Stainless steel skin?

[dguff]

Recently on a trip to Philadelphia I noticed that most of the lunch carts on street corners were skinned in a quilted stainless steel. The quilted pattern looked to be about a 3" or 4" diamond pattern. My wife thought it would look good on a teardrop and I had to agree. Has anyone had any experience or have any idea of the cost of this material as the skins on a teardrop versus aluminum? Thanks for any feedback.

Jerome

[ALAN GEDDES]

Have worked in the stainless steel restaurant equipment manufacturing business and unless you like working with a diffacult material to cut I would stay away from it. It is also heavy. There are different grades of metal as to the rust worthiness also. I would not reccomend it. I don't know retail prices on SS but I would imagine that it is pricier than aluminum.

[Guest]

Jerome,
I considered Stainless before opting for copper on the roof of my woody.
I nixed the idea because I didn't want to blind drivers following behind me. (I was going to go with polished)
That quilted look that you are talking about is from being "broken" in a sheet metal brake, it adds stiffness. If you like that look, it would work out great on your sidewalls, but I would recommend just using flat stainless on your roof.
Give O&M Industries a call at (707) 822-8800, they will be able to give you prices.

[KZ76017]

Would you then name your tear, "The Lunchbucket"? and sell dogs out of the back?

Uh-oh, I may have just started a monster of an idea!

[San Diegan]

KZ76017. OK. So what's wrong with that? It would seem that a merger of technologies could be beneficial.

The hot dog people have the right idea, they simply forgot about a cabin for sleeping. And you always have hot water, mustard, and onions ready any time you want it. This probably does not work out well in bear country.

Actually, I have considered using stainless for counter tops after my "kitchen remodel" I am not certain where to obtain it in small area sizes (approximately 12 -18 x 48 inches), best cutting techinque, or how to work it if I want to cove into a 90 degree junction or over the lip of a shelf.

Tom

[KZ76017]

Check out my personal album. Page 3)(Not the build journal) I bought a gas grill on ebay for $100.00 and it is like a JennAire. I was thinking of using the sides of the bottom area that covers the propane tank for aluminum doors/counter tops in my galley.

Also thought about placing that grill in the galley and making it slide out.

So I'm not far away from your idea.

[JunkMan]

Stainless is a lot heavier than aluminum, and costs a lot more. It is also very hard to cut and drill. You won't trim the sides with a router like you can do with aluminum.

I have access to a sheet metal shop with a shear and brake, and have made some of my own stainless steel trim and panels. Because I am in food service, I work with it quite a bit. It may look nice, but for a TD I'll stick with aluminum.

[Guest]

Jeff,
I know a real slick way to doctor up a drill bit to make drilling stainless effortless... If you sharpen your own drill bits, just flatten the angle out a bit on the end of your drill bit...Try it, you'll be amazed...

[JunkMan]

I never have been able to sharpen a bit worth a darn. The wife finally got me a drill doctor for Christmas a couple of years ago. Every so often I will get out a hand full of dull bits and sharpen them. I've got enough dull bits laying around my shop to keep the "doctor" busy for a long time thanks to stainless steel!

[Guest]

Luckily for me, I had a very wise teacher in metal shop back in high school.
He had a rule... You had to build a drill gauge and demonstrate that you knew how to properly sharpen a drill bit (Using your drill gauge of course) before you were allowed to do any projects on the metal lathes.
I took that teaching for granted quite a few years, but I've come to realize just how smart he was over the years.
I had a chance to thank him a fews years back while doing some glasswork for him and he really gets a kick out of how many former students bring up the subject about sharpening a drill bit.
I also had the pleasure of having him as an instructor in a couple of drafting classes back in college.
(Mr. Ralph Buehler, EHS Metal Shop Teacher 72'-75')