Arsenic, antimony, or any other elements should be absent, or < .005.
FINISH AND GENERAL CONDITIONS.
As there can be no such thing as exact work done, there must be some tolerance as to variation in size. In standard sections, sheets, and plates this is usually covered by a percentage of weight; in forgings or any pieces that are to be machined the consumer should allow enough to insure a clean, sound surface. But it would be unwise to lay down any rule here, because conditions vary; a rolled round bar may finish nicely by a cut of from ¹/₃₂ to ¹/₁₆ of an inch, and so also a neatly dropped forging; an ordinary hammered forging might require a cut of ¼ or ⅜ of an inch; such a forging might be made closer to size at a cost for extra time at the hammer far exceeding the saving of cost in the lathe. These are cases where common-sense and good judgment must govern.
Pipes should not be tolerated if they can be discovered; because a pipe appears small in the end of a bar it is no evidence that it is not larger farther in.
Seams should not be allowed in any steel that is to be hardened; they should be a minimum in any steel, as they are of no possible use; small seams when not too numerous may do no harm in structural or machinery steel, and consumers should be reasonable in regard to them, or else they may have too high prices put upon their work, or too high heat used in efforts to close the last few harmless seams.
Burns, rough, ragged holes in the faces or on the corners, are inexcusable and should be rejected; the steel has been abused, or it is red-short; in either case the ragged breaks are good starting-points for final rupture.
Laps should not be permitted; they are evidences of carelessness; there can be no excuse for them.
Fins are sometimes unavoidable in a difficult shape; for instance, if a trapezoid is wanted, it may be rolled in this form:
or in this: