Material Options for Precise Workshop Adjustment

A few thousandths of an inch can change how a mechanical assembly fits, aligns or clears. Shop Aid shim stock gives Australian fitters, machinists, maintenance teams & workshops a broad choice of precision-thickness material for custom shims, machinery fit-up, alignment, levelling, clearance adjustment & controlled spacing.

Industrial Shed's Shop Aid range spans steel, stainless steel, brass, aluminium, copper & nickel shim stock, alongside blue tempered spring steel, tool steel foil, assorted thickness packs & pre-cut slotted stainless steel shims.

That range matters because shim selection isn't simply about finding the required thickness. Material, format, dimensions & application all need to work together.

Shop Aid's manufacturing heritage reaches back to N.E. Slavin Company, founded in Boston in 1944. Today the family-operated business trades as Shop Aid Inc. & supplies metal & plastic products for industrial use.

Explore the Shop Aid Range

Shim Assortments

Not sure which thickness the next repair or fit-up will require?

Shop Aid | Shim Assortments combine several gauges within a chosen material, giving workshops a practical starting point when the required correction isn't known until equipment is measured or dismantled.

They're particularly useful for varied maintenance work, occasional custom shim fabrication & workshops that need several thickness options without stocking full rolls of every gauge.

Steel Shim Stock

Shop Aid | Steel Shim Sheets provide flat steel material for custom shims, machinery fit-up, spacing & suitable alignment work.

Choose the required material, stock dimensions & thickness around the assembly rather than treating steel shim as generic packing.

Stainless Steel Shim Stock

Corrosion resistance can make material selection just as important as thickness.

Shop Aid's Stainless Steel Shim Sheets provide a stainless option for custom shim preparation where stainless steel is appropriate for the equipment & operating environment.

Flat stock allows the finished profile to be prepared around the actual component rather than forcing a standard pre-cut shape into an unsuitable application.

Brass Shim Stock

Shop Aid | Brass Shim Sheets provide flat brass shim stock for workshops requiring brass as the selected material.

Shop Aid identifies its brass stock as Alloy 260 half-hard brass. The material can be prepared into custom profiles where the assembly requires a specific shape, opening or clearance.

Aluminium Shim Stock

Lower mass & different material characteristics make aluminium a distinct choice—not simply another thickness option.

Shop Aid | Aluminium Shim Sheets provide aluminium shim material for applications where the specified or selected assembly material calls for aluminium.

Shop Aid's manufacturer catalogue identifies aluminium shim stock in 1100-H18 & 1145-H19 material.

Copper Shim Stock

Shop Aid | Copper Shim Sheets provide copper shim stock for custom pieces where copper is appropriate for the application.

Shop Aid identifies its copper stock as CDA-110 annealed copper, supplied as flat roll stock across multiple thicknesses.

Nickel Shim Stock

Some applications call for a material outside the usual steel, stainless or brass choices.

Shop Aid | Nickel Shim Sheets provide a dedicated nickel pathway rather than requiring substitution with another shim material.

Shop Aid identifies its nickel shim stock as 200/201 annealed nickel.

Blue Tempered Shim Packs

Shop Aid | Blue Tempered Shim Packs provide selected blue tempered spring-steel thicknesses in convenient flat-pack formats.

They're useful when blue tempered material is required but a workshop doesn't need a longer roll of the selected gauge.

Blue Tempered Shim Stock

Blue tempered shim stock is a different steel product from ordinary low-carbon steel shim.

Shop Aid | Blue Tempered Shim Sheets cover Shop Aid's 1095 spring-steel shim material across available thicknesses & formats.

Use this collection when blue tempered spring steel is the required material rather than selecting it simply because its thickness matches the required correction.

Tool Steel Foil

Shop Aid | Tool Steel Foil provides the specialist foil product within the wider Shop Aid range.

Because tool steel foil serves a different material requirement from ordinary shim stock, confirm the intended process, material specification, dimensions & thickness before ordering.

Slotted Stainless Steel Shims

Need to adjust beneath a compatible machine foot without fabricating every shim from flat stock?

Shop Aid | Slotted Stainless Steel Shims provide pre-cut 300 Series stainless steel profiles with an open slot designed to fit around compatible mounting fasteners.

Shop Aid offers its stainless slotted shims in Sizes A, B, C & D, giving technicians different overall dimensions & slot sizes to match suitable mounting arrangements.

Slotted Stainless Steel Shim Packs

For workshops that need multiple thicknesses in a selected slotted profile, Shop Aid | Slotted Stainless Steel Shim Packs provide an organised assortment approach.

Shop Aid's stainless Shur-Shim range uses 300 Series stainless steel & includes thicknesses from .001" through to .125" within its Standard & Mini assortment systems.

What Is Shim Stock?

Shim stock is precision-thickness material used to make controlled dimensional adjustments between compatible components.

Rather than relying on unidentified packing material, a technician can select a known thickness then prepare the shim around the shape required by the assembly.

Common reasons for using shim material include:

► Correcting measured machinery position
► Adjusting fit between components
► Establishing a required clearance
► Levelling compatible equipment
► Creating controlled spacing
► Correcting suitable soft-foot conditions
► Preparing custom washers, spacers or profiles
► Supporting jigs, fixtures & workshop setups

The final application determines whether the job calls for flat shim stock, an assortment of gauges or a pre-cut slotted shim.

How to Choose Shop Aid Shim Stock?

Start With the Required Material

Thickness alone doesn't make two shims interchangeable.

Steel, stainless steel, brass, aluminium, copper, nickel & blue tempered spring steel have different material characteristics.

Use equipment documentation, drawings, existing verified material, engineering requirements or the needs of the assembly to establish the appropriate material before choosing a gauge.

Decide Between Flat Stock & Pre-Cut Shims

Flat stock gives you control over the finished profile.

That makes it useful where the shim needs a custom outside shape, unusual opening, specific clearance or dimensions that aren't covered by a standard pre-cut product.

Slotted shims solve a different problem. Their open profile allows a suitable shim to be inserted around compatible mounting hardware without fabricating the basic shape from raw material.

Measure the Required Correction

Don't choose shim thickness by eye.

Establish the actual gap, clearance, position or alignment correction using the appropriate measurement procedure.

For suitable dimensional work, Calipers (Digital / Manual) can support component & material measurement, while Alignment Tools (Laser, Dial, Manual) provide a direct pathway for machinery-alignment work.

Check Stock Dimensions

A correct thickness isn't enough if the piece can't produce the finished shim profile.

Confirm:

► Material width
► Material length
► Thickness
► Required outside dimensions
► Bolt, shaft or fastener clearances
► Installation access
► Finished contact area

For layout work on custom profiles, Rulers & Straight Edges provide a useful supporting range.

Choose the Right Quantity Format

How often you use a gauge should influence how you buy it.

An assortment can make sense when several thicknesses are needed unpredictably.

Individual stock is more practical when the workshop repeatedly consumes one material & gauge.

A slotted assortment suits maintenance work where a standard pre-cut footprint is used repeatedly but the required correction varies from job to job.

Common Shop Aid Applications

Machinery Alignment & Levelling

Rotating equipment, machine bases & compatible mounted assemblies can require measured positional correction.

Where shimming is permitted by the equipment procedure, Shop Aid flat stock or slotted stainless shims can provide known material thicknesses for that adjustment.

Machine Repair & Maintenance

The required shim often isn't known until the equipment comes apart.

Maintenance work can expose previous shim arrangements, wear, clearance changes or fit-up requirements that weren't visible beforehand.

Assortments can provide several gauge options for unpredictable work, while dedicated stock suits repeat requirements.

For a practical look at maintenance around demanding equipment, Quarry Crews Crusher Maintenance explores maintenance in quarry environments.

Custom Shim Fabrication

Flat shim stock can be prepared around unusual component profiles, mounting arrangements & openings where a standard pre-cut shim isn't suitable.

Measure first, establish the finished geometry then use a material-preparation method appropriate to the selected stock.

Jigs, Fixtures & Toolroom Work

Controlled thickness material can assist with suitable fixture adjustment, setup, spacing & custom workshop components.

Shop Aid's wider range gives toolrooms a choice extending beyond conventional mild-steel shim stock into brass, stainless, copper, nickel, aluminium, blue tempered spring steel & tool steel foil.

Flat Shim Stock vs Slotted Shims

The quickest product isn't necessarily the right product—the geometry decides.

If the profile already exists in the slotted range, pre-cut material can remove unnecessary fabrication. If the component geometry is unusual, flat stock provides greater control over the finished shape.

Expert Tips

Identify the Material Before Replacing an Existing Shim

Matching thickness while changing material can change more than the dimension.

Where an existing shim's material can be reliably identified, record it before replacement. If the material is uncertain, refer to the equipment requirements rather than guessing from colour or appearance.

Record Shim Locations During Disassembly

A removed stack tells you how the machine was previously configured.

Record location, thickness, arrangement & identifiable material before pieces are separated or discarded.

Keep Thin Stock Protected

Fine shim material can be bent, creased or damaged when stored loose among general workshop tools.

Keep unused material identified & protected so the next technician can distinguish both material & thickness.

Don't Use More Layers Than the Job Requires

Where the applicable procedure permits stacking, build the required correction with a practical combination of thicknesses rather than an unnecessarily large number of layers.

Inspect the Surfaces Before Adding Material

A shim shouldn't become a substitute for diagnosing a damaged mounting surface.

Dirt, corrosion, burrs, paint build-up or surface damage can alter how components sit together.

Clean & inspect the relevant surfaces before deciding what correction is actually required.

Recheck the Finished Assembly

The nominal shim thickness tells you what material was added—not necessarily the final position of the component.

After assembly or tightening, verify the relevant alignment, clearance or position using the appropriate procedure.