RadioBanter - View Single Post

March 20th 06, 02:49 PM posted to rec.radio.amateur.homebrew

wrote:
Tim,

Would the following cover most of my entry level needs for sheet metal
fab, for getting sheet metal in small enough shapes for my taig? I'll
'punch' holes by using the mill.

The Eternal Squire
----------------------

18'' SHEET METAL FABRICATION TOOL KIT CUTTER ROLLER

That tools claims 18gauge capacity, and probably is thinking of steel
and could do some operations on thicker aluminum.

Not sure what kind of aluminum sheet you have, but 18gauge aluminum is
a bit wimpy for many electronic enclosures. It's OK for a small
mini-box, but very much less than ideal for anything larger.

That tool you point out is OK for a lot of work, but IMHO you'd also
need a "real" shear and a brake to do any sort of box fabrication. Some
of the bending can be done with a homebrew brake made out of 2x4's and
hinges but you'll get tired of this real quick.

If you think you can cut arbitrary shaped holes in large sheet metal
boxes with a milling machine, you have skills I do not have. But I
think it's more likely that you've never done much sheet metal
fabrication. A mill is not the best tool for cutting holes in sheet
metal (although clamping to sacrificial flat pieces of wood does help.)

Tim.