Thread: Where can I get a sheet of metal to create my own case?

it makes sense...that's what i was planning on doing...

i was just wondering if there were other options...[sigh]

thanks

the pipe method should work unless you have access to some speciality tools.

Scorp

I wouldn't hammer it. I would clamp the metal to the pipe and then just roll the pipe with the metall attached on a workbench until the desired bend (90 degrees) is achieved. Hammering it would ding it all up.

i'm assuming you picked up some galvanized sheet metal? that is what is carried at my local home depot.

you should go back and pick up a set of sheet metal vise grips. they cost about 12-15 dollars, depending on the store, but they have helped me greatly. They are a large, spade like set of vise grips, and the surface area helps to bend the metal.

you can roll it over a pipe, but make some guide marks on where you are bending it first. trust me on this one

for all exposed edges, I like to roll them over about 1/2 to 1" in, to create a smooth edge on the outside. this makes a project look great. on corners, snip the edge, and bend it in, so it looks continuous.

finnaly, painting galv sheet metal is a *****. i used only acrylic paint (can), and would recommend you do so also. any other treatment don't do squat in my experience.

good luck!

It depends on how you hammer actually. Ever see how custom fenders are made? They use either a roller or a reciprocating hammer. If you can figure out a way to roll it and it works then go for it, but hammering shouldn't be counted out, if done right you can get decent results. It really just depends on the type of metal used, my metal was so thick that rolling it would have been practially impossible. If it is light stuff or AL then maybe the rolling idea will work.

I would recommend that you bring your metal to a shop to have bent. they should have a press there that will give you a nice clean curve like you want.

however if this is not an option, depending on your metal a combintaion of hammering/rolling would be your best bet.

if this is thin metal, such as the coil aluminum(stuff used to make custom drip trays, flashings etc) you should be able to simply clamp the metal on one side of the pipe and then create your bend over the pipe using an even pressure bending the metal over the pipe. I would use a 2x4 or some other piece of wood to do this so that you bend the whole sheet at a uniform rate. you will prob. get your best results if you use a rocking motion when bending the metal. if you dont bend the sheet at the same rate you may get creases in the metal or a croocked bend.

if you got thicker metal(most copper sheets), do the same thing as above, except hammering the 2x4 against the pipe to create the bend. This shouldnt cause "dings" seeing how you will be hitting the wood.


you may want to pratice bending the metal w/ a few thinner strips of metal until you get the hang of it.

good luck

Originally Posted by jaeger

i have been wondering where i can get some metal to encase my motherboard [only the motherboard]. I will bend it myself if i have to...

Just go to your local metal shop and tell them what you need.
It is real hard to bend metal even 1mm thick.
emachineshop.com may help you also...

I recently finished mine using an old road sign, cutting it up with an angle grinder and riveting it all together with lengths of L-bracket aluminium to join the edges. Was hard work, but considering i had no idea what i was doing let alone how to even work an angle grinder, it must be pretty easy (and fun too

It took ages, but was cheap and looks pretty cool cos after filing, sanding and buffing it comes up nice and brushed metal looking. To get all the road sign sticker stuff off i just used paint stripper.

Another good thing to do is find an old PC case and remove the piece of metal that holds the pci cards and motherboard ports. Then design your own box around this as i'd imagine it'd be pretty fidly to make from scratch.

and this is why I'm glad I work in a steel shop for a living