Am drawing up a cart of sorts to relocate some electronic equipment (our office is piling up and space is at a premium). It’s an open office and everyone will see it, so aesthetics are important. We’re also poor, so economy is even more important. I’m proposing a 2 x 4 wood stud frame and reusing some leftover semi-translucent polycarbonate panels for sheathing, and covering any exposed studs with metal stud tracks for an industrial look.
Question: how to cut the metal studs? Have put up interior walls in the past for an office renovation with tin snips and a compound saw. Tin snips won’t work since the cuts need to be clean. Can’t remember what the cuts looked like with the saw, but remember the shower of sparks and screeching metal. Is the saw option typical?
Edited 6/28/2007 3:22 pm ET by draftguy
Replies
If the snips dont give a clean cut, yer doing something wrong or the snips are dull. Cut bothe 'ears", fold the web back for clearance, and cut it. A clean up trim MAY be needed in th every corners, till ya get the hang of it.
A regular 40 tooth carbide blade will work too, but I won't recommend it, if ya don't know how to do it.
A bandsaw is another option that just occured to me.
Most metal stud framers around here use an abrasive chop saw. Cut ends are not pretty.
Others use a miterbox saw with a metal cutting blade. Very, very noisy, lots of hot chips- but the cut is nice.
Either option requires safety glasses and a full face shield if you want to keep your eyesight.
I always used aviation snips, and carried both LH & RH to make my life easier.
They make a "chopper" that will neatly make a cut as square as you load the stud into the cutter--but they are not cheap, and you're on a budget.
Now, what you might do, too, is make up the frame with nothing but channel. The outside could be made up of one long continous piece, bent to suit, and the overlaps fastened (might be worth investign in pop rivets if they are going to show instead of framing points.
Don't forget to collect some krylon or rustoleum--the "raw" finish on that galvanized is just that, raw. (Why a coat of metallic silver looks more industrial than unfinished galvanized I can't tell you--but it does.)
The cart will be holding up a fair amount of equipment, so the stud gauge would have to go up. I'm a little leery of experimenting, considering the possible catastrophe (our interns can get away with such mistakes as they're usually in grad school in another state when said mistake occurs . . . i, however, will still be here). <g>
The other option is to have a welding company do it out of steel tube. An industrial look means it doesn't have to be pretty. Unfortunately, the additional time/expense will probably nix it.
so the stud gauge would have to go up.
Well, ok, go to 22ga and set a couple of "intermediate" members in the side "frames" (especially since you said you were going to sheath this in translucent panels).
Bending would not be too tough, either. Scrounge a 3=3 1/2" butt hinge up someplace. While scrounging, scare up three reasonably straight 2x4's too. Hinge two of the 2x4's to gether, end-to-end. Stick that on a handy bench.
Put a bit of track on top of that. Cipher up where the bend goes; two neat, perpendicular snips at that location. Line the cuts up with the hinge, and clamp the third 2x4 inside the channel holding it down to the hinged "bending brake" you just junkyarded up. Rotate the not-clamped-down 2x4 and you have your bend.
Put a square to it, drill the overlaps, and mash in a pop rivet. Done.
This is an equipment rack, and 'industrial' will "work"? Ok, set a couple of channels in the rectangular frame, next to those set some KV shelf standards (they can be drilled oh their sides to take a framing point from the adjacent channel).Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
Get a pair of pipe & duct snips - like these...http://tinyurl.com/3aoymeYou'll get about 1/8" of waste, but should get a clean cut on metal studs
Uggghh, I have a pair of those, was usingthem for copper work. Same ones, Wiss brand. They suck. You are cutting 2x as much as regular snips, so y abetter have a good strong squeeze factor in your hands.
Also, the center blade needs clearance from the outer two, which makes for a less than ideal finished edge, and if ya tighten them, or remove the shim washer, they are even harder to use.
Maybe on really thin metal, but not 16oz copper, or steel studs.
, I have scored them with several swipes of a sharp a razor knife but it wrecks the blades
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, wer ist jetzt der Idiot ?
I don't know your bidget or time frame but i purchased a MALCO stud shear off ebay for $40 slide stud or track in and pull lever clean sq cut everytime... mine is for 3.5 or 4" metal stud/track..... ended up use'n all 6" on my lofts... so it just sat except for some soffit work...
check ebay...
p
We have a Malco shear. Works on 2x2, 2x4, and 2x6 metal studs. A little slow for production work, but would be the ticket for the OP.
I'm like Sphere. Metal masters on light guage metal studs. Faster than the Malco shear if you are getting paid by the foot.
Dave
Just checked the Malco channel shear out. Probably the closest to what i'm looking for, but also probably more trouble/expense than necessary (for the little amount i'd need it for).
thought maybe somebody had a quick trick for a nice straight perpendicular cut without burrs, bends, or the slightly uncomfortable feeling of standing directly behind a jet engine . . .
For industrial look, use Rez's old bent up ladder, cut in short hunks.
but then the cart will only go in circles <g>
Standard practice is snips for 25ga. one at a time, chop saw with abrasive blade for bundles or heavy guage, have used porta band for heavy guage where no smoke was allowed. Since you are going to put track over wood studs be aware this will not be a snug fit most commonly available track is 3 5/8" and the leg is less than 1 1/2".
The extra 1/8" would be o.k., as well as the shorter leg. It was only cosmetic.
Look in the electrical section of the local big box. You will find some heavy gauge C channel near the conduit that has regular holes and slots cut in it. Near that you will also find connectors, angles, pipe holders, etc. This is basicly an electricians erector set. You can put together all sorts of this with this with only a wrench and a Sawz All or hacksaw to cut the actual steel beams. You will also be able to hold a ton with this. It will look and function much better than the steel stud idea.
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Parenting has always been a mix of sage life advice and inexcusable laziness.
Great idea Paul!
We never built a cart out of unistrut, but we've done motor and pump mounts that hold up very well. We did some other wierd stuff for an excercise room (didn't want to know the real end use).
Dave
A 14" abrasive cutoff saw is a good way to go. Milwaukee makes a decent one. Harbor Freight has one for about $60 that will be fine for small or occasional jobs.
Billy
You can use a bandsaw. The noise isn't so bad as a chop saw with an abrasive blade and the cut is good. I used on that had a vice for the studs and the blade came down on the stud.
I just completed framing interior walls with 22 Gauge studs. We used a Freud blade made for steel studs. Cut is clean, no sparks, and you can cut compound angles. You still want to a full face mask and ear muffs though.