Can 12 foot lengths of galvanized all thread rod be cut into studs?
Yes, 12’ sticks of hot-dip galvanized all thread rod can not only be cut to smaller lengths, but it is often preferred.
Depending on the application, all thread rod studs vary in length. For this reason, it is most common for all thread rod to be stocked in 12’ sticks, which can then be cut into their required lengths before shipping. Not only does this save time once the rod arrives on-site, but it also makes handling and packaging the rods easier, which in turn saves on the cost of freight.
The question is, can fully galvanized all thread be cut to length, knowing that the cut ends will be bare, exposed steel? You can cut galvanized all thread, and this is requested often because of how fast the studs can be cut and shipped. The potential problem, as mentioned above, is the exposed ends, which are then sprayed with cold galvanizing. Depending on how corrosive the environment is, this method should be approved by an engineer before installation.
The other option is to cut down plain finish all thread, which would then be galvanized. This would be the preferred method since the entire rod is hot-dip galvanized, providing a superior corrosion-resistant coating, especially on the ends that were cut. The disadvantage of going this route is that it takes longer since the rods would need to be prepped and galvanized from scratch. The other issue is that if the company performing the galvanizing is not set up specifically to galvanize threaded fasteners, smaller diameters of rod may be more difficult to clean the excess zinc that can build up in the threads.
Here is a video that shows how galvanized all thread is produced.
