Where do you guys get your Metal/CF Stock?

[BrianG]

Well, if you want to use something that is not conductive, but is still light, you can use plexiglass (might shatter under hard impacts), or a custom fiberglass tray...

[squeeforever]

Why not lexan? It won't shatter like plexi and isn't hard to do...

[BrianG]

Sounds good I guess. I haven't tried lexan because the local places carry plexi not lexan. I agree though, those plastics are relatively easy to work with. I want to try something using fiberglass sometime. It's messy to use and a lot of sanding work to make it look nice, but you can do some interesting shapes and keep it lightweight...

[MetalMan]

Lexan is a nice material to use. It's pretty cheap, cuts like butta', and where flex is a good thing, is plenty flexible.

I've worked with fiberglass and Garolite G-10 (another material in the "family" of plastics), and the dust particles of both are not good to breathe in. For this reason alone, I plan on not using and material in the fiber composites category, including CF (not to mention, these materials are very rough on cutting/drilling equipment).

[Procharged5.0]

I agree with the dust particals. CF is nasty to inhale and G10 (Garolite) or fiberglass are not much better.

I can not seem to find economical lexan. Where do you source yours? McMaster is not cheap for Lexan.

And BTW for cutting CF and certain harder composites in the "Fiberglass" family it is best to use carbide tooling and cobalt drills. For some tasks "Cut-off" wheels can also work well.

I've also used "diamond coated" abrasive bits such as might be used for cutting ceramic tile.

[Serum]

If i work with CF, i wear mouth-protection...

high speed rotation tools work the best for these hard things. If i saw them with my electric jigsaw, it takes about 5" before the hardened teeth are melted down..

[Procharged5.0]

.....you'll have to buy the diamond grit coated jig saw blades for your next CF adventure!

[Serum]

Yeah, i tried looking for them but i can't find them ANYwhere here in Holland!!!

Do you know a source?

[jhautz]

A simple cut off wheel in a dremel is what I have found to work best on CF. FOr drilling I use bits intended for ceramic tile. They still dull after some use, but no where near as quickly as conventional hard steel drills.

I actually prefer working with CF over aluminum when possible. I wear a dust mask while working with it, but for working in my house, All I need is a dremel with a cut off wheel and I can pretty much cut any shap I want from it. Working wioth aluminum is much more difficult for us folks that dont have a real workshop at home.

[BrianG]

For thin 1/16" aluminum, a nibbling tool works well to get the rough shape and then use a sanding wheel on the dremel. Takes longer than CF but is do-able.

[MetalMan]

Procharged5.0, I've always gotten my Lexan/polycarbonate from McMaster-Carr. However, Freckle Face has it for lower prices.