OK, questions.
I went to one place yesterday after calling and bought 1 pound of 3/32nds. I had called ahead & asked if they had the 316 or 308L rod, and they said only the 308.
So we drove over there (half hour drive) and I say I want 2 pounds. He weighs it out & writes me up, and while he's finishing I notice there is no L after the number where it is stamped. He doesn't know what the L is, so gets on a welding forum & looks it up, then tells me that he sees that there is a difference, but he doesn't have any, they don't carry it. OK, so I go ahead & get a pound anyway since I'm there, and figure I'll give it a try.
Any thoughts there? I thought I'd cut just 2 or 3 rods as a test, leaving the stamped ends on (stamp is smaller than my last stuff but on both ends).
Today I went to a larger place and talked to them. They only have 10 pound packs, but they looked it up & have ordered it from the "other" store and are having it sent to the one I can get to without an hour drive. So I asked the price difference and it's $4 a pound so I said give me 316L. The inventory says only one pound of that at the other store, so I told her one pound of each... (I'm going to have a sufficient supply for a while I guess).
My thought is to cut some of each, leaving the stamps so I can tell what they are, use them a few times and compare. Has anyone done this already? I'm just worried that the non-L version is going to be useless since everyone says get the L, and wondering if there is another use for it if so. Maybe some type of display stand is my thought... with lots & lots of rows, LOL.
So to recap I bought (or have ordered):
1 pound 308
1 pound 308L
1 pound 316L
and wonder about the L and how important it is for our puroses.
|