FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

To help you to do business with us we have assembled below those questions, with their answers, that are most frequently asked of our Sales Department.

Payment:

Q: Can I pay for my purchase with a credit card?
A: Yes, we accept Visa or Master card. Remember however that because we are required to provide test certification and traceability with all our materials we do have a minimum order value of $100.

Freight:

Q: How do I arrange freight and what will it cost?
A: We will ship on your nominated freight account if you have one, or we will arrange freight for you. If you tell us what you want to purchase and the delivery address we will calculate the freight cost and send you a proforma invoice that shows all the costs.

Sheet Metal:

Q: Do I have to buy a full sheet of metal?
A: No, we will cut sheets down to your required size and charge by the square foot. Remember however that we do have a minimum order value of $100 and to cover the cost of handling, cutting, and wastage, cut sheet incurs an extra cost of 25% - be sure to check that it is not cheaper for you to buy a full sheet.

Q: How can sheet metal be packaged to avoid damage?
A: We have a range of packaging methods. Go to our page on “Products” and click on “aluminium sheet packaging information” for details.

Tube:

Q: Do I have to buy tube in full lengths?
A: No, our prices are per foot and we will cut to length. Remember however that we have a minimum order value of $100.

Q: What lengths of tube do you stock?
A: This depends on the material type. Chrome moly tube comes in random lengths anywhere between 17 feet and 24 feet. Usually stainless steel tube and aluminium tube comes in 12 foot lengths although we sometimes have these available in longer lengths. If you require a particular length call our sales department and they will happily check current stock availability for you.

Q: How can I select tubes in sizes that will enable one tube to neatly slide inside another?
A: Because mills produce tube to the standard allowable tolerances for wall thickness, outside diameter, and roundness, the actual finished tube dimensions can vary up or down from the nominal size. This makes it difficult to predict which sizes might be a good sliding fit. The old rough rule of thumb for a sliding fit was to always pick the larger tube with a 0.058 inch or 0.120 inch wall thickness and the smaller tube with a 1/8 inch or 1/4 inch respectively smaller outside diameter than the large tube. Unfortunately we have encountered rare cases where the maximum allowable wall thickness on one tube and the maximum allowable outside diameter on the other tube coincided and this rule would not work. Be prepared to request our sales department to check the actual dimensions of stock for you before you buy.