[tapwelder]

Sub it out. Stock the parts and assemble as needed. Sounds like it could be burned.

 

[BrooklynBravest]

If I use one of those Diablo Steel demon blades in my DeWalt circular saw (not metal specific) will it demolish the saw?

 

[MoonRise]

Hmmm, that many pieces, on an ongoing basis.

Sub it out, or just have the steel supplier shear (or plasma cut, probably don't need to use a laser or a waterjet) the pieces to size when you order.

DIY, or when you want/need the flexibility of cutting something to whatever size/shape you want/need whenever you want/need it is a reason to do it 'in-house'.

Like I mentioned above, the metal-cutting circular saw blades are pretty amazing and relatively fast. They (can) leave a pretty square (and thus sharp) edge when you cut the sheet/plate. You may have to deburr or ease the edges after the cutting operation. But the metal-cutting blades still aren't as fast as a plasma cuttter with the 'right' output power for the metal thickness being cut.

Brooklyn, one of the 'strengths' of the carbide-tipped ferrous-cutting circular saw blades like the Diablo SteelDemon is that they are usable in a 'common' circular saw. Only real caveats are that the saw needs to have a metal blade guard (not a plastic one) as the metal 'chips' are rather hot when they are cut from the workpiece (sawdust isn't all that hot, so some saws have plastic pieces/parts since they were designed to only have to deal with sawdust and not hot steel ships/swarf) and to double-check the RPM rating of the saw and the specific blade to make sure they are compatible. Oh, and double-check the workpiece thickness limits of the specific saw blade, as the blade makers often have several different blade models for cutting different thickness workpieces.

 

[brucer]

If your looking to buy the plasma cutter I would suggest going up to the cutmaster52, its just a more robust machine.

 

[92dlxman]

I would not do anything but shear. but im pretty spoiled as the company I work for is pretty well established sheetmetal company. that is, if you are welding outside corners. if you are welding inside corners, I guess it doesn't matter so much.

the skill saw is viable, but man, if you are cutting each side to you're tank (no breaks), fit-up would be so much easier and cleaner with a shear.

 

[BD1]

Sounds like a shear for sure. What about a brake ? Can some pieces be formed instead of all welding ?

 

[92dlxman]

if your making "boxes" then heck yea! if you have enough machine for 11ga. if you have a "finger" brake you could theoretically break 4 sides up, and just weld the one end on.

but all that braking would mean notching, and all that notching puts you back into skill-saw territory

 

[diablo_svr]

I would not do anything but shear. but im pretty spoiled as the company I work for is pretty well established sheetmetal company. that is, if you are welding outside corners. if you are welding inside corners, I guess it doesn't matter so much.

the skill saw is viable, but man, if you are cutting each side to you're tank (no breaks), fit-up would be so much easier and cleaner with a shear.

I can get a new GMC 4' x 10 gauge shear for like $7600 shipped. If I could find a good deal on a used one, I would much rather do that.

 

[Brettliv]

Milwakee makes an excellent steel cutting circular saw. I use mine quite a bit. The Rpms are different when comparing a wood saw and steel saw. Saw is around 300 and blades are 60. Plasma will be cheaper long run but personally I use both. They each have advantages in different situations. A well sized to job plasma can be much faster. With a plasma you can mark each side, clamp a straight edge and pull. Where a saw you need to scribe a line. But setting up a saw in the field is as quick as plugging it in. Any ways my .02

 

[richey]

In the day when we had a lot of repeats we would get quotes from several shops to shear and bend our metal. Sometimes the scale of economy Will save you a lot of money and time in the long run

 

[Oxford]

I am another one for subbing it out to a shop with a shear until you can find a used one.

 

[pigeonpoop]

I love this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpCMmCDdFkw

 

[toofast_28]

Diablo, are these tanks basically? When we build tanks we make large "C's" one piece is bottom and 2 sides, other piece is top and both ends. Cuts your welding in half. Takes a shear and a brake. All straight cuts , infinitely easier to square. I would never make it in 6 pieces, it'd be a b*tch to square that way.

 

[brucer]

Nice machine brucer, how about consumable life compared to Hypertherm?

http://store.cyberweld.com/thdyplcucu52.html

I cant compare them personally, I've only ran a hypertherm for short periods of time and it was a max800 and a max200.. I couldnt afford a hypertherm for myself, I'm too poor..

I know the TD52 is a great machine for the money.

The one you have linked is just like mine, I got mine from http://www.weldingsuppliesfromioc.com/thermal-dynamics-cutmaster-52-plasma-cutter-1-5130-1 and couldnt be more happy with the purchase..

 

[Agape Guy]

I would use a good-brand 7 1/4" steel-cutting circular saw with an upgraded blade, like a Lenox or Diablo blade, so I second and third some of the previous comments. I have a 15 amp Milwaukee version that works well with the Lenox blade and the Milwaukee linear snap-on guide--personally, I've cut only down to 14 gauge though to be honest. In contrast is my favorite sheet steel cutting tool of all time, which is my 10 gauge electric cutting shear by Makita-- you can cut 10 gauge sheets all day with that bad boy. Used price is <$300.

 

[diablo_svr]

Since I will have many parts that need to be cut out. What about using a 4x8 plasma CNC machine? Something like...http://www.ebay.com/itm/Thermal-Dyn...amics-CNC-Plasma-Cutmaster-A-80-Torchmate-4x8-Table-w-water-table-/181302623905

I talked to a local shop and they said $45 set up and for 11 gauge it would be like $90 per hour and should be able to cut about 45" per min.

I didn't talk volume. So maybe they will do better. Was just looking for an idea on cost.

 

[diablo_svr]

Diablo, are these tanks basically? When we build tanks we make large "C's" one piece is bottom and 2 sides, other piece is top and both ends. Cuts your welding in half. Takes a shear and a brake. All straight cuts , infinitely easier to square. I would never make it in 6 pieces, it'd be a b*tch to square that way.

I follow. Makes total sense. 2 pieces instead of 6 and 8 welds instead of 12 to make the basic tank. There's other smaller pieces that can be done the same way. Like I have to make a rectangle 7" tall. 32" wide and 16" deep. Instead of 4 pieces and 4 welds, can be cut down to 1 piece and 1 weld. Just the above is 3 pieces instead of 10 and 9 welds instead of 16. But the big saving will be the C's because they are the largest pieces and longest welds.

 

[Burpee]

I need to build containers for collecting used vegetable oil. They are basically 110-250 gallons each in size. There's over 20 pieces (made from 11 ga sheet) that have to be cut out and each piece requires multiple cuts to create. That's just one container and I need to make a bunch and it will be an on going operation. The bulk of the cuts will range from like 16" to 40"+ long.

Does this change anyone's opinion on how they would do it?

For an ongoing operation you'd be nutz not to invest in a shear.

 

[TravisMartin]

Doesn't this sound like a job for a plasma cam?

"There's over 20 pieces (made from 11 ga sheet) that have to be cut out and each piece requires multiple cuts "

 

[ZTFab]

diablo, where are you located?

I have an Edwards 10ga x 72" power shear, 4x8 Arclight CNC Plasma table w/ a Hypertherm 65, and a 33ton x 63" Press Brake.