I was speaking with a good friend and trap maker Glen Sterling that said the dimensions of the stock he uses is more precise as of late than it had been in a long time. Could it be do in part to the pressure of the tariffs on foreign steel, or perhaps more of our materials are being made here in the US by folks that actually care?
Either way, I would think this is a good thing for the manufacturer that is a stickler for precision.

Very well could be a result of the tariffs recently imposed! The quality of steel shipped into this country seems to have diminished over the last decade. Not sure if that is a result of recycled steel not being as good as steel manufactured from new iron ore, though!

Chris

It would only take Glen on phone call to his supplier to tell him where his supply is coming from, then he would not have to be guessing such a thing.

Doubt tariff's have anything to do with tightening specs on out of country suppliers, having been in the steel trade for many years, it's more of a cost verse's demand type of thing.

Bought here in house you going to get a higher and tighter spec on your product, but the price yet still may be higher.

Without knowing if Glen just orders his material with out spec in country supplier it's just a guess where it comes from. There are good spec out of country suppliers he may have found one with his vendor, stuff like that usually is not pertinent to the customers needs, but it is changing as products increase in price, people in our country by and larger would buy in house if they could get it at a competitive price !

Steel is a strategic requirement in our country. It is something that we should make ourselves. It also requires great amounts of coal and iron ore to produce it which employs miners here.

There are basic industry standards which all steel must meet

Cold rolled steels can only vary a couple thousandths as an example

Most steel in the US comes from Japan and other countries

GritGuy, I am certain he knows where it comes from. The tolerances are closer lately though, so thought I would start a conversation about it as he isn't the only person I have heard mention better quality. Then others that don't depend on the quality have complained about the higher prices. Seemed like a good topic of conversation.

Quality of steel has nothing to do with using recycled steel.
Some of the best quality steels use scrap/recycled steel as a starting point.
Quality and consistency are not the same thing, but you have to have consistency to have quality.

Price is consistant with quality, Andy. If your willing to pay the money, you can. find a supplier that can furnish the steel to spec, even if it is imported. The supplier you use is who needs his feet held to the fire. Most want to handle the cheapest, as that is what most end users are interested in!

funny how everybody is all of a sudden an expert on steel, Glen Sr....