Road Plates

[Hoplophile]

Some road workers left one of those 1/2" thick steel plates they use to cover holes in the road while they are reapairg it in my front yard after the fixed our street. I heard a rumor that these are D-2. Anybody know for sure what these are made of?

 

[mete]

D-2 ???? Only in your dreams !!

 

[Kiwi303]

if they're anything like whats here in NZ, they are scrap steel. like rebar they just have to pass a tensile test not be made of specified metals or alloys.

 

[Alarion]

Here in italy they are of recycled scrap steel with everything in it that you don't want in proper, good steel like copper.
BUT they are nonetheless a great source of plate mild steel for many projects.
I'd take it as a gift from heaven anyway.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I would make a metal welding table out of it.
Stacy

 

[Jared Stenoien]

there's around 20 of them that I can see from the front of my house on the roads right now, I keep thinking about how many thousands of dollars worth of steel that is just lying on the ground out there

 

[jll346]

If those plates were actually D2 I would stop at every road dig-up I came bye. Me and a half dozen people to lift them. Be a lot of unusable road lanes around!

 

[Hoplophile]

So I've basically got 80 lbs of mild steel sittin on the deck. Couple dozen guards worth. Oh well. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Peldor]

Mostly here in the states that would be A36 grade A, or Grade B steel. The actual carbon content varies (.1%~.3%) but on the grade A stuff the yield is 45,000 to 50,000 pounds grade B is a crap shoot (mostly any scrap they can shovel into the smelter)
Sold about 127 tons of 1/2, 5/8 and 3/4 plate to the DOT recently and they ask for the cheapest stuff we have.