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Where would I go about getting sheets of metal? I need really thin ones, like the thickness of pop cans. I went to home depot and they don't have anything. Thanks.

not any places that would be local then?

You could try looking in your yellow pages for metal fabrication places or welders, and call them up to see if they can supply it or tell you where to go.

Whatcha makin'?

I have to make a "crazy" book for my publications class. It really doesn't even have to look like a book, just needs to be creative, and well put together. I'm doing an aquarium/terrarium theme, I got plexiglass and hinges at the hardware store, for the covers and binding, and I got a gate latch to keep it closed. I wanna make my pages out of 2 sheets of metal with a hole in the center, with a piece of thin clear plastic sandwiched between the 2 with aquarium or terrarium elements like a tree, or a dragonfly or the sun illustrated on it, so I can have them all sit one over the other and as you flip the pages, you deconstruct the terrarium or aquarium. Hopefully it works?

That sounds like it'll be cool... I don't understand the construction exactly though. You're saying the covers will be plexiglas and the pages will be metal? Wouldn't you want the pages to be see-through?

Or do you mean the hole in the center will be large and will be essentially a window into all the rest of the pages?

Hmm... depending on the dimensions of the book, maybe you could use an aluminum can. Just cut the top and bottom off, cut a vertical slit, and unroll it. If you're putting two sheets back-to-back anyway, it shouldn't matter that there's printing on one side, right? You could use 40oz cans if you need bigger, maybe.

that may work actually... I'll measure cans tonight... The covers are 6x9, so the pages should be around 5x8. There would be a relatively large hole in the pages, and it would be a window into the rest of the pages, I was just trying to come up with a cool way to frame them. I may even just be able to frame each side with a separate can... Thanks Vikash. Helpful as usual!

Okay, yeah, I understand the design now. Sounds like it'll be cool.

You're welcome. Soda cans are always a useful source for small pieces of scrap aluminum. You could also try using some kind of thin steel strapping from Home Depot; you can take something that's narrow and solder four pieces of it together to form a rectangular frame or something. It'll definitely be easier to make things adhere to steel than aluminum.

. . . or talk to your boyfriend who happens to know of a few local industrial outlets for such metals. . .

What about aluminum flashing? Did you check the gutter section? It comes in rolls.

Steve

Flashing is a good idea, not only does it come in sheets but you can get it with one side pre-painted. I wish I got to do fun little projects like you're doing in my engineering classes .

get a tall boy can, the 24oz ones. I just measured one, they are 6.5" tall, and the circumferance should work out to around 9."

Go into industrial design instead of engineering and you can do stuff like that all day (and night) long.

Steve

Online metals is local, in ballard, but they don't like walk-ins unless you spend lot's of money with them.

http://metalshorts.com/ is on east marginal and is really good for sheet metal. They cut to size.

I would call the local fab or welding shop. They can point you in the right direction.

Aight. . . just got off the phone with her. . . she's decided to go with bevel-cut plexiglass, instead.

Yukonart wrote:. . . or talk to your boyfriend who happens to know of a few local industrial outlets for such metals. . .

Why would she do something like that?

Why don't you call Viper boy.....all those bucks...must have the brains.

Viper boy?

The guy who owns the viper I saw you sitting in on another thread.

i don't know who he is

LaureltheQueen wrote:i don't know who he is

He's talking about Bill's Viper you sat in almost two years ago.

Jesus, she doesn't even know they're names! I forget their names, but at least I know it at some point.

Steve

all i could think when i was in the viper was "i'm in a viper!!!!"

Reverse the subject and object of that thought and it gets even more interesting.

Steve