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Hope this post doesn't break a rule somehow, but I've reached out to companies about this and was ignored, so I'm thinking it's more appropriate to find a single individual metalwork craftsman on Reddit.

All I need is for someone to modify a good hole puncher to punch a custom shape. The shape isn't even complicated, it's just the shape of a bug. I just need one singular unit to be made, and it needs to be able to punch through cardstock. That's it.
If you're capable of doing such things, please reply (preferably with some kind of link to things you've made, like a portfolio website/gallery or a social media) and I will message you about it later. Thanks guys
edit: if you can't post links just comment and I'll message you

So I got these “brass” pickup covers to match this bridge hardware I have……they look a lot more golden colored than they did in the pic on Amazon…..

I sanded the one on the far left and it almost has a copper color… anyone know of a way I can turn these into the color of the brass stuff on the right?

I was figured there has to be some chemical wash or polish I can use to get it close to it

If anyone knows pls let me know :)

was down to about my last 2 sharp bits and kept shoving projects in front of me because of that.

sharpening about 300 drill bits, most of which are branded and got for cheap because they were dull. sorting into sets and will make some holders for my most used ones (5, 6 & 8)

Hey metal workers! I have no experience with this stuff but figured this might be the right place to continue my search. I'm looking for a metal rod, about 1 cm in diameter, that has a longitudinal slit of about 1-3 mm along the midline, which divides the rod in two. So the rod would basically look like two half circles, that connect into one solid piece at the end of the rod (preferably threaded here so that the rod can be screwed into place somewhere). Do these things exist in stores? What are they called? Thank you for your help!

I got this sample here from a job that my employer preciously worked on - i would like to possibly do this on my own cabinets.

to be clear - this is a brass infused epoxy which sits 1/16 ontop of an engineered (presumably wood based) panel.

im also interested in the texture. - the black lines in particular is what im looking to create. they have real depth that you can feel.

tyvm

36” ID 56” OD

So, after the storm I was moving the back gauge back a little too fast and slipped a tooth so it was 1/8” off on the measurement roller. Got that fixed and now have a new problem. The shear is not cutting square. I measure from the back gauge to the bottom blade, and come up with the exact number on both ends, I did 10”, then 3”, then 1”. It is exactly the same on each side. Go to cut a sheet worth of 3” rips, and after the 6-7th cut, the factory edge reads 1/8-1/4” off. It’s a schechtl smt 310/bv. Any ideas?

I work at a hotel that has a chlorine indoor pool and all the storefront from the conference room to hotel rooms all have this white corrosion on it. Wanted to ask if you all knew a way to clean it up!

Hi, at the moment I make a product that has several brass components that are glued into a composite structure so that some of the brass remains exposed. When the brass pieces are in place, it’s important that they are machined and sanded so that they are flush with the material they are joining. Please don’t suggest that I don’t do this.

I would like to replace the brass with aluminium. However I would like it to be anodised so that it looks a little more like brass. Because of the machining and sanding processes that I described, it’s no good having the aluminium anodised before it’s in situ.

So my question is, can the aluminium be anodised when it’s already assembled into a structure like this?

Thanks

The tank (great work!) inspired me to post this. Me and a few guys built this over the last year. It will eventually be a BnB. :-)

GT

I haven't worked in metal since H.S. shop class but I'm working on putting together an artistic object that requires a cylinder created from a 32" x 32" sheet with cutouts. I'm aiming for no seam and as perfectly round as possible - as shown in the photo. It's designed to spin on a turntable. It'll 'work' if it's not 100% perfectly round and I'm assuming a seam can be sanded or otherwise smoothed out.

My first challenge is that I'm living in a foreign (to me) country where not every service is advertised or discovered online. I know that in the city that is an hour and half from where I live there is a service with a CNC router, so I'm not as concerned about the cutouts. If I can't find someone with a CNC router there is a sculptor who works in metal who I could probably trust to get the basic cutout shapes close enough (if not 100% the same), which doesn't bother me, but there is another part of the design where I will be sandwiching a thin aluminum trim between marble and wood where I need all three cut exactly the same. What I'm asking for advice on is the best way to make this sheet into a cylinder. Since I have neither the skills, or the tools necessary to learn, I'm seeking advice on the best way to go about this and what kind of person I should be looking for to do the work. Due to my location, the simplest option will probably be the easiest to find.

I have an .stl file of the cylinder with cutouts for a 3D print, but I'd prefer to use metal instead of trying to make plastic look like metal. Even though it doesn't matter functionally, I'd prefer to feel metal over plastic.

https://preview.redd.it/2ini10a7rkxd1.jpg?width=358&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ac0a95cdcc204219dac24ac5324767b13778c16c

https://preview.redd.it/i1gvw27wqkxd1.jpg?width=2755&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=745719563af148186f8bf32f702b0d24ca97da33

Black = solid aluminum. The 5 tabs outside the 32x32 can be ignored - they're used if the cylinder is made using card stock.

Hey I was wondering in anyone could tell me what kind of metal this acorn is, it’s super heavy 140 grams and non-magnetic.

I made this this weekend. I’m getting better at soldering!

Hi - this might sound simple but I already spent over an hour on this and have broken 6 drill bits. I tried to remove a screw that is holding a part to the underside of the hood on an older Jeep. The screw head sheared off, so I removed the part but now the hole is blocked with the broken screw. I was able to drill through that, but not entirely because I was trying to preserve the threads if possible. I was then trying to get the drilled out, broken screw out, so I tried to tap it to see if that would remove some more material. Instead the tap broke off inside the original drilled out screw. Now I've been trying to drill out the broken tap, and after breaking half a dozen drill bits and killing myself for over an hour I can't get through it and I'm afraid I've already messed up the original threaded hole. Any suggestions of how I should proceed? Should I just keep at it and try to blast through and figure out what to do if/when I can get a drill bit through?

This is somewhat of a follow up to a question I had previously. I found someone to braze up my engine's starter bolt holes that had cracked/stripped. https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipOFuB3v-23xo1WLN_qNFIWBe3MBfD59jdEzKeo6

I began re-drilling the 5/16" tap size hole with a jig that my machinist neighbor made for me and it went great for about 1/4" and then stopped. https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipN3RU0EwENCjn9Xur6tka8KRsNRkR2N16lRmfS4

I switched to a different drill that has a stepped point, like this https://drillsandcutters.com/5-16-stepped-point-cobalt-drill-bit/ but the point is way longer for whatever reason. It managed to get down to the stepped portion and then stopped. I followed the hole the point left with a 1/8" bit and made it pretty deep and I'm hoping I kept it straight. I wasn't thinking very well at that point.

After doing some research I think I may have work hardened the bronze brazing material. So I've got a couple questions.

Can a map torch heat up the bronze enough to anneal it or would I need something like an oxy/acetylene jeweler's torch? Would it even anneal that way?

Is a carbide drill asking for trouble in a hand held drill? My gut is telling me not to do that but I'm not sure where to go from here other than a machine shop which are extremely sparse where I live.

Any guidance is much appreciated.

I have a 12"x18"x1/4" C110 H00 copper plate that I got to make a stove-top heat diffuser (our biggest burner is 9" and big pans can't get very hot on the edges). All the ones online are pretty thin (<1/8in) and way too expensive for what they are. A local shop was selling offcuts of this for cheap. Silly me assumed it would be straight-ish.

It's warped all over, bowed on one short-side (about 1mm gap in the center), cupped on the other. Lengthwise it's a bit better but still not great. I don't need dead straight but it's a bit too warped now for my use. I only need a 12" square (maybe circle, I haven't decided yet) so hopefully I can find 12" section somewhere in the middle to cut out that's better but I'm curious if there's a smart way to go about this.

I don't have a machine shop at my disposal but I'm no stranger to cutting, grinding and welding. My best Idea right now is heat with a torch and clamp it between 2 thick 1/2" steel plates that I have lying around (I use them as pizza/baking steels). I also considered trying to hammer the edges into straight-ish-ness and sand/grind down any leftover high spots. I have router sled (made of SBR20 rails and MDF) that I use for woodworking and I questioned if I can run a carbide end-mill in it and try to flatten the plate. I'd have to go buy an end-mills though which doesn't seem like the most economical solution. Plus, I question if the sled sturdy enough for that, I think not. I haven't ever worked with copper so maybe I overestimate how malleable and soft it is? My dad was a machinist and I remember him talking about how gummy/annoying copper was to cut on the lathe.

I'm not rushed at all on this, it'll probably turn into a winter project.

Some pics for the curious https://imgur.com/a/oDuzSZT . I didn't realize how blurry they were when I was taking them but I think the point still gets across.