# Oval steel offcuts?



## Rorschach (13 Aug 2021)

Any ideas where I might find some oval steel offcuts?

I can find a small selection of oval section bars online of course but I am rather stumped as to where I might find some little offcuts. Anyone know which industries might use oval stock so I can ask? Looking for pieces around 1/2" to 1" on the widest part, 1" long would be plenty. I have some repetitive oval shaped parts to make in wood and plastic and I thought attaching them to a steel "template" would make my job a lot easier.


----------



## MARK.B. (13 Aug 2021)

How about using Aluminum instead,much easier to shape than a steel template.


----------



## Rorschach (13 Aug 2021)

MARK.B. said:


> How about using Aluminum instead,much easier to shape than a steel template.



The steel is the template.


----------



## MARK.B. (13 Aug 2021)

OK bu could you not make your template from ally instead of steel ?


----------



## Rorschach (13 Aug 2021)

MARK.B. said:


> OK bu could you not make your template from ally instead of steel ?



I could but I have used aly templates in the past and they are not as durable as steel for long term use. Great for a one off job but not for dozens, maybe even hundreds.


----------



## Peri (13 Aug 2021)

If you only need a few, and can provide a drawing, I might be able to cnc some for you.


----------



## Rorschach (13 Aug 2021)

Peri said:


> If you only need a few, and can provide a drawing, I might be able to cnc some for you.



I'll keep that in mind, thank you.


----------



## Cabinetman (13 Aug 2021)

Depends how thick your wood and plastic parts are of course but if you’re making that many I think the way to go is a shaped cutter and stamp them out, perhaps. Ian


----------



## Rorschach (13 Aug 2021)

Cabinetman said:


> Depends how thick your wood and plastic parts are of course but if you’re making that many I think the way to go is a shaped cutter and stamp them out, perhaps. Ian



Not suitable in this case but I appreciate the suggestion.


----------



## MARK.B. (13 Aug 2021)

OK i see your reasoning


----------



## Tris (14 Aug 2021)

Pet tags? Seem to remember oval ones but may be too big or thin


----------



## Rorschach (14 Aug 2021)

Tris said:


> Pet tags? Seem to remember oval ones but may be too big or thin



Both too big and too thin, but a good suggestion, will look into stamped plaques, I might be able to stack them.


----------



## Inspector (14 Aug 2021)

Rule out making big ovals/ellipses and a router jig gizmo like an engraver to reduce the actual piece to the size you need?

Pete


----------



## TFrench (14 Aug 2021)

Sounds like you need them machined to me.


----------



## Rorschach (15 Aug 2021)

TFrench said:


> Sounds like you need them machined to me.



I was hoping for off the shelf, you can buy steel bar in oval shapes, I was just looking for potential sources of off cuts as I don't need a whole bar. I was hoping someone might know an industry that uses oval stock I could contact, they obviously make it for someone but I don't know who.


----------



## Pineapple (15 Aug 2021)

Thick or Thin ? - Fat Belly or Slim Belly ? = Slightly Oval or Very Oval ? - If you make your own out of the exact grade of steel you prefer; to the design required, you will end up with what you want - instead of settling for something that "will do" !


----------



## Pineapple (15 Aug 2021)

Or design them carefully - and politely ask "PERI" to CNC them for you ?


----------



## Rorschach (15 Aug 2021)

Pineapple said:


> Thick or Thin ? - Fat Belly or Slim Belly ? = Slightly Oval or Very Oval ? - If you make your own out of the exact grade of steel you prefer; to the design required, you will end up with what you want - instead of settling for something that "will do" !



Will do is fine, the shape isn't critical, it's aesthetic rather than functional.


----------



## J-G (15 Aug 2021)

I have no idea how you came to think that there would be 'Oval' bar stock available. First 'Oval' means 'Egg shaped' (the radius at each end is different) and I suspect that what you really want is 'Elliptical' ie. the conic section.

Steel Stock Holders / Rolling Mills have enough difficulty carrying Round stock in single mm increments never mind then thinking about what eccentricity is likely to be useful/popular.

You can find a reference (incorrect) to 'Oval Tube' by some stockholders but that is flat sided tube with an equal radius on each end.

Here is a graphic explanation in case you are in any doubt.


----------



## Rorschach (15 Aug 2021)

@J-G You are quite correct, elliptical is what I want, but I don't think most people think of oval as being egg shaped. One of those instances where the commonly accepted definition is different from the official.


----------



## J-G (15 Aug 2021)

Rorschach said:


> @J-G You are quite correct, elliptical is what I want, ...


But what makes you think that elliptical bar stock would be available?


Rorschach said:


> ...but I don't think most people think of oval as being egg shaped.


Why not? The clue is in the name 'Oval' > Ovum / Ovalis / Ovary = Egg
I suspect that most people who 'think' really do consider 'Oval' to be Egg-shaped.


Rorschach said:


> ...One of those instances where the commonly accepted definition is different from the official.


That doesn't mean that the myth should be accepted, perpetuated and left uncorrected! It's simply idle using an easily spelled four letter word rather than a more challenging (spelling) 10 letter word.


----------



## gcusick (15 Aug 2021)

Circular bar and slice at an angle


----------



## J-G (15 Aug 2021)

gcusick said:


> Circular bar and slice at an angle


I ought to have suggested that !!  D'oh!

Only problem is that the edges would not be perpendicular to the faces but that may not be a problem depending upon the specific application.


----------



## Rorschach (15 Aug 2021)

J-G said:


> But what makes you think that elliptical bar stock would be available?
> 
> Why not? The clue is in the name 'Oval' > Ovum / Ovalis / Ovary = Egg
> I suspect that most people who 'think' really do consider 'Oval' to be Egg-shaped.
> ...



It is available, see pic below.

I'll bet if you ask 99+% of people to draw an oval they will not draw an egg shape, at least not intentionally! lol.
Oh and wikipedia seems to say an egg is oval, but an oval is not always egg shaped.




__





Oval - Wikipedia







en.wikipedia.org


----------



## Rorschach (15 Aug 2021)

gcusick said:


> Circular bar and slice at an angle



Great idea, except as noted in the post below yours the sides are not perpendicular to the face. If I had to I could grind by eye to fix that, but that wouldn't be my first choice.


----------



## J-G (15 Aug 2021)

Rorschach said:


> Oh and wikipedia seems to say an egg is oval, but an oval is not always egg shaped.


It also says :
" a plane curve should _resemble_ the outline of an egg or an ellipse" which is inaccurate. -- It ought to say 'but not an Ellipse'
... and :
" The term "ellipse" is often used interchangibly with oval, despite not being a precise synonym"
.. which also has the word - interchangeably - incorrectly spelled.

I can't decipher the web address in your image sufficiently to find the appropriate page - www.globalsources.com/steeldisco and /steeldesco both return a 'page not found'. I've also tried /steeldiscorectangle which might have been what was meant but that would actually be the 'Oval tube' or, more precisely, 'Stadium' shape.


----------



## Rorschach (15 Aug 2021)

Ok maybe you would prefer this definition, or shall I write to Cambridge and tell them they are wrong too?









oval


1. shaped like a circle that is flattened so that it is like an egg or an…




dictionary.cambridge.org


----------



## J-G (15 Aug 2021)

You would be well within your rights so to do and you may wish to point them to the Oxford Dictionary definition which correctly makes no reference to a Mathematical/Conic section.

As you can tell, I have a 'thing' about the Ellipse - it is 'special', just as the Reuleaux Polygons are.


----------



## Rorschach (15 Aug 2021)

J-G said:


> You would be well within your rights so to do and you may wish to point them to the Oxford Dictionary definition which correctly makes no reference to a Mathematical/Conic section.
> 
> As you can tell, I have a 'thing' about the Ellipse - it is 'special', just as the Reuleaux Polygons are.



You're welcome to have a thing about it, appears your thing might be wrong though. Don't worry, there's lots of people out there that have a thing about something that is wrong, I mean look at religions, loads of them, can't all be right 

For now I will continue to refer to ellipses as ovals


----------



## J-G (15 Aug 2021)

Opinions can be wrong - facts can't.

I don't have an opinion that an Ellipse is not an oval - it simply isn't - by definition, it's a FACT !

Incidentally,you still haven't provided a working link to the elliptical steel stock. I would like to update my knowledge.


----------



## TFrench (15 Aug 2021)

I've had a quick look and can't find anywhere that stocks it - oval or elliptical, whatever you want to call it. There's half profile for handrails and sellers on Alibaba that'll sell you 2 tons of it, but no one selling cut bars in the UK! I'm assuming you're looking to make a template for a bearing guided router? Thinking on it, if it was me I'd scribe it on a piece of aluminium plate, bandsaw it out and sand to the line. If you have access to a vertical metal bandsaw and a linisher you could do the same in steel.


----------



## Cabinetman (16 Aug 2021)

I presume the offcuts are going to be fairly short so how about thin walled steel tube and squash it in the vice a bit till it’s oval or even egg-shaped depending on your individual proclivities. Ian


----------



## Filament (16 Aug 2021)

J-G said:


> Opinions can be wrong - facts can't.
> 
> I don't have an opinion that an Ellipse is not an oval - it simply isn't - by definition, it's a FACT !



I’d have to disagree, not even ‘facts’ in language are immutable. As has been said a common usage of a word can become correct even if it’s not exactly what the word originally meant.
(‘Naughty’ meant ‘having nothing’, ‘silly’ meant ‘blessed’)
Words can end up meaning the exact opposite of their ‘factual’ meaning, so using ‘oval’ for something ‘ovoid-ish’ maybe isn’t the end of the world? 

I’d also disagree that ‘most people’ would mean egg-shaped if they said oval. For instance if you image search the word oval, you get lot more ellipses than egg shapes.

I wouldn’t have posted, but you are in my opinion being a little heavier-handed than is necessary


----------



## Rorschach (16 Aug 2021)

J-G said:


> Opinions can be wrong - facts can't.
> 
> I don't have an opinion that an Ellipse is not an oval - it simply isn't - by definition, it's a FACT !



Well it seems I can find more definitions that state an ellipse is oval, than isn't.  
So you can say it all you like, but it would appear you are wrong. Sorry.


----------



## J-G (16 Aug 2021)

Last comment - Eggs are not Elliptical.


----------



## Rorschach (16 Aug 2021)

J-G said:


> Last comment - Eggs are not Elliptical.



Never said they were. Slight variation on my comment above, all ellipses are ovals but not all ovals are ellipses.


----------



## Filament (16 Aug 2021)

J-G said:


> Last comment - Eggs are not Elliptical.



I don’t think anyone was suggesting they were…

(I think this is the first time I’ve been able to do punctuation humour. I can only thank you for giving me the opportunity)


----------

