Hinging sheet metal
- Thread starter motoretro
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flyingblind
Well-known member
Piano hinge.
Old tool guy
Well-known member
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- Apr 13, 2023
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Can you fold a hem on the edge where the hinge mounts?
I'm building a small, approximately 3" by 3" by 3" aluminum enclosure for placing a Tangia alcohol stove into. (3) sided with two hinged areas. I want it to fold flat when stored. It's used for backpacking and bike trips. I don't have any fancy sheet metal equipment so want to keep it really simple in construction.
flyingblind
Well-known member
I would just use a piano hinge and rivets. You can peen over the rivets on a vise or use a big hammer on the backside as a dolly.
ETA Aluminum 3003 Continuous Hinge with Holes,
You will need a
Drill
1/8 Bit
1/8 x 3/16 Pop rivets
Pop riveter
Hacksaw
Some form of clamp to hold them for drilling.
ETA don't take this list as sarcasm it is just the simplest way I know of.
Last edited:
Muckin_Slusher
Well-known member
How about simple bent tabs through slots?
Or hog rings (or aluminum strips bent into hog rings).
Or hog rings (or aluminum strips bent into hog rings).
I was trying to come up with something like this, played around with some cardboard tonight although nothing constructive yet.
Normally I'd consider this although it needs to be able to stand the heat produced by a small alcohol burner.
Got a pic?
Of the alcohol burner? if so, I can provide one. The "U" shaped enclosure will be hinged at corners or attached with tabs, or whatever method I can come up with.
Of the box. Guess your still in the thinking stages?
Yes. I have a piece of .032 aluminum, 4"x10" and the burner.
Can you braze?
Miniature Hinge Brass, Nonremovable Pin, 1/8" x 7/32" Door Leaf https://www.mcmaster.com/product/1600A11
Miniature Hinge Brass, Nonremovable Pin, 1/8" x 7/32" Door Leaf https://www.mcmaster.com/product/1600A11
While those are pretty neat, the price is more than I care to spend, I figure (4) hinges total at $10.47 ea. plus shipping.
Cheap, light, strong (heatproof).
Pick 2
My other thought was to try to form the hinge out of the material and then add a pin, but I'm pretty sure 0.032 aluminum will need some annealing to make this work. I'll see if anything else comes to mind.
Well, I can purchase a enclosure for about the same amount of said hinges, that said, I'll have to go with strong and light
The idea of using part of the material the sides are made from is interesting, minimal and should be strong enough for it's intended purpose. Some type of slip fit might be workable. As far as annealing the material, the only source of heat I have is a propane torch.
Should be plenty for that thin of stock.
You'll have to figure out how much of a "tab" to leave on each pice to roll into the barrel of the hinge. Trick will be to anneal just that portion.
I'd use a pice of stainless rod for the pin.
I was thinking about that late last night. Just needs to either lay flat or fold flat. I think I'll grab some card stock and scissors and try a few shapes. It does have to be sturdy enough to support a filled Trangia burner and titanium coffee cup on top in assembled form. I'm going to hardware store today and look around, sometimes I get good ideas looking at odds and ends.
I think you're on the right track with a cardboard mock-up. This is sort of what I was thinking. You could make it 3 or 4 sided, and even make more of them if you wanted a larger base for a pot. They would all stack with no added thickness like a hinge.
Edit: Rev 2 added with air hole on top side as well.
Attachments
That's pretty much what I envisioned, perhaps a slightly different tang configuration. I have dimensions of the burner and need to work around that in order for everything to fit. That said, I have a 4"x10" of .032 aluminum piece, I cut this into (3) pieces, 3-5/16" wide x 4" tall. Strangely enough, I used a HD Xacto knife and blade and combo square to cut the pieces. This worked better than I thought although toasted a blade making the (2) cuts, took about 20-25 sweeps to get 90% of the way through and then snapped off like glass. Since the enclosure is basically a support and wind break, I think I'll put the cut out areas at the base. I'm going to keep it (3) sided in order to install and remove the burner easily.
*I did come across some neat stainless "L" brackets I could have used for a pivoting hinge although they would have prevented the whole thing from laying flat.
Monza Harry
Well-known member
How about this? Two the same and one has to have a slot on the opposite sides for three sided [all 4 the same for a box]. Slips together and can lay flat in an envelope for travel. A hacksaw with a 18-24 pitch blade should cut the slot to fit your material. Cut all three at once, do the ones that are aligned, flip one and cut the next three slots all at once again. Harry 