Lighting bar size

[solex]

Hey All,

 

I know this is quite a basic question, but ive found so many different answers to it, its hard to check if answers are talking about the UK or the right kind of bar.

 

What is the standard thickness and diameter of steel bar used for lwb's and general lighting bars in the uk?

 

Cheers

 

Sol

[johnhuson]

48-50mm

 

More often 48mm in my experience.

[jonathanhill]

Steel scaffold tube to BS EN 39 will be 48.3mm OD with a wall thickness of 4mm is generally used for most lighting position metalwork.

 

Aluminium scaffold tube will be 1 29/32" OD with a wall thickness of 7SWG, and is used for IWB's and applications which require lighter materials than steel.

 

That is how my supplier (Aalco) categorise both steel and aluminium tube.

[solex]

Thanks both :)

[TomHoward]

Sorry it's not entirely relevant but do Aalco tend to deliver? We've always used SGB/Harsco but they stopped delivering a couple of years ago so we have to collect or courier from Scaffolding Direct and either option costs a fair bit..

[jonathanhill]

My local branch, Swanley, deliver to us in Sidcup. I would have thought that the other branches deliver as well.

[Don Allen]

Some hook clamps will not fit onto a 50mm pipe, lighting bars started as steel scaffold bars, hence the 48mm outside diameter, or 1 7/8".

[paulears]

and before scaffold tube, it was steel gas barrel - which they still sell, usually 3.2mm wall thickness now, 48mm OD in metric money. In my summer venue we routinely hung kit on a conveniently placed lighting bar, to find out twenty years later it was actually live gas - when they came to cap it off and disconnect it!

[Gerry]

Although the actual size was 1 7/8" it was often refereed to as 2" barrel.

A theatre studio space was being fitted out and they specified 2" barrel so the builders actually installed genuine 2" barrel.

The hook clamps would not fit so a 1 7/8" barrel was hung below the 2" barrel.

Cheers

Gerry