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Table Material and Source

PostPosted: Thu May 26, 2011 12:07 am
by awesomenesser
I have been searching the forums for the past hour looking to see what materials people use for the table surface. I am really looking for a cheap source of the "perforated metal" that is used in the 2.x blog page. Is that aluminum or steel and what hole sizes and stagger sizes are preferred? I really need to find a local place to avoid the shipping but I did find a online company that sells it (http://www.onlinemetals.com).

By looking at the pictures it appears to be 0.25" holes with a 0.375" stagger. What thickness is recommended and what material?

Also does anyone else have any recommendations? I saw a thread on the honeycomb material which seems hard to get and a little difficult to work with but appears to have a lot of advantages.

Re: Table Material and Source

PostPosted: Thu May 26, 2011 2:00 am
by Enraged
someone found a source for aluminum honeycomb, but it was only sold in 4'x8' sizes from what I recall. if we got 4 people together to split a sheet, it might be an option.

Re: Table Material and Source

PostPosted: Thu May 26, 2011 2:32 am
by LeonS
I just bought a 24" by 24" sheet of metal sold as a screen door "pet guard". It cost $29 at home depot. I haven't cut it or used it yet. It is made of steel rather than aluminum. It has diamond shaped holes about 3/8" by 3/4". The holes might be too big for some delicate paper cutting but I hope it works for most jobs.

Re: Table Material and Source

PostPosted: Thu May 26, 2011 5:13 am
by BenJackson
I ordered from Morgan at honeycommcore.com as recommended elsewhere here. The exact p/n is 1/2 ACG NP UNXP .787 X 48 X 96 which translates to 1/2" cell unexpanded honeycomb sliced 20mm (.787") which expands to a 4x8' sheet. My slice was $80. I was accidentally quoted "EXP" first (expanded) and that was 3x as much and the shipping would have been even more. 4x8 is the minimum unit so that's probably as cheap as you can go.

I chose 20mm to fit flush in the table frame, but you can order it any thickness (that you think you and a buddy can expand!). I plan to cut my 4' stick in half and try to expand 2'. With waste on the end even that half will probably yield a few tables.

Re: Table Material and Source

PostPosted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 4:50 pm
by garyacrowellsr
http://www.mcnichols.com

If all else fails, McNichols has just about anything in perforated and expanded metal. It's usually 48"x96"(or 120") sheets though. They will cut to size, but you still have to buy a whole sheet.

Gary

Re: Table Material and Source

PostPosted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 7:16 pm
by trwalters001
Hi All,

When you are considering ordering honeycomb, keep in mind that factory-expanded is perfectly flat, perfectly square, and it's cut to the size you need it.
I ordered mine from HoneyCommCore already expanded. It came in as two 4' square pieces.
I realize that the expanded is significantly more expensive, but I think it was worth it.

Tim

Re: Table Material and Source

PostPosted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 7:24 pm
by BenJackson
Expanding was easy and flatness wasn't an issue. Cutting was harder and I made no attempt at squaring the pattern to the table. I described my experience here: viewtopic.php?f=16&t=557&start=20#p4435

Re: Table Material and Source

PostPosted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 12:08 am
by evokanivo
by awesomenesser ยป Wed May 25, 2011 4:07 pm
By looking at the pictures it appears to be 0.25" holes with a 0.375" stagger. What thickness is recommended and what material?


Would someone who is using perforated sheet metal say what gauge they are using and how they like it? I am looking at getting some stainless steel sheet with 1/8" diameter round holes spaced at 3/16". I have no idea how much flex there is. Would 18 gauge work? 22? 12?

I tried the honey comb but thought expanding it was a real pain and didn't like the results, so I'm not doing that again.

Re: Table Material and Source

PostPosted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 8:49 am
by a542002
Hi there
I am using stainless 16 gauge with 1/4 inch holes and itstill needs edge support
greetings
walt

Re: Table Material and Source

PostPosted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 9:22 pm
by evokanivo
a542002 wrote:Hi there
I am using stainless 16 gauge with 1/4 inch holes and itstill needs edge support
greetings
walt


Hey Walt - When you say it needs edge support, you just mean the standard table frame - 2xHFS5-2020-370 and 2xHFS5-2020-580 is needed for support? You're ok without support in the middle?

gratingpacific.com quoted me some prices that seem really expensive. onlinemetals.com was better, but still several hundred dollars. Aluminum was way cheaper - 1/8" thick x 580 mm x 410 mm aluminum sheet, cut to size is $65.

ebay seller perfplus5513 seems to have the best deal on perforated 16 ga steel. I guess I can cut it to size and have enough left over for a 2nd table surface.