I am looking for some guidance/help from someone with metalworking experience. I have a PC aluminium side panel that I’d like to modify by cutting out the perforated section. The cut lines are already marked.
The panel is thin aluminium, and I’d like the finished cut to be reasonably clean and straight. I’m happy to do the work myself under supervision or with advice. If someone has experience, I’d really appreciate any help or recommendations. Happy to cover workshop costs and buy a coffee/beer for anyone willing to lend a hand.
Other @MetalMovers might have other ideas, but for something like this, where it is an awkward shape to fit into the mill or any larger tool, and also quite thin aluminium and therefore easy to cut, I would use a rotary tool like a dremel. Should be able to get the fine control you need if you are able to keep within the lines.
Do you happen to have any recommendations for specific discs or speeds/RPM settings that work well for this kind of cut? This will be my first time cutting an aluminium panel, so I’d appreciate any tips on tooling and technique.
Depending on how thin the material is I often use a sturdy Stanley knife with multiple passes!
Marking and clamping are what makes a difference between a good job and a crappy one, it’s impossible to help on that over the internet, but I would clamp a piece of scrap wood under the pose and a steel straight edge on top of the line. Then you can follow the edge with your cutter of choice to go straight.
Regarding recommendations on the tools, any dreamed will do with those fibre wheels. Something like this.
The first model fit on a standard shank, the second and third fit on a proprietary shank from Dremel, I don’t know if we have any of those shanks lying around.
If you never used a tool like that, grab a piece of scrap metal and play with it, test a few cuts and get a feel for the tool!
Definitely whatever you do: cut it well within the lines, then approach the final size with a hand file - otherwise 100% someone will walk in the room at the wrong moment and you’ll have a permanent gouge in your pc case
