Theoretical weight
HSS weight calculator
Theoretical weight for round, square, and rectangular structural tube in imperial or metric units. Square and rectangular results are sharp-corner approximations — planning numbers, never acceptance data.
On this page
Tube weight calculator
Round: area = π/4 × (OD² − ID²), ID = OD − 2 × wall. Square and rectangular use outer minus inner rectangles, which slightly overstates weight by ignoring corner radii. Steel density 0.2836 lb/in³ (7,850 kg/m³). Real weight varies with corners, weld upset, scale, coating, and dimensional tolerance — never accept or reject material on calculated weight alone.
Method and limitations
Round sections use the exact annular area: π/4 × (OD² − ID²) with ID = OD − 2 × wall. Square and rectangular sections use outer-minus-inner rectangles, a sharp-corner approximation that slightly overstates weight because real cold-formed HSS has rounded corners. Steel density is taken as 0.2836 lb/in³ (7,850 kg/m³).
Real delivered mass also varies with the specification's mass and wall tolerances — A500 permits delivered mass below nominal, which is why design practice applies a reduced design wall to A500 HSS. Never accept or reject material on calculated weight; the standard's measurement provisions govern.
Weight is not a section property
This tool answers logistics and quoting questions — trucking, crane picks, galvanizing charges, per-pound pricing sanity checks. It does not produce design section properties. For area, moment of inertia, and design wall thickness, use the AISC or Steel Tube Institute HSS tables, which account for corner radii and design-wall conventions.
Sources and limitations
- ASTM A500/A500M-23 — Standard Specification for Cold-Formed Welded and Seamless Carbon Steel Structural Tubing in Rounds and Shapes — ASTM International. Controlling specification for grades, shapes, tolerances, testing, and ordering requirements. Purchase the current edition for all normative values.
- AISC Steel Construction Manual and Specification for Structural Steel Buildings — American Institute of Steel Construction. Design-side reference for HSS section properties and the design wall thickness convention applied to A500 product.
These sources informed this page but do not substitute for the purchased standard. Numeric requirements — strengths, chemistry, and tolerance tables — are controlled ASTM content and are deliberately not reproduced on this site. The current official edition, your drawing, and your purchase order govern acceptance.