Mild Steel

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I don't have a brew sculpture, but I think a lot of people use mild steel. I plan on using plane square tubing when I build mine. You should probably paint it, especially if it is going to be outside.
 
Mild steel works great, but it will rust. If you want that clean look you need SS. If you don't care then use anything you can pick up at the scrap yard. Go raid the remnant pile.
 
I'm going to use mild steel. I'm going to cut and weld a sheet of stainless steel on as a top protector. Going to hit it with some BBQ paint. It'll cost me half of going full SS.
 
Unless I had a million batches and knew the final destination, if there is such a thing, for my rig I would go stainless steel. I haven't finished my build now and I already know it will change next summer. Glad it wasn't stainless. It will be sometime, just not for another 999 thousand bathes until I figure this brewing thing out. :D
 
Mild steel is awesome. Easy to work with, and strong as hell. Unless I were building a serious +20bbl commercial brewery I would use it for any structural component.
 
I've never had a problem with steel vs stainless after building then testing, changing for a final frame design I want then having the square tube frame powder coated. Savings are very high using a all electric system without burners burning the frame. For those that use gas I can not comment.
 
I'm a mechanical engineer and just about everything structural that I design gets made out of mild steel by default. If weight is a big concern, I consider aluminum. If strength is a big concern, I consider a higher grade steel. If the coating getting worn off is a big concern, I consider stainless. But if none of those are an issue, mild steel is the way to go. Cheap, easily weldable, easily machinable, and pretty damn strong.

By the way, stainless doesn't mean rust-proof, just rust-resistant. Leave an uncoated piece of stainless out in the rain for a couple of days and it will usually develop rust spots.
 
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