Quote:
Originally Posted by Cory
You should investigate using tabs to make your gussets. It will save a lot of time. Essentially you contour almost the entire perimeter of the part, but you leave a tab or two connected on each side that is ~.020-.035" thick and as wide as necessary (usually .25"-.5"). If the part is thick enough you can hammer it out from the remaining stock, otherwise you bandsaw it loose. From there you can snap the tabs off with a pair of pliers - this gets it pretty close to flush. Then you sand it as flush as you can without gouging the part (120 grit 1" wide sanding belts work well). Finally you finish it off with some scotchbrite. Once you get good at this it will be virtually indistinguishable from a fully machined surface. See an example here |
Back in the old days before lasers and CNC punches we use to make brackets like this with a shear, drill template, a right angle notcher and a tumbler. We could make a couple hundred of these in a hour.
Have you guys ever used a Whitney punch for sheet metal?