Thread: Project $ 3 K Is Underway

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I needed a couple of small pieces of 3/8 inch thick plate, big enough to make 2 brackets to mount the rear of my wishbone to the rear axle, so Thursday I went to the local steel supply shop and looked for some "drops" as they call them. These are pieces they have left over from a job they have done, and they put them in a holding area when you can pick through. Unfortunately, there were no small pieces there, but I did find a large piece, measuring 28 x 56 inches. It was way more than I needed (and it weighed a ton) so I had them cut it in half for me. Total cost was $ 80.00, but it will last me for quite awhile, and I won't have to dig through the "drop" stack the next time I need some of this size.

Trouble was, it still weighs like 80-100 lbs, so I had to cut it into a more managable size to shape it on the bandsaw. What I did was mark off a piece 7 inches wide, and I clamped a piece of angle iron across it to use as a straight edge. I put a couple of pieces of shim stock under the angle iron so it was not touching the plate. Then I slipped a large nut over the tip of my cutting torch so that I could slide the torch along the angle iron and get a reasonably straight cut. Sort of a poor mans flame cutter.

It actually worked pretty well, and now I had a smaller piece that I could handle. I thought this idea might come in handy for any of you that need to cut a straight cut with your torch. I also remembered that you have to put a flat piece of steel on the concrete under the plate because the torch keeps exploding the concrete.

Oh, I also put a couple of long pieces of 2 x 2 box tubing under the plate to elevate it away from laying directly on the floor.

The pictures below will show the angle iron clamped to the sheet, and the nut slipped over the tip of the torch. The nut keeps the torch tip exactly the same distance from the plate you are cutting. All you have to do is slide the torch along as it cuts through the plate.