Cutting Steel Sheet

Thanks for all the tips..... Going to give it a go this morning. I'll probably give the grinder and I think the discs I have are 1mm so I'll give them a shot and then go to the .5mm if it is too slow.... knowing me this is going to take toooooo long LOL

I am already paranoid about the discs shattering so would prefer to avoid using thinner ones, that said sometimes the struggling can leave you more likely to do something to cause it to shatter.

Thanks for the gaurd tip too, it's still on there so just need to rotate it (again to paranoid to remove it, frustrating as the gaurd gets!

Loanrangie it WAS a tilt boat trailer which has made it a little wider than I would have liked (just sits a little wider than the track of the Disco, you can just about park the Feroza on it!

The tilt section was stuffed so the draw bar is shortened. The "box section will end up being a fraction over 6ft long by 5ft wide. My skills meant I didn't want to play with that to much. My current trailer is a 5ft by 4ft and I can't swap the axle over plus this trailer has brakes, an added bonus. Bugger is the clearance isn't very good with 12" tyres.

I'm working on changing the tyres/hubs and possibly going to relocate the axle under the springs to increase the clearance. This should also help it sit level when towing as it currently sits slightly nose up.... I want to add a 2" lift to the Rover soon too which will only make it worse

If your nervous using the thin disks stay with the 1mm ones they will tolerate a little side loading without fracturing and you should be able to get a cutting speed of better than 1ft per minute out of them so depending on how many cuts you need to make your actuall cutting time should be less than 15 minutes not including setup time.

just make sure your using a good pair of welding gloves and a face mask and a set of ear gear, when your cutting you'll know when your sideloading the disc as the noise will change and the grinder will "bog down" try it gently and deliberately while your doing your trial cuts and you'll know what your up against.

Best of luck mate...

hey just a thought mightnt the local schools/tafes/collages have someone doing sheetmetal work that you could bribe into doing a guiloteen cut or 3 for a carton?

Probably but, a bit ambitious, I'd like to get the basics done before Monday so I can use it for a job.... Here's hoping

What will you be cladding the sides with ?

Nobody nearby with an oxyset and wheels???
The megaline grinder blades do cut very well.
Andrew

It's after 1900hrs Cookie,,,it didn't happen without pics..;)

Of course it didn't...... Some of us were still working at 1700hrs!

Well ended up giving the circular saw a go as the discs were only $4 each locally, (have used 3 so far...)

Worked well and left a reasonably neat cut.
Photos below, don't look too close at the welding :angel: It is getting better.... really it is! (Sorry about the tools, hadn't cleaned up yet and wanted to take the pic before it got too dark!)

Progress was much slower than I had wanted due to outside influences however the floor is now on and tack welded in place. (the welder wasn't thrilled with the heat today and the thermal cut out kicked in a few times slowing things down even more while waiting for it to reset. (would can I expect for a $90 welder!)

Side clading.... Well I have enough steel but don't really want to add the weight of another sheet so might get some plywood (my original plan was to use that for the floor and sides but not real keen on it for holding moisture against the steel.

Open to other suggestions..... May get 2mm steel down the track but no where open here I can get it until after the weekend and I hope to be using it Tuesday morning.

Looking good Cookie....;)

I know how you feel, I also have a GMC welder...:(

Thanks, first real project I have tackled with it other than the odd repair to the old trailer....... Oh for a MIG! LOL

A bit backwards but the pic below is more or less what I started with once I got rid of the broken tilt section and the very heavy dutie rails and rollers. (The blue is my alterations.