DIY stainless backplate

[Pullmyfinger]

I just finished making a stainless backplate, 1/8" thick.

One of my previous posts on making a backplate:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/do-yourself-diy/235657-backplate-sta.html

I ended up with a big enough piece of stainless steel, so I figured I'd do one from stainless.

-Mitch

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

I like the grinder finish. Looks great. When are you going to try it out?

 

[Pullmyfinger]

Thanks USBB,

This Tuesday, my wife and I chartered a boat. I'll get to dive it then.

-Mitch

 

[350xfire]

Very cool... Can you post pics of the tooling it took to make this the right way? How much time do you have on it? I always kind of thought of this as one of those things "not really worth making" but it's cool that you did it and looks really great. Looking for you to change my mind!!! lol

Did you cut the slots on a mill?

 

[Pullmyfinger]

You need a sheetmetal brake to make any of the bends. A shear is also needed to cout the outline.
I've made aluminum plates in the past. For thos I just chain drilled the slots and cleaned them up with a file.
For stainless you need a mill to machine the slots.
I made them, because I had some material. Over time, during lunch breaks I've gradually worked on them.
They're fun to make, but you need access to some tooling.
I have some aluminum that's already cut and bent for a single tank adaptor.
That would make a good project that's able to be done with hand tools.
Just drill the holes, and chaindrill the slots. 3/8" drill for the holes, and. Either 1/8" or 1/4" for the slots.
I'll mail you a couple if you want them. I think I have your address from when I bought a can light from you. ;-)
To make a plate really isn't worth it. I just did a few for the hell of it, but considering how cheap they are to buy.
I wouldn't recommend making one, especially out of stainless.
The ones you can buy, are worth buying.
A single tank adaptor makes a good DIY project.
I'll send you a couple.
-Mitch

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

Mitch, what are your thoughts about taking a grinder to a commercially produced plate to put a finish on similar to what you have done? It looks very nice. I was in the Detroit Metro Airport not to long ago and they had some of the walls in stainless done like your plate and it was very cool.

 

[350xfire]

You need a sheetmetal brake to kame any of the bends. A shear is also needed to cout the outline.
I've made aluminum plates in the past. For thos I just chain drilled the slots and cleaned them up with a file.
For stainless you need a mill to machine the slots.
I made them, because I had some material. Over time, during lunch breaks I've gradually worked on them.
They're fun to make, but you need access to some tooling.
I have some aluminum that's already cut and bent for a single tank adaptor.
That would make a good project that's able to be done with hand tools.
Just drill the holes, and chaindrill the slots. 3/8" drill for the holes, and. Either 1/8" or 1/4" for the slots.
I'll mail you a couple if you want them. I think I have your address from when I bought a can light from you. ;-)
To make a plate really isn't worth it. I just did a few for the hell of it, but considering how cheap they are to buy.
I wouldn't recommend making one, especially out of stainless.
The ones you can buy, are worth buying.
A single tank adaptor makes a good DIY project.
I'll send you a couple.
-Mitch

Yeah, that's what I thought... For the price of a made one, it's not worth it, but, like you said, if you have the time and tooling... what the heck. Nice work!!! I'm working on my garage machine shop. I bought a mill which we moved into my garage last weekend. It's an old Index with 9x42 table ( a light 2500 lbs). I also have an old Leblond 13" lathe that I restored... That one tips the scales about 1800 lbs.

I still need a nice vertical band saw, shear, break, etc... Damn, this machining hobby is expensive and tool intensive. Luckily I can offset some costs with the hobby.

 

[Pullmyfinger]

I used a 90 degree angle grinder with a polishing pad, the kind that's sort of like those green scratch pads. I used a medium grit.
A dremel tool or something like it would work as well.
use a polishing disk, not a sanding disk you don't want to sand it, just polish it.
I used a 2" diameter disk, smaller would probably look a bit better. You could easily do this to a commercially produced plate, just overlap each circle by half. The same with the next row of circles.
Stainless polishes up with these type of disks quite easily, it only take 5-10 seconds for each circle.

Post some pics when you're done.

-Mitch

Mitch, what are your thoughts about taking a grinder to a commercially produced plate to put a finish on similar to what you have done? It looks very nice. I was in the Detroit Metro Airport not to long ago and they had some of the walls in stainless done like your plate and it was very cool.

 

[Pullmyfinger]

Leblond lathes are supposed to be some of the best ones out there. That's great that you were able to find one and restore it. A 9x42 mill is an ideal size. I've worked in shops that had multiple sizes, and I often chose that size to work on.
Your work is beyond that of a hobbyist from what I've seen. It is expensive, especially the tooling.

-Mitch

I'm working on my garage machine shop. I bought a mill which we moved into my garage last weekend. It's an old Index with 9x42 table ( a light 2500 lbs). I also have an old Leblond 13" lathe that I restored... That one tips the scales about 1800 lbs.

I still need a nice vertical band saw, shear, break, etc... Damn, this machining hobby is expensive and tool intensive. Luckily I can offset some costs with the hobby.

 

[irishsquid]

I like the grinder finish. Looks great. When are you going to try it out?

Yeah, that's a nice job. Aren't you afraid of looking like a fish lure/bait?