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Steel Shims - Made to Order
Multiple Slot Shims, Single Slot Shims, Slotted Wedge Shims
Made to order Steel Shims are a specialty of The Steel Supply Company. Experience combined with the right equipment guarantee finished products that are accurate, flat and free of unnecessary burrs or slag.
Shims of any size and dimensions can be made to order on fast turnaround times. All steel shims can be produced with a plain steel finish or Hot Dip Galvanized.
Worksheet for Made to Order Shims
Single Slot Shims
Any dimensions can be cut from 5' x 10' sheet or plate steel. Various grades of Carbon Steel and Stainless Steel are available.
This capability provides the ability to tailor a shim to the exact needs of the project.
Figure 1 shows a simple square shim, size 1-1/2" x 1-1/2". The slot is 1/2" wide and 1" long. Thicknesses shown are 1/16", 1/8" and 1/4"
Figure 2 is a very similar shim but with rounded corners. This particular job the erector was unsure how much room was available to rotate the shim on installation. The rounded corners provide extra ability for the shim header, the side of the shim opposite the slot opening, to pivot around the bolt.
Figure 3 shows a 5" x 5" square shim made from Stainless Steel.
Multiple Slot Shims
Figure 4 is an example of a Multiple Slotted Shim. It is 18" long and 5" wide. The slots are 1-1/16" wide to accommodate 1" wide bolts. The machinery used to fabricate these shims is accurate to .003", so slots can be configured as tight as the steel fabricator chooses. Typical industry standard is 1/16" extra length and width to allow for variations in the structural steel and for field conditions.
Slotted Wedge Shims
Figure 5 shows a Slotted Wedge Shim. Actual dimensions are 5-1/2" wide x 6" high. Slot is 13/16" wide x 4-1/2" long. The material used was 1/4" thick plate steel.
The first phase of this manufacturing process is to make a 1/4" thick flat shim. The next step is to mill the wedge angle. This is done on a horizontal milling machine but the difficulty lies in securing the workpiece. The entire top surface will be milled so it cannot be clamped from the top. The sides are available but the clamps cannot extend above the cut line. On the open end of the shim in Figure 5 those sides are 1/4" thick but on the closed end, the Header, the shim has to be clamped in place using only 1/16" of material.
The workpiece must be secured in a way that does not allow movement or vibration to assure an accurate finished product and safe operation. As these steps indicate this can add cost to the finished product. Stock Steel Wedges, without slots, can sometimes be a more cost effective alternative.
All Steel Shims can be delivered Plain or Hot Dip Galvanized.
