Metal weight is the volume of the piece times the metal's density. Steel is the heaviest of the common shop metals after copper and brass, and aluminum weighs about a third as much for the same piece, so the calculator lets you compare before you buy or haul.
How to use this calculator
- Choose the metal: carbon steel, stainless, aluminum, copper, brass or cast iron.
- Choose the shape and enter its size. For tubes and pipe, enter the outside size and the wall thickness.
- Enter the length and the number of pieces.
Worked examples
A steel plate
Metal: Steel (carbon, mild) · Shape: Plate or sheet · Width: 24 in · Thickness: 0.25 in · Length: 4 ft
- Weight
- 81.5 lb
- Per foot
- 20.38 lb per foot
- Cross-section
- 6.00 sq in
A square steel tube
Metal: Steel (carbon, mild) · Shape: Square or rectangular tube · Width: 2 in · Height: 2 in · Wall thickness: 0.125 in · Length: 20 ft
- Weight
- 63.7 lb
- Per foot
- 3.18 lb per foot
- Cross-section
- 0.94 sq in
An aluminum angle
Metal: Aluminum (6061) · Shape: Angle · Width: 2 in · Height: 2 in · Thickness: 0.25 in · Length: 8 ft
- Weight
- 8.82 lb
- Per foot
- 1.10 lb per foot
- Cross-section
- 0.94 sq in
Copper round bar
Metal: Copper · Shape: Round bar · Outside diameter: 1 in · Length: 3 ft · Pieces: 4
- Weight
- 36.4 lb
- Per piece
- 9.1 lb
- Per foot
- 3.03 lb per foot
- Cross-section
- 0.79 sq in
Stainless pipe
Metal: Stainless steel (304) · Shape: Round tube or pipe · Outside diameter: 1.315 in · Wall thickness: 0.133 in · Length: 21 ft
- Weight
- 35.5 lb
- Per foot
- 1.69 lb per foot
- Cross-section
- 0.49 sq in
Density of common metals
- Carbon (mild) steel: 0.283 lb per cubic inch, or about 490 lb per cubic foot.
- Stainless steel: 0.285 lb per cubic inch.
- Aluminum: 0.098 lb per cubic inch.
- Copper: 0.322 lb per cubic inch.
- Brass: 0.308 lb per cubic inch.
- Cast iron: about 450 lb per cubic foot.
How the weight is worked out
The cross-section of the shape, times its length, gives the volume; times the density, the weight. For a tube or pipe the hollow is taken out: the outside area less the inside one. For an angle, the two legs less the corner they share.
A handy check for steel plate: it weighs about 40.8 lb per square foot for each inch of thickness, so a quarter-inch plate weighs a quarter of that per square foot. Real stock runs a little off its nominal size, so makers' tables are the exact figure: standard one-inch steel pipe, for example, weighs 1.68 lb per foot.
Common questions
How much does steel weigh?
About 490 lb per cubic foot, or 0.283 lb per cubic inch. Multiply by the volume of the piece; the calculator does it for plate, bar, tube, pipe and angle.
How much does a sheet of steel plate weigh?
About 40.8 lb per square foot for every inch of thickness. Multiply by the plate's area and thickness, or enter the size above.
Is aluminum lighter than steel?
Yes, about a third the weight: aluminum is 0.098 lb per cubic inch, steel 0.283 lb per cubic inch.
How do I calculate the weight of a steel tube?
Take the outside cross-section, subtract the inside one (the outside size less twice the wall), multiply by the length and by the density of steel.