zapins
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 116 
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Post by zapins on Jul 1, 2017 15:55:17 GMT -5
Might be worth making a new lid. There's a place down the road from me that deals in thinner gauge sheet steel and can bend a piece for me so it doesn't smack the ceiling.
Would I be able to open it with 1 hand or would it need shocks to help if it was 12 gauage? I'd prbably still need to put an inner frame inside the lid to make it more rigid.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2017 15:58:28 GMT -5
My frantom 24" is easily lifted by one hand. And I think it's heavier guage. Rockoonz has one too. Lee what gauge is the lid of our saw? It's hinged on the narrow end. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2017 16:06:30 GMT -5
I can visualise a two piece lid. Use latches to unify them and lift the entire lid for mucking the saw, change blade....
Unlatch and lift only the front 1/2-2/3 for daily operations.
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zapins
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 116
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Post by zapins on Jul 1, 2017 16:48:05 GMT -5
Wouldn't that leak oil out the center joint?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2017 17:08:06 GMT -5
Wouldn't that leak oil out the center joint? Overlapping the sections and an oil proof gasket will minimise. My Covington cover has a sheet of plastic film hanging down on both sides of the blade. Totally minimises splashing on the front half of the saw. So much so that I often open the plexiglass window and watch the cut with no issues. |
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zapins
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 116
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Post by zapins on Jul 1, 2017 21:56:59 GMT -5
Hmm I like that idea.
I wouldn't mind watching the cutting but I figured the oil and rock sludge would be flying around inside the cabinet in a fine mist and would cover up the window ports.
Any pics of your cabinet when closed and open so I can see the placement of the flap?
I could cut out the panels, leave the edges and corners in tact and then add in large sheets of plexiglass on all sides. Have an entirely glass lid so I can watch from all angles. Though I have a feeling it will just get dirty and scratched up over time.
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Post by Rockoonz on Jul 2, 2017 0:18:57 GMT -5
My frantom 24" is easily lifted by one hand. And I think it's heavier guage. Rockoonz has one too. Lee what gauge is the lid of our saw? It's hinged on the narrow end. I think 24-26 gauge, but it's doubled everywhere on the edges, the shape with the radiused ends is much stiffer than a box shape, gusset plates in the corners. |
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zapins
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 116
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Post by zapins on Dec 18, 2017 21:26:16 GMT -5
Quick question for you folks. I'll be fixing the hood next week to lighten it up so it isn't a death trap.
Rockoonz, you say you think your lid is 24-26 gauge steel except the edges? I went to a sheet metal place today and felt some 22 gauge metal and it seems extremely flimsy, almost like I could bend it with just my fingers on one hand. Does your hood feel very flimsy and warp when you push on it or does it have a firm feeling when pushed on?
16 gauge metal felt like the right firmness for the lid (1/16" thick), but the final weight using the 16 gauge some structural supports along the edges comes out to about 90 pounds, which means I will have to push up with 45 pounds to lift the lid unaided.
If I use 22 gauge steel I can get the weight down to 56 lbs total and 28 pounds of force needed to open it.
If I use 26 gauge steel the lid will be 45 lbs and I will need to push with 22.5 lbs of force to open it.
Of course the thinner the gauge the more flimsy and more easily it will get dinged and damaged.
What are your thoughts?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2017 21:54:38 GMT -5
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Post by Rockoonz on Dec 18, 2017 22:44:53 GMT -5
zapins I can make it wiggle, but it takes more than a finger. Sheet metal will not give you strength, but the construction design can. The bottom edges are formed to the outside to form the bit that it sits on, adding strength. The corners are bolstered on the inside.   Above all, the rounded front and back are many times stronger than a square corner, an arc is the strongest structure there is. 
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zapins
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 116
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Post by zapins on Dec 18, 2017 23:20:27 GMT -5
Thanks rock.
So you think the secret is in the curved roof along with rolled edges. Hmm.
How heavy does the lid feel to open? Can you open it with 1 hand? 1 finger?
It's possible I can get my sheet steel made and curved like that at the local shop. You have given me something to think about.
I can probably lighten the lid by another 10 lbs or so if I went with 22g and a curved lid like that. I could eliminate the top part of the rectangular inner frame. That would bring the lid to roughly 48 lbs and 24 lbs of force to open it.
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Post by Rockoonz on Dec 18, 2017 23:43:57 GMT -5
Opens easily with one hand, maybe 20 lbs of force.
I had a saw with a top that had square corners, totally floppy thing and by the time I got it fairly rigid it was heavy, and it was only an 18 inch saw.
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zapins
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 116
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Post by zapins on Dec 19, 2017 0:19:26 GMT -5
Perfect. Thanks for the help. I think I know what I've got to do. I'll cut the top off my saw leaving just a 0.5 inch rectangular box for the base of the lid and then get some 22g bent up and over just like your hood. The base is the only part that needs to be solid and thick. The canopy part doesn't need to have a lot of strength to it.
That will lighten the load and get me into the 20 lb lift range just like your lid.
I'll have to do a bit more playing with the numbers so I can get the exact curvature for the corners so it doesn't bump my vice or blade inside. Then with any luck I'll have it welded up and installed by the end of next week.
I'll also jave the vice welded by then too if all goes well. Getting close to finishing this project. Then I'll throw together updated blueprints and make a proper DIY how to instructable page for any one foolish enough to follow in my foot steps.
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Post by Peruano on Dec 19, 2017 8:32:50 GMT -5
@changing jobs! Hey, inquiring minds want to know what that Covington top looks like with the two plastic curtains. I have a Covington with a three sided top that I'm trying to improve because it throws oil badly at present. I'm looking for ideas. Thanks in advance.
BTW I had a top made by the son of a sheet metal worker for my 12" slab saw - its rectangular (not curved) and is quite solid without being heavy. The pros have ways of placing creases that strengthen without adding weight. Each side as the trace of a large x creased into the surface that presumably adds a great deal of rigidity to an otherwise flimsy surface.
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