Round stock may be cheaper, but you waste less with bar stock. With round stock, when you cut it you effectively lose around 2mm of material. With some modern waterblocks using bases as thin as 3mm, you're basically throwing away as much again as is used to make the block. Not to mention that cutting the ends off some bar stock to size is significantly easier and faster than sawing through a 2" copper round.
All up, bar stock is typically just a lot easier to work with and comes very conveniently sized.
|