Can anyone recommend where to buy aluminium sheet?

[CliffDale]

I have Googled aluminium sheet and there are a vast amount of companies to choose from.

Anyone highly recommend a good company they use?

Looking for something like 2500*1200*.7

Cliff

 

[chickendave]

HI cliff
What do you want to use it for ?
If it's just for covering roofs Frag l Pl nt sell reclaimed printers sheets for £2.50 size 67cm x56cm by 0.5mm does a national roof easily

 

[oliver90owner]

by 0.5mm

They might tell you that but they should know it is nearer half that quoted value! I have the e-mail I sent them re this very subject.

RAB

 

[CliffDale]

Yes, its just roof material.

Thanks

Cliff

 

[jakethedog]

Bee H*** Bits are quite possibly a good port of call, think they're pretty much the cheapest (not totally sure about that...but...). I myself googled for ali sheet suppliers a little while ago thinking that they'd undercut the bee supply houses but strangely I didn't actually find anything that was paticularly cheap in comparison.

 

[george]

I agree , very definately not half a mm thick !

It does work though , but , you have to be very careful when bending it to fit . I score it lightly with a stanley knife and use the workmate to help get a square edge . Still have the odd failure where it splits on the corners though .
But at the price , considerably cheaper than anything else avaiable .
G

 

[Flatters]

I have bought some. I would have preferred them slightly bigger but they do the job and a good price. They are just printing plates so have a magazine or such like inked in one colour on one side. I would buy again.

 

[region2]

My dad was a printer - I made a robot suit out of printer plates when I was about 10!

Paynes are selling slightly buckled roof covers for 3 or 4 quid - it says out of stock but I think if you ask they'll get some in.

Surely felt is cheaper and just as effective?

R2

 

[jakethedog]

My dad was a printer - I made a robot suit out of printer plates when I was about 10! R2

WOW! If only I'd had such a supply, there'd have been daleks and cybermen everywhere!

 

[oliver90owner]

I would buy again.

I wouldn't. I would be looking ahead and sourcing some from a local printer at reasonable cost, well before they were needed, to avoid excessive fuel costs in getting them.

 

[chickendave]

by 0.5mm

They might tell you that but they should know it is nearer half that quoted value! I have the e-mail I sent them re this very subject.

RAB

To be honest I have not checked the thickness as I have no accurate way of measuring it, so I took it was approx 0.5mm as stated in the item discription on their web site
On the plus side they did duplicate the order so I got 20 pieces for the price of 10, lets hope we don't get to much acid rain and it lasts a fair few years before it rots

 

[user 6228]

Have pm you with ally and stainless stockist I use. I do a fair bit with metal.

 

[pbh4]

HI cliff
What do you want to use it for ?
If it's just for covering roofs Frag l Pl nt sell reclaimed printers sheets for ?2.50 size 67cm x56cm by 0.5mm does a national roof easily

I got half a down of those for free just by asking at local printer's. The go off for recycling but they are not worth too much so you should at least get them a lot cheaper than £2.50


Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

 

[oliver90owner]

20 sheets? 0.5 mm? One centimetre thick in total?

You can measure it quite accurately and it is not anywhere near 0.5mm.

One could take all one's offcuts (or even make a few extras) and stack them up, clamp in a G clamp or similar, and take a measurement of the thickness to arrive at a 'more than accurate enough' result. Certainly not rocket science. I did not rely on measuring a single sheet with my micrometer.

Much nearer 0.25mm is the truth and it may be less than that..

RAB

 

[pbh4]

Still have the odd failure where it splits on the corners though .

A good tip for preventing splitting: The printing plates are quite brittle but become soft and pliable if you heat them (just at the edges where you want to bend them) with a butane blow lamp and let them cool slowly. Be careful. Aluminium will melt quite easily. test your technique on an off cut first. And be careful not to burn the garage/shed/house down by setting fire to all the wood shavings on the floor from hive making

Paul

NOT sent from Tapatalk! I decided it was easier to move 4' to the computer.

 

[drstitson]

ah - the good old 3 ft/3 mile rule rears it's ugly head again yet in a whole new context.

so:

if only moving 3ft or so use the computer.
if moving 3 miles or more use smart phone.

not sure what you do in between. wait 'til you get home?

 

[CliffDale]

Thanks, I have ordered the printer plates.

Thanks for the tip re heating the aluminium. Going back to my school days we used soap as a temperature guide. Rub some soap on the aluminium, when it turns black, its annealed.

Cliff

 

[oliver90owner]

In addition to pbh4's tip on annealing aluminium (which is a sound, standard method for metal benders), try this.

Use a film of oil on the part being heated. When it evaporates, it is hot enough. Might need some choice of oil, to get one close enough to the temperature required. Used to be the method for judging temperature of 'Birmabright' when repairing Landrover body panels, in the long distant past, so nothing new.

RAB

 

[alanf]

you should at least get them a lot cheaper than £2.50

It may be my failing memory but if I recall correctly they were 1.50 at FP earlier this year. That's quite a steep rise.

A local printer who uses the larger ali plates would be handy. Most of the printers round here tend to use only the smaller formats or since the runs are mostly shortish, cheaper plastic or paper plates. That's if they still use litho at all rather than copiers.

 

[madasafish]

I have a 1 metre x 2 metre sheet in the loft bought 20 od years ago... Model shops (cars/radio control) may sell them..

Also got some sheet galvanised steel - car repair businesses..