[HBR] 5052 aluminum

[B Smith]

    I strongly agree with Mike,  most of us  do not have the proper
equipment for working with  .080 and it can be a challenge. A new builder
should do himself a favor and just order a chassis "kit" from "Byers Chassis
Kits". 
    They are excellent kits - - - the  two "kits" that I ordered for my HBR
projects were perfect. I recommend .063 for the chassis sides and top plate
and perhaps .040 for the bottom plate. The Chassis "kit" is unique as it
comes in sections and allows drilling holes etc. on the top plate and sides
prior to assembly. You can actually assembly a good portion of the HBR on
just the top chassis plate and having the top plate separate makes the
wiring much easier. You supply the hardware for assembly. While you are at
it order a .125 front panel. 
Byers Chassis Kits can be found at: 
http://home.flash.net/~k3iwk/info.htm 
 
 
73 
 
breck k4che 
 
 
 
 
-------Original Message------- 
 
From: Mike Hanz 
Date: 6/25/2010 7:59:30 AM 
To: HBR Receiver List 
Subject: Re: [HBR] 5052 aluminum 
 
That's pretty thick, Bill. If you haven't done it before, you will find 
a world of difference working with .080 rather than .063. I have a 
fairly complete machine shop for restoring WWII radios 
(http://aafradio.org/garajmahal/ ), and bending 12 gauge aluminum 
requires significantly stronger tools than the thinner stuff. One 
approach you might consider is to use .063" aluminum for the chassis and 
other parts that require bending, and then use a thicker aluminum just 
for flat panels where desired, like the front panel. I'd shift to a 
different alloy for that, though...the 5052 bends easily without 
cracking but isn't as clean from a machining standpoint - my favorite 
material for that is 6061 in a T6 temper. 
 
73, 
Mike 
 
On 6/25/2010 2:01 AM, William Wood wrote: 
> Just looked at E-Bay Mike 
> They have a sheet of .080 that looks pretty tempting. 
> Thanks for the tip, I might look into that. I bought what I bought, 
> because they called it drops, and I guess it is cheaper to buy scraps 
> then have a piece cut for you. 31 for the sheet and 10 for shipping, 
> I think I will double check that local place before I order. I did 
> ask for the .080 as that is what I had in mind, but they did not have 
> scraps laying around. : ) I'll double check tho and see what comes 
> up. I can always use this other stuff later, maybe my power supply 
> etc. Most of my work is going to be by hand tools, so maybe the 
> aluminum is the way to go. 
> 
 
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