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Punching a Ti windscreen


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  • #1218492
    David Lewis
    BPL Member

    @davidlewis

    Locale: Nova Scotia, Canada

    I see the the pre-punched Ti windscreens are out of stock. I tried to punch one of my unpunched ones with a hole punch and it made a damn mess. That Titanum is tough stuff!!! Can anyone point me to a better tool for punching a clean 1/4″ or slightly bigger hole in Ti foil?

    #1355868
    Vick Hines
    Member

    @vickrhines

    Locale: Central Texas

    If your system permits, you can avoid punching altogether and just snip out some triangular or even rectangular openings on the ‘bottom’ edge of the windscreen. They will give more air than holes and will disturb the flames less than holes located higher. Tin snips will work. For a neat job, polish the edges with a Dremmel or sandpaper.

    #1355893
    Joshua Mitchell
    Member

    @jdmitch

    Locale: Kansas

    If you really want to get fancy on cutting notches out of the bottoms (as vick suggested) you can also get some corner nips (right angle nips?)… can’t find a link, but they exist.. they’re made for cutting a corner out of sheetmetal if you’re making a tray… probably expensive for single use but they make really clean right angles…

    #1355912
    Vick Hines
    Member

    @vickrhines

    Locale: Central Texas

    Yeah, Josh, that would work. There is also a device called nibblers for well… nibbling away at sheet metal. Radio Shack, and most tool companies have them. Try the Widgetsupply.com.

    #1355962
    David Lewis
    BPL Member

    @davidlewis

    Locale: Nova Scotia, Canada

    Thanks for the idea… but those tools may have the same problems with this material as the hole punch did… i.e… material distortion since the material is soooooo thin and yet so strong.

    #1355964
    Vick Hines
    Member

    @vickrhines

    Locale: Central Texas

    Yeah, maybe. I’ve only used them on aluminum and thin steel. I haven’t tried on titanium, but have just used aircraft snips and a Dremmel.
    Either way, you can avoid making holes and be better off. In fact, you could just prop up one edge with a pebble or something.

    #1356004
    Dale Wambaugh
    BPL Member

    @dwambaugh

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    Or just cut the metal in a short straight line and bend the corners back to make a triangle, giving a nice finished edge– with the weight of the metal left in place vs. cutting it away.

    #1356006
    Joshua Mitchell
    Member

    @jdmitch

    Locale: Kansas

    Of course, you could mostly trim the folded part… then you’d gain most of the weight savings and keep a smooth edge…

    Nice Idea!

    #1356011
    D G
    Spectator

    @dang

    Locale: Pacific Northwet

    David,

    I have a little left over BPL titanium foil from when I cut mine to length. I just tried punching the foil with my Whitney punch. It had no problem making a hole but the results where not that great, it did not leave a clean edge. The tool is up to the task but the big problem is that the foil is too thin. I didn’t try it but maybe backing the foil with something else might prevent the problem

    I then grabbed an ordinary pair of scissors (good quality, fiskars) and it made a clean cut no problem.

    I would take Vick’s advice and just cut triangular cuttouts on the bottom. Ordinary scissors will work fine, you don’t need any tin snips.

    Dan

    #1356017
    Jason Klass
    BPL Member

    @jasonklass

    Locale: Colorado

    Dan, Dave, and Vick:

    I think for ti, the best solution is to keep leave the screen as is and just use trenches. Once you punch holes in a windscreen, you are comitted to them. In this method, you can adjust to the conditions at hand (scroll down to “trenches”): http://www.freewebs.com/jasonklass/ventingoptions.htm

    #1356057
    Bernard Shaw
    Member

    @be_here_nowearthlink-net

    Locale: Upstate New York

    How do you all use this stuff? It is so thin, with wind it blows all around deforming like crazy.

    #1356061
    Dale Wambaugh
    BPL Member

    @dwambaugh

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    Good idea, or a few flat stones to jack it up a bit. Seems that trenches would be great if it was really blowing.

    Oh, duh– just went back and read your web page with the section on risers immediately after the trench stuff. Nice page too!

    #1356324
    Michael Moccia
    BPL Member

    @madmoe

    Locale: The Lone Star State

    I used a three hole punch from Office Max, the same found in most offices. Worked outstanding. The ruler on the punch also functioned as a nifty spacing guide.

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