"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
I need to make some enclosures, and splash guards for some of my
machines. I've got a tensmith brake That will handle upto about .100
mild steel. I've done .125 5052 (annealed partway through), but its
really to much for the machine.

Anyway, I really haven't done much sheet metal work other than crude
light stuff.

I'm wondering what alloy and gage is going to give me good fairly
rigid results at the best (not necessarily cheapest) cost. I know
that's a huge over general basis to start with, but I really do not
have enough general knowledge of sheet metal work to ask the right
questions.

The standard aluminum sheet at several places I worked was 0.062"
6061. WW2 heavy bombers were made from thinner metal, like 0.040".

Flanges on the edges makes panels -much- stiffer. For electronic
enclosures we rarely welded the corners unless they had to be
RF-tight.

If the panel had to support a 40 lb transformer it might be 0.093"
thick.

I bought 0.050" 5052 to shear on my 30" 3-in-1 because 0.062 6061
strains it.

-jsw