On Tue, 11 Mar 2008 01:29:47 -0600, Don Foreman
wrote:

On Mon, 10 Mar 2008 19:36:29 -0800, Tim Wescott
wrote:

Is there a website or some other reference that I could use for
guidelines of what will and won't cost a lot of money at the sheetmetal
shop when I go for a real quote?

Something as simple as "a bend will cost you $4, a hole $0.50" would be
nice, but I understand that it's never that easy.

In the thread "Sheetmetal sticker shock" someone suggested getting five
pieces laser cut, and bolting them together -- no bends. I'm wondering
if that's going to save me all that much, but I'd like to find out
without terminally exasperating the estimating folks at the various shops.

You think like an engineer, Tim! Being one is no excuse. G

Exasperate the estimators. Go visit them, sit down with them and tell
them what you wanna do and ask them how they'd suggest you do it. Be
open to their suggestions. A good estimator can help you do what
you wanna do if you let him or her do it. They know a hell of a lot
more about sheetmetal than you'll learn on the internet. They'll
happily defer the practice of engineering embedded controls to you.

Every shop is different because costs depend on capital assets and
processes available.

You need to decide and communicate what you want your sheetmetal
structure to do.

Don is a very very smart man. Listen to him.

Gunner