Working with sheet metal, as shown in Figure 1, gauge sizes can be confusing at the best of times. Sheet metal gauges work opposite to what one might consider the norm. The smaller the number, the thicker the material. Hence, 4 gauge material is thicker than 6 gauge material.
Figure 1 - Sheet metal
To make things more complex, the conversion from gauge thickness is different depending on the type of metal being used.
Table 1 provides a set of conversion tables for the most common sheet metals:
- Steel
- Galvanized Steel
- Aluminum
- Stainless Steel (Series 300)
- Copper (Alloy 110)
| Table 1 - Sheet Metal Gauge To Thickness In Inches | |||||
| Gauge | Steel In Inches | Galvanized Steel In Inches | Aluminum In Inches | Stainless Steel, Series 300, In Inches | Copper, Alloy 110, In Inches |
3 |
0.2391 |
0.2294 |
|||
4 |
0.2242 |
0.2043 |
|||
5 |
0.2092 |
0.1819 |
|||
6 |
0.1943 |
0.1620 |
|||
7 |
0.1793 |
0.1443 |
|||
8 |
0.1644 |
0.1285 |
|||
9 |
0.1495 |
0.1532 |
0.1144 |
||
10 |
0.1345 |
0.1382 |
0.1019 |
0.134 |
|
11 |
0.1196 |
0.1233 |
0.0907 |
0.119 |
|
12 |
0.1046 |
0.1084 |
0.0808 |
0.103 |
|
13 |
0.0897 |
0.0934 |
0.0720 |
||
14 |
0.0747 |
0.0785 |
0.0641 |
0.074 |
|
15 |
0.0673 |
0.0710 |
0.0571 |
||
16 |
0.0598 |
0.0635 |
0.0508 |
0.059 |
|
17 |
0.0538 |
0.0575 |
0.0453 |
||
18 |
0.0478 |
0.0516 |
0.0403 |
0.047 |
0.040 |
19 |
0.0418 |
0.0456 |
0.0359 |
||
20 |
0.0359 |
0.0396 |
0.0320 |
0.035 |
0.032 |
21 |
0.0329 |
0.0366 |
0.0285 |
||
22 |
0.0299 |
0.0336 |
0.0253 |
0.030 |
0.025 |
23 |
0.0269 |
0.0306 |
0.0226 |
||
24 |
0.0239 |
0.0276 |
0.0201 |
0.024 |
0.020 |
25 |
0.0209 |
0.0247 |
0.0179 |
||
26 |
0.0179 |
0.0217 |
0.0159 |
0.019 |
0.0159 |
27 |
0.0164 |
0.0202 |
0.0142 |
0.0135 |
|
28 |
0.0149 |
0.0187 |
0.0126 |
0.0126 |
|
29 |
0.0135 |
0.0172 |
0.0113 |
||
30 |
0.0120 |
0.0157 |
0.0100 |
0.010 |
|
31 |
0.0105 |
0.0142 |
0.0089 |
||
32 |
0.0097 |
0.0134 |
0.0080 |
||
33 |
0.0090 |
0.0071 |
|||
34 |
0.0082 |
0.0063 |
|||
35 |
0.0075 |
0.0056 |
|||
36 |
0.0067 |
0.005 |
|||
37 |
0.0064 |
||||
38 |
0.0060 |
||||