stainless steel or aluminum

It will be very hard to find S/s pipe in the dimensions you listed, and even so, (deleted) expensive.  O.t.o.h. the metal shop can weld a sheet of metal into a cylinder, and take slices off of that.

The only real negative with aluminum is that it oxidizes, but other than that will be finetd

Check with your local muffler shop.
 

I prefer stainless.
 

Yeah, but it all depends on what price the tart is selling for.

For metal tart shells.I bite the bullet and get the fancy French "Matfer" ones--BUT NOT the black non-stick coating.  Then I bite another bullet and for 50 cents a piece, get them glazed at a place that specializes in glazing baker's bread pans with a food-safe non-stick glaze.

Why?  Do you ask, do I go through all that bother?

It's a real (deleted) to line out a tart shell  with perfectly plumb walls, and even more of a (deleted) to bake the suckers blind. 

When the form has semi-sloping walls, It's a no-brainer to stamp out dough rounds and fit them in, using my thumb to "cut off" any overhanging dough and to tamp in the dough tightly between the walls and the bottom of the form.

If the form is unfluted and has serious sloping walls, it gets even easier to line the suckers out:  Roll out your dough, spread your forms on the counter with about 3 finger's width between them, drape the dough over the whole mess, squeeze the forms together, tamp the bottoms down with a wad of floured dough, and use a rolling pin to cut the forms free.  I can do 24- 30 forms in one fell swoop with this method.  But I can't do this when the forms have perfectly plumb walls.

Do yourself a favour, go down to a Home Despot or Lowes nd gt yorself a length of abs pipe in the diameter you want.

Slice it up into rings.  It'll cut with a hacksaw or any table saw blade  Now, clean them up and get some dough and try lining the suckers out.

I Insist on you doing this, O.K.?

It's a right royal pain in the arse.  With a "proper" tart pan, the bottom is included, so you can pop in a disc of dough, press it into the corners, and use your thumbs to trim off.  With pipe slices, you have no bottom, so the ring has to be constantly on the sheet pan, and when it shifts around, the dough shifts with it, ruining your work.  And, because the walls of a ring are perfectly vertical, it will be very frustrating--if not impossible--to bake the tart blind, which you will need to do for maybe 50% of your tarts..  I believe I said this in my above post.

Yes the rings are cheaper, but your labour to accommodate lining a ring with dough will be 8-10 times MORE than with a "proper" tart form.

You can use the abs rings for indv. cheesecake-lets (wrap it in 2 layers of alum foil when you poach them)

You can use metal rings for cakes and other desserts, but for tarts, it will be a right royal pain in the arse.

You money, your time, your labour, your choice.

I've been there and done it,and my advice is free.

Just consider it, O.K.?

Cruise your local supermarkets!

They have individual, tart size, crusts with an aluminum disposable pan.

Look at these: http://www.pastrychef.com/INDIVIDUAL-SERVING-PIE-PAN-SET_p_1230.html

And these: http://www.toaster-oven.net/minipiepanset.aspx
 

Or these: http://www.globalsugarart.com/cat.php?cid=885&s=&name=SILVERWOOD%20Cake%20Pans/Baking%20Supplies

PSST! Google CAN be your friend!

OK, but if you look closely, every one of their baked products have sloping sides, there IS a reason!
 

Like I said, get some 1 1/2" pipe and try it out for yourself, it's very hard to fit fingers in there, let alone fit in  a disc of dough so you don't have any air pockets between the bottom and the walls.

The graduated ring from India set starts at 3", which leaves you some room to move your fingers and the dough around, not ideal, but do-able.

The Valrhona pic looks great.  There are companies that make pre-baked tart shells, and companies that use "real" ingredients like butter, eggs, nuts, etc..  The method used to line these shells is the same for the ubiquitous tart shells you see in the freezer at your grocer, they are "hot stamped"

With hot stamping  you have a heated press which has a male die and a female die, a metal form (usually disposable alum foil) is placed in the female die, a wad of dough placed in the form, the male die comes down and squishes the dough into the form. Many small to medium sized bakeries have a manual version of this machine, which still allows the operator to line a good number of shells in a short period of time.

If you are serious about running a business that makes tarts, a large chunk of your  labour will be lining the shells with dough.  After you do a few thousand forms, and with crumbly dough like a sable with ground nuts, you will learn to appreciate a good tart form--not a ring, but a form. You will also learn to respect gravity, that is, gravity will always pull the dough down as it bakes.

Mulak,

I use the tart rings all the time, albeit 7" (actually 175mm) and they work well.

I tried 2" (made my own out of empty cans) and they didn't work worth, well, you know. Even 3" were not really workable.

Good luck on trying. Please let me know if you find something that works.
 

No, not if you use the right equipment. Why do you think tart or tartlet pans generally have sloped sides?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mulak 

you guys make mini tarts sounds like they are the death of pastry shop/bakery haha

Sure, that would work, but take a look at a Google search for mini muffin pans: https://www.google.com/search?q=mini+muffin+pan&hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=wjW&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvnse&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=wBn9T9yRMof2rAHX_syMCQ&ved=0CEgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1247&bih=543

I use them all the time for phyllo, pie dough, pate brisee, and shortbread tartletts. And I don't have to chase all over the kitchen for each little piece

The ones I have at hand are 3/4" tall, 1 1/4" at the bottom, and 1 3/4" at the top. They fit Athens Mini Fillo cups perfectly.

Oh, just a thought, but straight sides (not fluted) WILL get bent up with use unless you are REAL careful, don't ask how I know
 

Not in the 10 years that I've used them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mulak 

aren't those pans a pain for tarts cause of the edging off the dough? it may or may not have nice smooth finish and the possibility touching the tart next to it and have to redo it again?

 

 

I have a few wilton mini muffin pans

Of course, I'm careful with the dough and I use a second pan to press the dough into place, then trim the tops.

The forms with the sloped walls are made by either two methods, the first is stamping, which requires dedicated male and female dies, and the second is done by spinning a disc of metal on a lathe,and pressing the spinning disc onto a form behind the disc.  This is the method many bowls, pots and pans are made.  I doubt if any metal shop will have dedicated equipment for this.

You can use tuna cans or other mini pate cans 

I have used Campbells for Brioche & they worked well