Actual properties of A36 vs. minimum 1

A steel supplier will not have every possible steel type and grade that is listed in ASTM standards. They often will stock a higher grade of steel plate that can be used for several order inquiries, the most common being yield strength and impact toughness. As most of the steel specifications do not have a maximum limit on yield strength, the supplier can substitute a higher grade of steel (for the lower steel price) and will have given you a steel that is made to A36 requirements. If you order the steel with impact toughness, you will get a test report of toughness results and the price will be slightly higher than the same steel without the test reports.

You should develop a rapport with your steel supplier where you can review the mill specifications of the steel before you buy it to make sure that it meets your needs, both from strength and possible welding concerns.

The specification values also represent a statistical lower bound to the actual spread of properties so the probability is, that within the A36 specification much of the product will significantly exceed the minimum values however, some of the product will be at the minimum so unless each batch is tested and characterized the only values that can really be used for design purposes are the specification minima.

To put it in english, 36kpsi yield is the MINIMUM. You can receive steel that far exceeds the minimum. You can request the certs for your lot or heat and it should specify what the mill lab samples tested out at. Hey, we're all cheap, right ?!? If you NEED a higher yield, just BUY the better stuff. A36 is bottom-of-the-barrel crap, in my opinion, not much better than the so-called "merchant" bar.