Marking up steel

[Tatey]

I've been searching google and i cant seem to find the answer. What type of pen/or similar do steel suppliers use for writing on the steel. I have tried using sharpie markers but the pen fades after a while.

The stuff the steel suppliers use seems to last for ever, i've mainly seen it in blue and its kind of like a paint on the metal.

Any help will be much appreciated.

Cheers

[HandyAndy]

i think its called "steel blue" marker, some hardware shops sell them.

what you marking up? or is it for marking the cut etc?

andy

[Tatey]

Mainly used to mark up what part the bit im cutting is and to make it easier to see where to cut.

Cheers for your reply Andy. You helped me find what i needed.

[HandyAndy]

as my build is so locost i used fine tipped felt pens from asda & a steel scriber, & if needed i scribed the line onto plate steel & used the edge of masking tape to make it easier to see.

but then again i,m a tight git

andy

[spalders]

I use a permanent black marker pen - it makes a line about 5mm wide so I can black out an area really quickly then scribe through this leaving a bright easy to see line to work to. Don't get too high on the pens though

Spalders

[londonsean69]

I 'acquired' a nice thin permanent marker from work for writing on bits, then use a scriber to show the exact cut line.

Borrowing stuff from work is very locost

Sean

[Bonzo]

Very much the same with me.

CD marker to number the parts.

Thick permanent marker & scriber to mark the cut lines.
Every little helps when I can't see a bloody thing, close up without my glasses, these are never to be found when you need em

Any steel stock holder should be able to sell you a paint based metal marker.

[fluxcored]

Originally Posted by Bonzo

Thick permanent marker & scriber to mark the cut lines.

I'm going to give that a try. Currently using marking blue and a scribe. I guess a permanent marker will cost me less.

For general marking out I used Omnichrome pencils - I think it's used by the clothing industry a lot, but cannot find them locally anymore so reverted back to soapstone markers. Saves me a few pennies as well.

Anything to save money. Recently quit buying WD40. Am just using a mixture of compressor oil and turps and spray it on whichever surface I want lubricated/rust protected. Seems to work.