A job for the plasma cutter

[Paul Allwood]

My wife has just started to get back into lead lighting after a 35 year break. We teamed up to make a piece for our garden.



We'll mount it in some heavy timber and allow the steel plate to rust.

I cut the shape in the 12 mm mild steel plate and the 1 mm stainless edge trim with the plasma cutter. Definitely not something I would have tried with a grinder.

 

[PHPaul]

Nice! Down here in da Knew-Knighted Estates, we call that "stained glass". Very precise plasma work. Did you have to clean up the edges with a flap wheel or anything?



Many years ago, I had a custom piece done and the original plan for it never went anywhere. When I changed from a PO Box to rural delivery, I found a use for it. My last name is Fox, BTW...

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Looks great!

Plasma cutters are awesome.

Just as a FYI for the "general public" one of the more accepted methods for getting the slag/dross off is to use a "cupped wire wheel"

It does a pretty good job, but has the added bonus of not leaving deep grinding marks.

HOWEVER....If/When that cup catch's an edge, you best watch out and have gloves/glasses on cause it will "whip" that part across the shop..........(Ask me how I know....)



Grinding wheels and flap disc's do have thier place, but I TRY to limit thier use to the really tough slag/dross.

Just my .02.......... for the world to ponder......

 

[Paul Allwood]

Nice! Down here in da Knew-Knighted Estates, we call that "stained glass". Very precise plasma work. Did you have to clean up the edges with a flap wheel or anything?

View attachment 180132

Many years ago, I had a custom piece done and the original plan for it never went anywhere. When I changed from a PO Box to rural delivery, I found a use for it. My last name is Fox, BTW...

It's called both lead lighting and stained glass here....depends who you're talking to or what you think of first.

The stainless did need a little clean up. I cut the strips using a plywood template.

The first cut was done using a spacer.



The second cut was done without the spacer without moving the plywood template to give me a strip of the width I wanted.



The edges were a little rough but they cleaned up ok.

 

[Paul Allwood]

Looks great!

Plasma cutters are awesome.

Just as a FYI for the "general public" one of the more accepted methods for getting the slag/dross off is to use a "cupped wire wheel"

It does a pretty good job, but has the added bonus of not leaving deep grinding marks.

HOWEVER....If/When that cup catch's an edge, you best watch out and have gloves/glasses on cause it will "whip" that part across the shop..........(Ask me how I know....)

View attachment 180133

Grinding wheels and flap disc's do have thier place, but I TRY to limit thier use to the really tough slag/dross.

Just my .02.......... for the world to ponder......

Haven't tried that. Next time, thanks.