Linear mass density converter
Convert weight per length between kg/m, g/m, lb/ft, lb/yd, lb/in and oz/ft.
That's 1.62× as heavy per meter as 10 mm rebar, while a 1-inch steel pipe is 2.5× heavier per meter. A length of 1 m weighs one kilogram.
What it means
How heavy per meter?
Typical values. Rebar is 10 mm; the pipe is 1-inch steel; the beam is an IPE 300; the rail is UIC 60.
Every unit
Your weight per length in every unit
Learn
Three things worth knowing
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1 lb/ft ≈ 1.49 kg/m
And 1 kg/m is 0.672 lb/ft. A 115 lb/yd rail is 57 kg/m.
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Rails by the yard
Early railways bought rail by the ton and laid it by the yard, so the size of a rail became its weight per yard. The habit never left US railroading.
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lb/ft and lb/yd
A yard is three feet, so 30 lb/yd is only 10 lb/ft. Rail tables and steel tables use different ones.
Shortcuts
Popular weight per length conversions
Background
About linear mass density
Anything long and uniform is sold by its weight per length: rebar, steel sections, pipe, cable, chain, rope. Steel tables give kg/m; US catalogs give lb/ft.
Railway rail is the classic case: the US still names it in pounds per yard (a 115 lb rail), while the rest of the world uses kg/m (UIC 60 is 60 kg/m).