What are the (economical) methods for making parts in a home garage? I see lots of posts of homemade parts already welded in, but no mention of how the part was made. For the sake of the question, let's say something made of steel plate, 1/8 to 3/8" thick, and is going to be cut into a triangle about 6" on each side. Make something else up if it fits your method better, that's not a real part I need.
I'm thinking plasma cutter and a bench grinder, or oxy torch then much more grinding, and band saw are the methods readily available.
What's your preferred method? I know this is a pretty vague and longwinded question. I'm in the process of setting up shop and planning the electrical upgrades to the garage. I need to choose tools, too. I'm hoping for some insight that will help guide my decisions. I'm looking into installing 75-100 amp 220 service to a garage subpanel.
For now i'm cutting plate steel with a 4.5" grinder and squaring up the pieces with a belt/disc sander combo. Someday i'll upgrade to a band saw set-up.
Some will prefer the plasma cutter but I don't fab on a daily basis so not really worth it for me.
Sounds like you got a good plan to get your shop going.
When you say 75-100 amp service I assume you are referring to multiple outlets as a welder generally will run on a 30amp breaker. Most people way overestimate the amount of amperage it is capable of pulling but we have 2 mig's and a stick in our shop and the only way I have ever seen a 30 kick was using the stick machine wide open for foot long passes on a backhoe bucket.
As far as fab goes, if you have the funds for a plasma cutter then by all means go for it. Do yourself a favor though and don't settle for a cheap "cornwell tools" or something along those lines machine because unless you are doing sheetmetal they are a waste of time. Rule of thumb is if it won't cut 3/8" then just wait and keep looking because I have seen SEVERAL machines go on here pretty reasonable.
I have built many many things using oxy torches. The main thing to keep in mind is it will only cut as straight as you drag it. If you are a jittery guy like me then keep some angle handy to use as a guide when you are cutting parts and you will cut your grinding in HALF.
Even with all the tools and things I have the truth is sometimes it is better to just buy bracket's and tabs. I could spend 3-4 hours making it or spend $20.00 buying it you better believe I will be placing that order. Just because you can make it doesn't always mean you should. This is one of the hardest lessons to learn in fabricating.
Yep, I just haven't decided on wire size for the run to the garage yet, so the final number of amps I will have available is up in the air. I want to size it large enough for the future while the walls are open, but not waste money going too big. I'm leaning toward 2-2-2-4 aluminum now, but I don't want to get off-topic on the electricity aspect of my original post.
How you cut steel starts with your wallet and skill level.. The grinder is the cheapest.. And sometimes the most dangerous and difficult. Then you get a chop saw then a plasma then a band saw but that's over like 10 years..
For most parts, a band saw or plasma is tops. I have used an oxy torch with good success. The piece of angle for a guide is a really good tip and can be used on plasma and oxy. Limit the grinder to finish work if you can.
for everything ive done (exhaust, bumper,sliders, center console, etc) ive used smple tools. i have a chop saw, belt grinder, 4.5" angle grinder, sawzall. takes longer, but works. my next purchase will be a tubing bender, cutting torch, and band saw.
I've been able to build a lot of stuff with a angle grinder, chop saw, welder, tube bender and notcher. A plasma cutter and stuff would be nice but most anything I need to do can be done with what I have.
There is a million ways to do a single job so there is a lot of opinion in this.
I have always heard that a cheap plasma is worse than no plasma, so I have no plasma. I do have O/A and I think it works great. I also think a 4.5" grinder with a skinney wheel works great, a sawsall works great (with the more expensive blades), a portaband works really great (still $ for blades but last much longer than sawsall,) and even a nice good-quality skilsaw with an abrasive blade in it works great. I would say a chopsaw works OK but personally I am not impressed with the abrasive wheel chopsaws. In my opinion the saws suck, the blades suck, etc. Dewalt, Harbor Freight, Milwaukee, doesn't seem to matter with chop saws they all suck in my experience. I have never used a bandsaw for steel other then a portaband but I would imagine it is way better than the chopsaw as a portaband is way better than a chopsaw IMO.
Skinney wheels aren't cheap so for me I usually go O/A followed up by a grinder for cleanup on the wider stuff and portaband on tube, etc. Skinney wheels on a 4.5" grinder do work well though.
Just my opinion. Many ways to skin a ****. If I were starting from scratch I would spend the $ on owning a O/A set and a good hand grinder and after that I would buy a good portaband or sawsall. IMO a bench grinder is standard shop item required for anything/everything. I usually run a medium stone on one side and a wire wheel on the other.
If you do yourself a favor and end up with a decent sawsall (do yourself a favor and don't buy a "cheap" one IMO) get some decent blades. Wal-mart/Generic Home Depot/Anything Harbor Freight will just piss you off for no reason. Personally I like the Dewalt and Milwaukee brand blades. With decent blades a good quality sawsall will really cut pretty much anything.
Like I said - a lot of opinion. You have a piece of steel to cut there are a million ways to cut it.
For me all depends what I'm working on and how lazy I am. I have several grinders and sawzalls, "dry" saw, torch, plasma, etc. Sometimes not worth dragging out the plasma for a 5 min job.
As you can see, everyone's got different tastes. I'm no old pro at metal fab, but I've used an angle grinder, a jigsaw, a propane torch, a file and a cheap drill to make a bunch of basic stuff.
Higher dollar plasma cutters, cold saws and stuff make things faster, but it has way more to do with skill, attention to detail and patience than tools. Some guys have fabbed parts that would drop your jaw with junk tools that a lot of other guys would throw away.
Get some metal, basic pawn shop tools and give it a spin. Just make sure you're being safe (face shields, gloves, etc) and take your time. Metal's cheap and half of the fun in this hobby is learning new skills.
I just picked up a Milwaukee portaband on CL. I have to say it is really nice. I was very surprised on how quick and clean it cut, along with being compact and easily portable. After seeing the Swag modular table for it, I plan on ordering one. I think between that with a miter slide and an angle grinder, it would cover most of the basics.
By far the most useful tool I have found for making tabs is a Harbor Freight horizontal band saw with a plate welded to the bottom. The plate on the bottom will allow you to clamp your material flat on the table. With this setup you can make very accurate cuts on material up to 7 1/2" wide. It is not the fastest way to cut metal but you can set it up and go do something else while it cuts.
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