels, Tubes, Bars and Tee Sections are still more common and therefore are often cheaper than metric sizes.  Of course, some applications demand that the size of material needs to be exact, but in many cases an approximate size is perfectly acceptable. In almost every instance there is an imperial sized profile that matches up to,  or at least comes very close to standard nominal metric dimensions. For example ¼” (or 0.25”)  converted to metric is 6.35mm.  5/8” (0.625”) is 15.9mm and 1” converts to 25.4mm.

For ease of use we list all our Aluminium and Brass sections in both metric and imperial dimensions. For a full list of conversions please see the table below.

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Free Cutting Service

1 x Free Cut - per line item purchased - receive the item at the exact length required for the job

Folding Service

We are able to offer our Aluminium Sheets & Chequer Plates and Stainless Steel Sheets folded to the customers specifications