useing aluminum printing plates

[wingrydr57]

I am just in the planing stages yet just getting my ducks in a row i guess you could say. I think i am going to build the Benroy from the free plans on this web site. Anyway I run a printing press and can get used printing plates for free! They are aprox 46"x56" I would like to use them for my roof but I would have to crip them together to get the length I would need. Any suggestions how to do this?

Thanks to all, Steve W.

[parnold]

How about two sill plates that you could sandwich two sheets together between to make the bends.

[wingrydr57]

Hmmmmmm Paul you might have something there! And maybe some silicone calk over the seams?

[parnold]

Hmmmmmm Paul you might have something there! And maybe some silicone calk over the seams?

Personally, I would use an adhesive instead of caulk. It would cost a lot more money, but be permanent. An auto body supply shop should be able to recommend one that would work with aluminum.

Of course the silicone caulk would probably work wonderfully.. we each have our own ways of overbuilding.

[Woodbutcher]

I would overlap them and use blind rivets, with a polyurethane sealer in between the joints. If you seam over a roof spare you can screw the joint instead of riveting. Just overlap about 2".

[wagondude]

Follow the link in the first post of this thread: http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=48102

Lots of good info there.

Bill

[mikeschn]

Hmmmmmm Paul you might have something there! And maybe some silicone calk over the seams?

Personally, I would use an adhesive instead of caulk. It would cost a lot more money, but be permanent. An auto body supply shop should be able to recommend one that would work with aluminum.

Of course the silicone caulk would probably work wonderfully.. we each have our own ways of overbuilding.

Paul,

Was I close to you when I passed thru Newark, NJ a few years ago?

Mike...

[parnold]

Paul,

Was I close to you when I passed thru Newark, NJ a few years ago?

Mike...

I live about an hour north of Newark, and work about 20 minutes east of Newark. It's not a very pretty place... lol.

[halfdome, Danny]

On my current build I wanted to stay with the same anodized aluminum that comes in 4' x 10'. I make a 5' wide teardrop so did lap seams but used VHB Tape to bond the two surfaces together. I used a warped 2" x 4" ( for pressure in the center) and clamped it for 36 hours. It's been a couple months now and nothing has moved. Ed Ester has built 44 teardrops and he suggested I make my lap seams so the driving rain from traveling doesn't invade the seam. You could also use Butyl tape & put a series of stainless screws on the lap seam and and have similar successful results like Ed has. Danny

[glenpinpat]

could you not get them welded together at a welder? I have seen them weld pretty thin sheets of aluminum at the welder I use. Patrick

[doug hodder]

Help me out....I'm clueless...just how thin are those sheets?... that most likely would be important...I need to be edumacated...Doug

[parnold]

Help me out....I'm clueless...just how thin are those sheets?... that most likely would be important...I need to be edumacated...Doug

Pretty darn thin. At least when I was in printing 20 years ago, the plates we used were pretty thin, but the presses I ran used much smaller plates.

The ones I'm familiar with were thinner than flashing.

[aggie79]

I overlapped my aluminum using lap joints with 3M 4200 adhesive/sealant between the sheets. I have one seam at the front of the teardrop, one on the roof, and one on the hatch.



The seams are located at the spars. I used some temporary screws to hold things in place until the adhesive set. The screw spacing is 3" on center.



Later, I removed the temporary screws, injected the holes with 3M 4200 using plastic syringes, and then installed permanent stainless steel washer head screws. I don't have a good picture of this. Here's the best one that I have.

[wingrydr57]

The printing plates are fifteen thousandths of an inch.

[parnold]

Depending on what you print, you could get a real awesome effect by placing the plates with the image facing out! Now that would be unique!