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Aluminum Deck Plate - Cutting & Bending
Added 1/16 (0.064) inch thick aluminum deck plate yesterday. To make the cuts, I used a 7 1/4 inch circular saw and a metal cut off blade. Marked my lines and then added a 1/16 inch cut line. Next I c-clamped a piece of 1 X 4 lumber to the plate as a saw guide. After cutting the plate, I c-clamped a piece of 1 inch square tube to the original measurement line and used a 4 1/2 inch angle grinder with a flapper wheel to smooth the edges and create a square cut. I then made a metal brake using 2 X 2 X 5 feet angle iron. With a length of 5 feet you have room for both hinges and can fit a 4 ft wide piece of metal. Welded one side of a door hinge on both ends of one piece of the angle iron and attached the other side of the hinges using wood screws to a 2 X 6 X 5 foot long piece of lumber. Welded a piece of 1 1/4 X 20 inches long square tube for a handle to the angle iron. Attached the 2 X 6 to my Black & Decker Workmate portable work table using wood screws. C-Clamped the other 2 X 2 Angle Iron over the deck plate and made 90 and 25 degree bends. The nice thing about this setup is you unscrew the angle iron from the Work Mate and store it in corner. Worked like a champ and had a total of $38.00 dollars invested. Hope this helps others.
