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Some of you might have tryed to build a case from scratch and failed. I have failed a few times my self but over the years with my SCA clan i've devolped a skill to work with metal.
I've seen a few home made cases that look sweet but they're not that strong. Most people try to make a case that is just big enough to hold the parts and never think what would happen if it was droped or something worse happen to it.
Lets get to the tool box.
Ballpin hammer
Small slege hammer
pop-rivit gun (in case if you don't have anything to weld metal)
Vise grips
Vise
A Grinder (drimels come in handy for real thin grade metal but if your working on something that most cases are made out of you might as well use a bigger/better).
Rubber malet
Gloves (donl't want to cut your self or lose a finger.
Sawzal
Metal snips
drill
There are a lot more but this is what is mostly used for building a case.
Now let's get into the hard labor part.
Folding metal.
To fold metal is not to just beat the crap out of the metal untill you get it where you want it. You want it to fold in place easily. If you hit it with a hammer you could break or over fold the metal and cause weak points with thin grade metal. Use the Vice to get it started with the bend and then go with the small slege to get it in place. Or use the ballpin hammer if you use a thin grade. Some metal is thin enough that you can bend it with just your hands. You want to do this slow so you get a even bend or fold.
Cutting metal.
Cutting metal can be a pain in the arse. With proper scaling and messering you can do this easyly. You always want to go about a 3rd inch bigger then what you need. This is for when you mess up you have a extra flap to hide the error or gap. Messer threetimes. The thrid does come useful. For small parts try to use the snips and then flated the sharp eges after cutting with the ballpin hammer, or use a grinder. The sawzal comes in handy to trimming access metal off or to cut big peices so you don;t have to sit there for hours on end with the snips. If you mess up with a chunk of metal just discard it and save it for somthing else. It can be used as a smaller peice or even used as a bracket.
Safety tips
Always wear gloves and eye protection. You don't want to end up with metall shavings in your eye. Hurts like hell and can cause major problems. Use gloves that are used for labor work IE:Semi thick leather gloves.
Filing and grinding metal.
When using a big ginder or even at times with the drimel use vice grips or a vice to hold the metal. Not with your hands. One slip and you're screwed. Try to stand away from the end that's tossing the metal shavings and sparks. You can get caught on fire, get burned or have a flying protectdial going in your skin. When you use a file you never want to go up and down. It works but you end up screwing up your file. Always go forward never backwards. There are some reverse teeth files that can let you go backwards and there are some that have both on eather side.
Drilling
Most people think a drill bit is a drill bit. Not really. There are wood drill bits and there are metal drill bits. The metal drill bits have like a flare on the end. Easy to tell the diffrents if you know tools. When drilling though two peices of metal use a pair of Vise grips to hold both peices together tightly. If you want to use a Pop rivit you want to drill the hole ever so slightly smaller so the rivit has a tight grip. Of if it's a part that moves you can make the hole a bit bigger. When drilling the hole itself you do not want to apply to much pressure because you can break the drill bit, tearing a hole in the metal or even warping the metal.
Using pop-rivets
Pop-rivits come in many sizes and types. They also come in handy so theres no need for screws. A lot of people just pop them in and that's it. Well yes you can do that but for thin grade metal they can just pop off or tear off. Also they can look ugly. For a tigher and more beautiful look you want to smash the rivit. This is where you get to bash stuff. Pop the rivit in and then take the small slege or even the ballpin and flaten the rivit on both sides. If you used a rivit in a place where you can't fit or use a hammer you can use the Vice grips to smash the rivets. Becareful not to move it around because then you could tear the hole bigger or worse.
Tips for hiding errors and such.
When you're done and it's not to your liking you can always hide gaps and errors with bondo or some type of filler. That's if you're going to paint it. A sodier iron and sodier can come in handy for filling in small gaps and sometimes small holes. Instead of using the sodier iron to heat up the metal you can always use a cig lighter to heat up the metal then apply the sodier and use the sodier iron to keep the metal hot. After it cools just use warm water to wipe away the black marks or other crap. Apply the sodier so it goes in the hole or gap but also overlap it. You can always grind off the access sodier with the drimel. If you don't plan to pait it just wash it then wipe it down with windex and then use a stainless steel polish.
Painting
If you know how to pain then skip this. A lot of people use car paint for their work. If you don't own a paint gun or do not know how to use that kinda stuff you can always use spraypaint. Heres the Spraypaint methoed. You always want to use a primer on bare metal. Use the standard grey primer. You want to use two to three coats. Let it dry before adding coats. Afterwards do a very light sanding for just in case of driplets and running. Also this will give it a smooth finish. Now lets use for a example of a black paint job. After you have primered it you want to use two coats of a flat black. Same as with the primer, let it dry between coats.After the second coat you can do a light sanding for diplets and runs. Now for the finish, use gloss or satin black paint and do three coats. Try your best to not create any diplets or runs. Have the can about 5 inches away. Paint in a one way stroke. If you go both ways you can cause runs. Let it dry till the paint is tackie then apply another coat. If you plan to add a clear finish then just use stain based paint and apply the clear when the thrid coat is tackie. Let it dry and cure for 24 hours in a ventaleted area that isn't damp. Some people have found for a quick cure you can bake it in the oven at 200*F for 5 to 10 minutes. Ofcorse you want to paint to be dry and not to do this wil plastic or with a oven you don't care about. If the paint isn't completly dry then the paint will bubble and god only knows what will happen. I myself have never tryed this.
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