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Are you new to the world of making and fabrication? If so, this guide’s for you!
Thickness of material can be a rather abstract concept when you’re first getting started. So, we’ve put together a list of comparisons to help you get a sense for the thickness dimension of sheets, plates, rods and bars as you’re deciding what size materials are best suited for your project.
Thickness Comparison Table |
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Thickness |
Imperial |
Metric |
Sheet of copier paper | .003 in |
.07 mm |
Dollar bill | .0043 in |
.1 mm |
Driver’s license / credit card thickness | .03 in |
.76 mm |
Standard paperclip (wire diameter) | .031 in |
.78 mm |
DVD-R | .047 in |
1.19 mm |
Dime | .053 in |
1.35 mm |
Penny | .059 in |
1.52 mm |
Quarter | .063 in |
1.75 mm |
Nickel | .074 in |
1.95 mm |
House key | .08 in |
2 mm |
Standard car windshield | .25 in |
6.35 mm |
iPhone | .27 - .29 in |
6.85 – 7.36 mm |
Samsung Galaxy | ~.31 in |
~7.87 mm |
Standard tube ballpoint pen | .319 in |
8.1 mm |
Blu-ray case | .511 in |
12.97 mm |
Height of Credit Card | 2.125 in |
53.98 mm |
Width of credit card | 3.37 in |
85.6 mm |
Another common question is about gauge thicknesses. This form of measurement is traditional in the United States, but it is older and is going out of common use here because it is non-linear and actually changes depending on the metal being used. Also, gauge thickness is actually a rough estimate. For mills that still make material based on gauges, it will slightly vary depending on the mill and the batch. For these reasons, we generally advise that you use imperial or metric measurements instead of gauges.
Gauge Conversion Table in Inches |
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Gauge |
Tube |
Alloy Steel |
Aluminum |
Stainless |
Copper |
Brass |
Carbon Steel |
Galvanized Steel |
0 | 0.34 | 0.3125 | 0.3249 | 0.3125 | 0.34 | 0.3249 | --- | --- |
1 | 0.3 | 0.2901 | 0.2893 | 0.2813 | 0.3 | 0.2893 | --- | --- |
2 | 0.284 | 0.259 | 0.2576 | 0.266 | 0.284 | 0.2576 | --- | --- |
3 | 0.259 | 0.2391 | 0.2294 | 0.239 | 0.259 | 0.2294 | 0.2391 | --- |
4 | 0.238 | 0.2242 | 0.2043 | 0.224 | 0.238 | 0.2043 | 0.2242 | --- |
5 | 0.22 | 0.2092 | 0.1819 | 0.209 | 0.22 | 0.1819 | 0.2092 | --- |
6 | 0.203 | 0.1943 | 0.162 | 0.194 | 0.203 | 0.162 | 0.1943 | --- |
7 | 0.18 | 0.1793 | 0.1443 | 0.179 | 0.18 | 0.1443 | 0.1793 | --- |
8 | 0.165 | 0.1644 | 0.1285 | 0.164 | 0.165 | 0.1285 | 0.1644 | 0.1681 |
9 | 0.148 | 0.1495 | 0.1144 | 0.15 | 0.148 | 0.1144 | 0.1495 | 0.1532 |
10 | 0.12 | 0.1196 | 0.1019 | 0.135 | 0.134 | 0.1019 | 0.1345 | 0.1382 |
11 | 0.109 | 0.1046 | 0.0907 | 0.12 | 0.12 | 0.0907 | 0.1196 | 0.1233 |
12 | 0.095 | 0.0897 | 0.0808 | 0.105 | 0.109 | 0.0808 | 0.1046 | 0.1084 |
13 | 0.083 | 0.0747 | 0.072 | 0.09 | 0.095 | 0.072 | 0.0897 | 0.0934 |
14 | 0.072 | 0.0673 | 0.064 | 0.075 | 0.083 | 0.064 | 0.0747 | 0.0785 |
15 | 0.065 | 0.0598 | 0.0571 | 0.067 | 0.072 | 0.0571 | 0.0673 | 0.0710 |
16 | 0.058 | 0.0538 | 0.0508 | 0.06 | 0.065 | 0.0508 | 0.0598 | 0.0635 |
17 | 0.049 | 0.0478 | 0.0453 | 0.054 | 0.056 | 0.0453 | 0.0538 | 0.0575 |
18 | 0.042 | 0.0418 | 0.0403 | 0.048 | 0.049 | 0.0403 | 0.0478 | 0.0516 |
19 | 0.035 | 0.0359 | 0.0359 | 0.042 | 0.043 | 0.0359 | 0.0418 | 0.0456 |
20 | 0.028 | 0.0299 | 0.032 | 0.036 | 0.035 | 0.032 | 0.0359 | 0.0396 |
21 | 0.025 | 0.0269 | 0.0285 | 0.033 | 0.032 | 0.0285 | 0.0329 | 0.0366 |
22 | 0.022 | 0.0239 | 0.0254 | 0.03 | 0.027 | 0.0254 | 0.0299 | 0.0336 |
23 | 0.02 | 0.0209 | 0.0226 | 0.027 | 0.025 | 0.0226 | 0.0269 | 0.0306 |
24 | 0.018 | 0.0179 | 0.0201 | 0.024 | 0.022 | 0.0201 | 0.0239 | 0.0276 |
25 | 0.016 | 0.0164 | 0.0179 | 0.021 | 0.02 | 0.0179 | 0.0209 | 0.0247 |
26 | 0.014 | 0.0149 | 0.0159 | 0.018 | 0.018 | 0.0159 | 0.0179 | 0.0217 |
27 | 0.013 | 0.0135 | 0.0142 | 0.016 | 0.016 | 0.0142 | --- | 0.0202 |
28 | 0.012 | 0.012 | 0.0126 | 0.015 | 0.014 | 0.0126 | 0.0149 | 0.0187 |
29 | 0.01 | 0.0105 | 0.0113 | 0.014 | 0.013 | 0.0113 | --- | 0.0172 |
30 | 0.009 | 0.0097 | 0.01 | 0.012 | 0.012 | 0.01 | --- | 0.0157 |
31 | 0.01 | 0.0105 | 0.0089 | 0.011 | 0.011 | 0.0089 | --- | 0.0142 |
32 | 0.009 | 0.0097 | 0.008 | 0.01 | 0.009 | 0.008 | --- | 0.0134 |