Quote:
Originally Posted by Kcaz25
Aluminum is the most difficult for me to get. How do you cut aluminum? I've got lexan and I know people who can cut it for me. (i might can cut it myself) How do you cut it anyway? I could order a big 3mm thick sheet of carbon fiber from FullForce. But how would I cut that? Also how do you countersink the screw holes in all three materials? I see some of how you did the cf but I'd like to know in more detail.
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Can't you find some sort machine shop or garage that will have 'scraps' laying around, you won't need much for this mod. 1/8 - 5/16 thickness will work just fine.
Where cutting is concerned, I'm currently using a few simple tools to make shapes out of aluminum.
- A nice clamp/vice to hold the material
- A hack saw... great for general shapes and lines (cuts through aluminum with no effort)
- A Dremel with cutoff wheels, a tungsten carbide cutting bits is always nice and some sanding drums.
I draw all my designs in Adobe Illustrator (you can do it by hand if you wish) and print them out... I'll lay a couple strips of masking tape on the aluminum sheet...
Then glue the drawings to the taped side (this to allow for easy removal of the paper when I am done cutting the shape). After making my cuts with the hack saw,
I'll use the cutoff wheels and sanding drums to fine tune the shape.
Carbon fiber is easy enough when you use cutoff wheels.... Just be careful with this material, the dust is not the kind of stuff you want in your longs nor eyes...
make sure you wear eye protection and a dust mask (damp)... Also make your cuts in a well ventilated area... Wetting the carbon before your cuts will reduce
the amount dust flying around too. Use a sanding drum or sandpaper to clean up edges and lines.
Countersinking both materials can be done with a countersink tool you can pick up at your local hardware. With carbon fiber I prefer you an
abrasive cone shaped tool...
In stead of cutting in the material, it grinds the surface away smoothly and reduces the chances of delamination... it's also a good idea to apply some thin CA (
zap) on the area
when you are done making the countersink (again reducing the chance of delamination)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rivermaxx
I have cut all three material with a hand held jig saw but a band saw would probably work best. lexan is pretty flimsy if you use that make sure you use at least 1/4". 3MM Carbon fiber would be best though IMO.
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A scroll saw would be so sweet for this too.