working with steel

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Vulcanus

Supreme [H]ardness
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Aug 24, 2001
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I wonder how hard it would be to work with ~3/8" thick steel. I was thinking about making a massively heavy case and maybe polishing it. My main problem would be cutting it though as I know a dremel or jigsaw most likely wouldn't do the job.
 
ummm... harder than working with thinner steel? i dunno at this point in the morning all i can think of is a helluva rotten time with a hacksaw. whatchya wanna make a super heavy case for? so nobody can steal it? so it can take rough tumbles down lots of stairs? or perhaps are you hoping it will be a nuisance to carry to lan parties? i dunno.
 
That would be hella beavy... 3/8 inch is pretty tough steel... Heck 1/4 inch steel is overkill... Why so heavy duty?
 
My wife got me a welder for Christmas. I guess she got tired of hearing me talk about my next mod and she wants me to get on with it.
 
The proper way to cut that would be a band saw with a bi-metal blade made for cutting steel. Or, for a more industrial look, an oxy-acetalene torch would work well too, leaving behind a very jagged edge....
 
You could cut it with a jig saw, but it would be hella slooooooowwwwww......

an oxyacetylene torch would also work, and while you can keep the edge fairly smooth, the slag will give you the jagged look that itx mentioned........

For some sweet looking cuts, with little to no slag, go find someone or someplace that has a plasma arc cutter. They can easily handle the thickness you're talking about, and with practise, I've heard of people that can cut their signature in steel with one of these! :cool:
 
but technically, as far as a case goes the only place you might notice a thickness of metal would be along the window egde.

you might consider thinner steel, and using layers with screws to give an armoured look, then paint it so that is looks like it has seen action, like burn marks and things...
 
Good idea Sesheron, I was thinking more along the same lines as well... Except for why paint the action on... Give it some action, shoot at it... Maybe a couple of good pipe bombs or gun powder to get some good burn marks on it... :)

I like the layered look idea. Maybe put some extra steel parts on it (thin) to make it look like it is raised with screws holding them a little off the surface of the original wall piece of the case. Kind of like active armor on M1A1 tanks... That would look sweet...
 
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