Steel for the chassis

[Dusty]

Hi guys,

so i'm gonna start my project after a long wait researching what i wanted to build and what i need to source.

So i'm gonna start on my chassis for now, but unsure where to get the steel i need from. Thats where you guys come in. I know what i need but just not sure on the price i should pay. So where did everyone get theres from ? what was the price you paid. And if i's cheap enough do they deliver ?

Dusty

[Tatey]

I got my steel from FM Steel Stock, which is a local company to me. I paid £100 delivered for everything. I was going to get them to cut it into 2m lengths and then put it in the car, but that was going to cost much more than the £10 for delivery. Hopefully that should be a rough price for you to go on.

[twinturbo]

Personaly, I would ( and will be buying ) buy a chassis pack.

It may cost a lot more, but the speed of the chassis build will be so much more rewarding with pre-cut sections.

TT

[Tatey]

I've nearly completed my chassis after cutting it all from hand. It has saved me a lot of money, yes it has taken a lot longer as you could probably build the chassis in a weekend if you really put the effort in.

It all depends how you are going to be basing your build around, cost or speed?

If you've got money to spare but are a busy person then I'd recommend going for a chassis pack as they SSC really is a brilliant company.

[Dusty]

I dont mind about time as i'm still looking for my donor car so time isnt an issue and i would rather do it myself then have a pre done/cut chassis. I want to take my time anyway and make sure everything is 100% perfect. But thats just me lol

Thanks guys for the reply's

Dusty

[happyjo]

Do you know the quantities of steel required.

I have seen the cut list and estimate it to be 30 Metres of 25x25 box section steel.

In the new year I want to ring round to the different steel places and get a quote.

Secondly what type of cutting blade will do, I already have a mitre saw, can I just change the blade?

Thank you

[twinturbo]

I would like to know what peeps are using for cutting too?

TT

[AshG]

I would like to know what peeps are using for cutting too?

TT


most people use a funny shaped little man called handy andy.

the rest of us use angle grinders, compound mitre saws and band saws.

[Davey]

I'm using a combination of a 6" Clarke bandsaw, a 9" Makita angle grinder and a cheapy 4.5" angle grinder. Got the extra steel I needed from a mate with a fabrication business, 3x 6 metre lengths of 25X25X3 box and 2x 5 metre lengths of 25X25X3 angle but I need at least another length of the angle. I'm not building a roadster as per the book though so my steel quantities will not be relevant to most of you.

D.

[dogwood]

I used a band saw for the main tubes,
and an angry grinder for the tricky ones.
If I was starting again I would defo use the "HandyAndy":rolleyes:
Saves an awfull lot of agro.


David

[HandyAndy]

If I was starting again I would defo use the "HandyAndy"
Saves an awfull lot of agro.


David

Thanks David,:)

Ash, i might be an odd shaped little man:D , but am more than happy to cut steel for folk :)

For any folk thinking about starting a build, i,m always happy to help if you decide to go for the flat pack route :cool:

cheers
andy

[twinturbo]

Well a bandsaw or Mitersaw is going to cost a fair bit on top of the steel..


I personaly would not use a angle grinder as a general cutting device. To brutish, to noisy, to crude. To messy.

I do have a B&D scorpion reciprocating saw which has cut up a few cars.. It can be hard work, and the blades wear out fairly quickly considering their cost.

TT

[Dusty]

this is the one i've just got

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=10668120&fh_view_size=10&fh_search=mitre+saw&fh_eds=%C3%9F&fh_refview=search&ts=1261956046798&isSearch=true

Ive been told it will do the business, so i will test and see. As for the lenght of the steel i'm getting 42m 25box, 18m 19box, 18m 19 tube.

[twinturbo]

has that actualy got a proper ferous blade?

TT

[Dusty]

i dont know myself but the guy at B&Q said it would work. I did tell him what i was using it for and the details and he says it will be fine ...

[twinturbo]

I bet it's just a wood blade.

TT

[twinturbo]

I would do some research before atempting to use that mitre saw. I have done a little research and can't find anything that sugests they are suitab;e for cutting metal.

Using the wood blade could result in some rather alarming, life endangering, trouser wrecking incidents..

TT

[graeme.webb1@ntlworld.com]

I would do some research before atempting to use that mitre saw. I have done a little research and can't find anything that sugests they are suitab;e for cutting metal.

Using the wood blade could result in some rather alarming, life endangering, trouser wrecking incidents..

TT

To the best of my knowledge you can get metal blades for them. However they seem to have less power than the average cut off m/c that I have used. Could be good for the compond angles.

[HandyAndy]

i dont know myself but the guy at B&Q said it would work. I did tell him what i was using it for and the details and he says it will be fine ...

Dusty ( Hi by the way & welcome to the forum)...

i,m no expert on machinery but i very much doubt that saw will cope with cutting almost 42mtrs of box steel, its not so much the blade ( tho that is critical to the type of material being cut, must use a blade designed to cut steel), its more to do with the torque reaction of the motor in the saw.

i used a Fury3 compound mitre saw for a while but found it went thru blades too quickly, & so we at Saturn now have a professional cutting disc mitre saw, the kerf is a little more but the blades last alot longer, i also use a 1mm cutting disc in an angle grinder for the more acute angled cuts.

without telling you how to suck eggs, i,d take the advice from a shop salesperson with a pinch of salt & trust forum members opinions who have cut the same steel you intend / need to, maybe save you money & hopefully an injury.

i hope that doesn,t come across as rude, just hopefully helpful.
( i,ve now cut over 500mtrs of steel for chassis kits).

cheers
andy

[twinturbo]

put it this way, if you chip a wood tooth spinning at 5000 RPM off the blade.....................

Metal needs to be cut slower with a fine toothed blade.

I doubt even staff at somwhere like machine mart will know what's what..

If there's an advice line in the packing give it a ring.

Evolution produce some tools that specify metal cutting..

http://www.evolutionpowertools.co.uk/us/evolution_rage3.html

TT

[Dusty]

Thanks for the input guys ... might of even saved my life lol. Looks like i might have to look for something else. But i dont want to spends lot of money as i'm kind skint from christmas. What would a flat pack set me back or is there anything else i could use to cut the steel like a normal saw ?

Thanks for the great input guys

Dusty

[twinturbo]

B&D Scorpion Bit slow and may give you VWF temporatily with alll the vibration.

Slitting disk on a grinder. Fast, cleanish but will go through disks and is messy, noisy and a little dangerous.

Quality Hacksaw. Fine but hard on your arm and hand



The main reason I will be going ( eventualy ) for a flat pack is that I don't want to have to shell out lots for decent cutting equipment or risk injury on cheap stuff..

I have had a 9" Cutting disk break up at full speed and the grinder tried to make a jump for me..... And that's with precautions taken...


Go back to B&Q with it and ask if they can confirm that it is fit for your requirements, if not then they have potentialy put your safety at risk through improper product training. May be worth mentioning that fact to the store manager and see if they are a Caring Company ;)

TT

[Tatey]

I don't know why you dont just try out the good old hacksaw approach? Both me and HandyAndy have created our chassis using the method, so far i've only had to replace one blade due to it getting dull.

As long as you get good quality blades it really doesnt take much effort to get a good clean straight cut and then a quick good with a file and you have a pretty much perfect edge.

If you then get sick of using the hacksaw you could decide then ask HandyAndy for the rest of the bits, at a reduced rate of course :p

[HandyAndy]

Hi Dusty,

I,m certainly not trying to force anyone to go the flat pack route, but if you were to decide to purchase a flat pack kit from me then the cost would be £250 plus £40 delivery, tho you are of course welcome to collect your kit or arrange your own courier.

If you need any further info regarding my flat packs then get in touch.

cheers
andy:)

[BareClawz]

I'll be cutting mine with a hand held hacksaw, fitted with a good blade. OK I might tidy them up afterwards with a hand held 4" angle grinder if they need it. But whatever I do to the tubes they'll be well held in a metal vice, something that that claimed metal cut off saw doesn't have! And I certainly wouldn't go anywhere near it if anyone was using it without a good secure clamping system. A G clamp holding the tube in place doesn't count as a good clamping system.
If I was going to invest in an appliance to cut the tubes then I'd go along these lines;
http://www.google.co.uk/products?hl=en&q=makita+metal+cut+off+saw&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=nds5S-bFEY744AaX952qCA&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved=0CCgQrQQwAg

Steve

[gingea1pom]

Morning all,

I have cut all my steel with a Clarke 4 ½ “ (115mm) band saw that I got of the bay for £150, which I am now SELLING.

I was going to stick it back on Ebay with a starting price of £100 in January.

If a forum member wants to pick it up for £100 just PM me.

The system for changing the angle was a nut and bolt affair. Which was slow and not particularly accurate, as when you nipped the nut up the angle would move a little, so, it now has a captive bolt and a T handle attached to the nut, for quick and accurate angle adjustment.

Also there are five new band saw blades that come with it.

I am located in SP11 9LF.

Cheers Ginge

[AshG]

ginge if i had space i would have it off you :D if you want to store it for me for a year or so while i build my new workshop that would be great too :D

[les g]

Morning all,

I have cut all my steel with a Clarke 4 ½ “ (115mm) band saw that I got of the bay for £150, which I am now SELLING.

I was going to stick it back on Ebay with a starting price of £100 in January.

If a forum member wants to pick it up for £100 just PM me.

The system for changing the angle was a nut and bolt affair. Which was slow and not particularly accurate, as when you nipped the nut up the angle would move a little, so, it now has a captive bolt and a T handle attached to the nut, for quick and accurate angle adjustment.

Also there are five new band saw blades that come with it.

I am located in SP11 9LF.

Cheers Ginge

there you go bargain of the year...........
same saw as we you use for much more than kitcar building
it can also be viewed at machine mart (its a different colour and dearer )
and we paid less for ours than ginge did but that was a long time ago now
but the deal clincher must be the extra 5 blades thats £35 worth
it makes the saw £65
come on guys somebody ought to snap that up.
cheers les g
PS: if you really want a rotary saw look for an Evolution rage they cannot be beaten

[Matthew]

I used an Evolution Rage 3 mitre saw (http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/rage-3-10in-compound-sliding-mitre-saw) and it does make good cuts when the blades are new, but I've used 2 of the general purpose blades cutting up the chassis tubes, and they aren't cheap at nearly £30 each.

There's a blade listed specifically for cutting steel, but I haven't managed to find anywhere in the UK that supplies it.

Matt

[happyjo]

I looked in the diy store last night and saw two blades suitable for cutting 3mm steel.

One was 7 inch and the other about 10 inch.

Prices ranged from 20 to 30 pounds.

The glossy video they were showing depicted the balde cutting through an RSJ.

I already have a chop mitre saw with all the markings, so its just a guess to how long it will last.:)

Happyjo

[degmwilliams]

Im a welder fabricator and use a 355mm cold saw to cut box angle and tube, these are expensive for most locost builders at about £2000 but you can sometimes pick one up of the bay for about £500 and the blades are about £50 each, resharpening is £10 from saw point, we also have a 12" band saw which is hardwork to set up for angles, id suggest getting a rage 2 355mm, http://www.evolutionpowertools.co.uk/uk/evolution_rage2.html we use one when doing site work and are very powerful, you can even get blades that can be resharpened.

[rhys007]

Hi all,

This is mainly for Dusty;

I have a slightly older performance power compound mitre saw which would be perfect if Rage blades would fit, correct speed etc.

After a bit of research, if you do an international search on 'bay for metal blades, you will find some from the states that have a 30mm bore, 255mm diam & are rated to 6500rpm.

They are purchased from the yank equivalent of B&Q (Home Depot) & is also their Rage version. I'll be getting mine soon & will cost between £30-50.

I think if you take it slow it'll work fine.

Or you could fit a Rage 3 that is 215mm & connect it to an extention lead with a breaker, modified with a heavy duty dimmer light switch- that will let you slow the blade down- it only has to go to about 4500rpm. I spoke to a very friendly Rage guy who told me the 3500rpm speed rating they put on the blades is discourage people like us using them on our own machines!!

They are rated to 6000rpm for safety, so would be fine if you didn't go mad.

I'm still buying from the states though.

Hope thats given you food for thought?

Rhys