I guess that just about all of us know what aluminum is but, I suspect that many could be puzzled over the words round stock. Round is most often associated with circular (even if the association gets a bit loose when buying a round of drinks or the next round in a sports event).
As for “stock” that is a word with quite a number of different shades of meaning. A stockist keeps inventory in stock ready to be sold. Stocks and shares are something else, as is the liquid base for cooking things like soups and stews. In medieval times, law breakers could be made to sit in the stocks. Then there is that part of a firearm to which the barrel and firing mechanism are attached. The list goes on (and on) but never seems to get close to explaining the concept of Aluminum Round Stock.
Trade Language
In any given trade, the manufacturers, suppliers, buyers and users will often develop a series of terms and words to describe the specialities of their trade. People who are immersed in that trade will automatically understand words that may seem obscure to an outsider. The field of metal working and engineering is no stranger to this practice.
Many engineering practices involve machining metal on a lathe. In very broad terms, a piece of metal is held in the lathe chuck at one end and kept level by the tailstock at the other end. I am not sure which came first, the name for the tailstock or naming the metal placed in the lathe as stock metal. Both are still in common usage today and it is often the practice to refer to all metal lengths prior to placing them into a lathe (or any other equipment) as metal stock.
Stock is also the trade term for metal as it comes off its basic production equipment such as rolling mills or extruding machines. Relatively wide metal is known as plate or sheet stock whereas shaped metal that is relatively small in cross section (i.e. in width and depth) would be bar stock which can be round (diameter bar or rod), square or rectangular in cross section.
You Can Ask A Stockist If He Has Any Aluminum Round Stock In Stock
If he says “yes”, he will ask you what diameter you require. Knowing that, he can tell you how many pieces he has along with the length of each piece. The stockist of Aluminum Round Stock may well have your size in more than one type of aluminum alloy and the material specification might need to be confirmed.
For Extruded Aluminum Round Stock (aka diameter or round bar), you should get in touch with Howard Precision Metals Inc. They have substantial stocks and can also cut down to your length requirements. See their website for more details or fill in the online enquiry form at http://www.howardprecision.com/contact-us.
