Best aluminum sheets & plates according to redditors

Find ways of protecting yourself while you're sitting still and sleeping, as that's when you're most vulnerable. I've written about radiosurgery, which is the act of destroying select tissue with electromagnetic radiation. There's a real threat of permanent brain damage. Do what it takes to stay healthy.
What is your budget?

I've tried the following (from /r/emshielding sidebar):

• Twin-size 8ft x 4ft conductive blanket: PET felt sandwiched around a copper layer (copper taped to the PET felt's aluminum backing), w/ground braid to wall outlet. Try without grounding first. Use hot glue for a flexible bond between the layers.
  
• Aluminum panels connected end-to-end with aluminum tape, with outer copper flashing layer, around the perimeter of a bedframe, to test nearby horizontal line-of-sight vectors (even if through the walls).
  
• Steel panels coated with layers of butyl rubber products for damping.
  
  I would recommend instead of the above (which was me prototyping and testing vectors), do it the right way the first time, and build my ventillated sleeping enclosure (~$1,000 for aluminum, plus add'l layers), and coat it with layers of shielding materials (copper flashing > butyl > sheet steel > buytl > sheet lead > butyl), until you achieve complete relief. Don't skimp on the fans and power supplies.

You can also order sheet metals from [Amazon] (http://www.amazon.com/Aluminum-Precision-Ground-Tolerance-Thickness/dp/B00CNLV7BK/ref=sr_1_8?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1377567087&sr=1-8) now. I used this on my LC for a while before switching back to directly printing on the heated bed. You should be able to get it in whatever dimensions you need.

6 inches by 4 inches?
Or do you mean 6 feet by 4 feet?

Edit

If 6" x 4" is all you need : http://www.amazon.com/Aluminum-Sheet-Plate-125-5052/dp/B00H6SOAVY

I'm no u/thebearjew333, just some passerby. Hey, you could maybe cut up some thin tin or aluminum sheet and J B Weld putty together the petals.

This is my set up. Really, really easy. I dont have a garage full of tools and i still thought it was easy.

Disassemble this https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01M14RI79/ref=zg_bs_11058261_7?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=F6E9C1ERF8C0HBFJSA98 (having some of those really small screwdrivers like you'd use to work on eye glasses makes this part cake)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00ZS6JU02/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1510258631&sr=8-7&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=aluminum++1%2F2+inch&dpPl=1&dpID=31FkfqMeaYL&ref=plSrch use a dremel to cut this into plates to sit on both sides of each of your hair straightener heat plates. Having the aluminum against the back of the hair straightener plate will keep you from smashing those wire leads and allow you to put more pressure.

I tried a few diff arbor presses and vises, for my small nug presses (i press a nug at a time, its just for me and rosin lasts me a really long time in my wax pen) .... the 5 inch model of this one gives me plenty of pressure and doesnt break the bank. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003JSY8S0/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1510258796&sr=8-7&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=yost%2B5%2Binch%2Bvise&dpPl=1&dpID=41QF1yC8WyL&ref=plSrch&th=1&psc=1

And thats it. At first i used jb weld to hold my plates to each other but found that metal wire (with slots cut into everything to make the wire stay in place and the plates to meet flush) was far easier. Only tool i really used was a dremel and of course my laser thermometer to constantly check accuracy of the temps. I get great results with this setup and it was super cheap. I can post pics of mine if you want. Got it zip tied to the inside of a milk crate to make it portable and stand upright on its own. It looks pretty rough but works great.

Edit. ... personal opinion here ..... but beware of builds using arbor presses, yeah they work, but for my money its easier to twist that 5 inch vise tight really hard then wait and watch the timer...... vs having to stand there with all my weight leaning on an arbor press handle for 60 seconds at a time to keep pressure on. That yost 5 inch vise gives me better returns than i got from an arbor press and it's less work.


Hope i dont get laughed too hard but here is my Frankenstein https://m.imgur.com/a/bOZ1P (note the notches made with the dremel to keep the wire from sliding around the vise when you tighten it.) Works like a champ and cheaply replaced parts.

I developed chips in my glass build plate and put a PEI sheet on top of it. So far, loving it more than purple glue stick on glass. It takes a lot less bed heat for that sweet spot of good adhesion and fairly trouble free release. PEI sheet does take a very careful release process on large base builds to not damage the sheet. Tall builds often can be tapped off with the scraper handle.

Using PEI sheet over the glass plate made me realize a thin sheet of metal would be better. Aluminum didn't turn out to be a good surface to directly 3D print on, but an aluminum sheet covered with a PEI sheet should work great, since the aluminum would still be a good heat transfer. The combination of the PEI sheet over the aluminum plate removes all the critical specifics of them, by themselves. Easy removal, cheap, no gluestick needed, nice clean bottom quality (not mirror though). The combination of plate and PEI sheet is a dirt cheap build base.

https://www.amazon.com/RMP-Inch-6061-T451-Aluminum-Sheet/dp/B0147KXYNS/ref=sr_1_73?ie=UTF8&qid=1541445527&sr=8-73&keywords=aluminum+plate+0.25+12x12

https://www.amazon.com/Gizmo-Dorks-Sheet-Printer-Surface/dp/B074XG1NDM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1541445575&sr=8-2&keywords=12x12+pei+sheet

If I were to become an expert on any topic, I would choose to give an hour-long lecture on metal work. I would teach the basics of fabrication, forming, and soldering. I think working with your hands, and specifically with metal, is an excellent way to connect with the natural world and with our innate desire to create. We sometimes forget that once upon a time, everything was made by hand. Now it's easy enough to walk into Wal-mart and grab something off a shelf without any thought about where it came from or how it was made.


I would be overjoyed with a sample assortment of aluminum from my Metal Working Tools wishlist, should I be the lucky recipient. Thank you for the contest!

I got it here.

You'll probably get enough out of that for two or three of these. Or more.

Amazon sells various types of metal plates that are precision ground. Here's aluminum in various thicknesses and square sizes. Here's steel. Pieces of thick plate glass can probably be had for pretty cheap if you have a glass shop nearby. Amazon's plate glass can be kind of expensive. If you can find someone tossing out an older 35-55gal fishtank you might be able to salvage a piece of glass from either the front or the back. Don't bother with the piece that makes the bottom as that will be tempered. Newer tanks in those sizes have thinner glass but it might still be serviceable.

https://www.amazon.com/RMP-063-5052-Aluminum-Sheet/dp/B00HRHB24W/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1510325729&sr=8-4&keywords=.063+aluminum

.063" is 1/16 inch, so searching for that in aluminum/steel is probably going to be your best bet

Just built one with 2" plates and was very happy I didn't go bigger or smaller. I got these from Amazon.

TEMCo 2 x 2 Inch 3"x5" 6061 Aluminum Tooling Flat Sheet Plate Bar Mill Stock https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZS687XI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ymc-Bb1JY0BZ8

Haha yeah aluminum is much better to work with compared to steel. Here's the link to the aluminum sheet I bought if you're interested: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CITA9WO?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share