Custom cut pieces?

[rtm038]

Hello all,
I've read a few posts where guys made templates (wood, cardboard, etc.), then took them to a steel place and had them reproduced in steel. How much (ball park figure), minus the material costs, does it usually cost to have it done?

Thanks
Ryan

 

[Bird]

The cost will vary considerably, depending on whom you take it to, and of course how much cutting is required, how thick the material you want cut is, etc. I know one machine shop that would be glad to do it, and they may be reasonably priced on many jobs, but they have a minimum of $50 to do anything.

 

[Egon]

Ditto as to Birds comment. Might add the quality of the cut should be considered too.

I'm pretty lucky. There is a spring shop in town and the fellows there always have a better way of doing things than I come up with. Cost is very reasonable. I usually tell them what I wish to end up with and for what purpose and stay out of the way.

Egon

 

[BigAl]

I paid $95 for the metal shop to set up and transfer my 2 wooden cutouts of a grapple jaw, to a computer disc . Now I can have any shop cut my jaws if they have a computer aided cutting machine to work with .Most of the bigger machine or welding shops can do this .
allen

 

[theonlybull]

at my shop, $50 per hour, plus material. we can cut from paper thin, to 6" if the need arises. we usually bandsaw anything up to 3/16", and use the radiograph after that

 

[RedRocker]

63 cents a pound on e-bay

 

[rtm038]

Thanks everyone for the responses. I figured it would be no more than $100 per hour, especially if I buy the steel from them. So, I'll have to get out the phone book tomorrow and make some calls.
Thanks again,
Ryan

 

[frederic]

If you just have a few pieces of steel to do, send the work out. You've been given good suggestions thus far.

However, if you have a local steel supplier, and do intend to do a ton of fabrication work, a plasma cutter is your best friend. Took me two years to get this into my head, and purchase a Miller 375. It cuts 1/2" steel and thinner, no problem. I use it mostly for automotive projects, as it's easy to cut very straight lines on complexly curved fenders and such, then do the same for the patch panel that you're putting in there. It cuts just about everything. Because the heat is very localized, you can cut around cardboard, mdf or aluminum templates if you want with no problems either. For oddly shaped things like a homemade alternator bracket I'll draw it in "Visio", print it to the laser printer, tape the pages over a piece of cardboard, then cut with an x-acto knife, then plasma cut around the edges.

And if you get bored, you can sign your name in a piece of 1/4" steel. ;-)

Anyway, if you are going to be doing lots of cutting in the future, doing itself is less costly. Especially in your 'waiting". I find around here in NJ most shops will take any kind of work I need done, but they put it way at the end of their priority lists because there are enough 'quick buck' jobs passing through first.

 

[Farwell]

Frederic,
What accessories would I need to set up a complete Miller 375 system. Have not been around plasma cutting.
Farwell

 

[MadReferee]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Frederic,
What accessories would I need to set up a complete Miller 375 system. Have not been around plasma cutting.)</font>

Here is what I used. <ul type="square"> [*]Miller Spectrum 375 plasma cutter setup for 230 vac [*]Motor Guard filter [*]HarborFreight filter/regulator combo [*]50 ft 3/8" air hose on reel [*]Shop compressor capable of sustaining 60 psi (unit shuts down if below 40 psi) [/list] In order to use a plasma cutter you need clean dry air. Under certain conditions an external air drier may be necessary.

My connection goes from the plasma cutter to the motor guard filter to the HF stand-alone filter/regulator to a reel hose and then into my piped shop air system (which also has a water seperator and regulator). The HF filter/regulator is not really needed since the 375 has a built-in regulator but it does add another line of defense against moisture and saves me the cost of a drier. Your mileage may vary.

The hose/reel and both filters are mounted on a cart together with the plasma cutter. The cart is an old Craftsman project work station with drawers and is shared with my TA-185 tig unit.

I would post a picture but my computer with the photo software on it has died and I haven't repaired it yet.