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Woody-
 Senior Boarder
Posts: 61 
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I am going to be making some sheet metal boxes/enclosures and I need some advice. The boxes will range from about a foot cube to about two feet square by three feet tall. I intend to cut them out with hand shears, form corners with a mallet over a piece of hardwood and join up the tabs with rivets. They will not need to have much strength (other than supporting themselves), and the entire assemblies will be brush-painted.
Aluminum seemed to me to be the best choice, since I want something thicker than galvanized steel, for softer corners and for edge effects. Bearing these parameters in mind, can anyone out there with experience working sheet aluminum by hand advise me about what alloy, gauge, etc. would be best for my purposes?
Any responses would be greatly appreciated!
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cihotfxc
 Senior Boarder
Posts: 49
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straight and true. The reason I say say this is without some sort of bending press brake, you will be unable to to get the bends very straight and the same radius maintained the leght of the bend. I would say go with a T-1 non alclad material. Or perhaps even dead soft. If it was me I'd take my material and have it sheared and bent. The method you are talking about will give you many oil can and eyebrows on the sides. My two pesos. Don, now in Mexico, metalsmith
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Woody-
Senior Boarder
Posts: 61
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[I'm with Donaldo on this one. Sheet metal shops are very well-equipped for making boxes, and will do a much better job than you can hope to do on your own. Their rates aren't that high either. They usually like to work with galvanized steel, because it can be spot-welded and soldered easily, unlike aluminum, and it's a lot cheaper. If you decide to use it, remember to pickle the surface before trying to paint it, or the paint film won't adhere for long.]
The method you are talking about will give you many oil
[If you must do this yourself (perhaps a funky appearance is called for) you can clamp 2 pieces of wood (ripped to a <45 degree angle) or metal on either side of your bend to keep it fairly true. If you're using aluminum, you'll probably want to use some kind of cold attachment, like sheet metal screws or pop rivets, to hold the boxes together.]
My two pesos. Don, now in Mexico, metalsmith
[I'm glad you manage to keep in touch, Donaldo. How's the foundry project going?]
Andrew Werby
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