basic tools and materials for making blocks
 

ive been wanting to try and make some of my own designs on a peice of copper and try it out on my system. being only a minor i do not have access to a CNC routing machine. what can i use instead of that? im looking at drilpresses since my designs wont be complicated. are simple channels considered complicated? i mean i could just connect the places i drill to make some sort of channel :)

on my checklist for now i have

tap/die
drill press with various bitsizes
wd40
files..

does home depot sell copper blocks?

TIA

Re: basic tools and materials for making blocks
 

well i have no idea where you live, but i got my copper from the same place as my school does

i also get to use my schools mill....out of school time :D

im currently milling it :)

with thoose parts you have atm you could build a decent performing block :)

cheers

pokpok, you should consider buying (or borrow) a dremel, connecting the drilled holes into channels with dremel cutting wheel is the best and easiest way to do it.

Good luck!:)

hes right.... a dremel is a good investment :D

ok cool i have a dremel! are you sure the cutting wheels can cut ok through the copper? or did yo guys used the reinforced ones

you can get the diamond discs and double them up on the wheel. I was able to cut through steel and Alu with mine.

I used emery discs, and I think g.l.amour used reinforced ones. Just make sure you have couple of them;)

SAFTY GLASSES, SAFTY GLASSES, and SAFTY GLASSES. If you like seeing please use safty glasses, especially with those dremel's!

Thx jaydee116!:) I presumed that is obligatory. I use clear shield for the whole face, saved me couple of times of that broken emery discs flying at the great speed!

Yup pokpok, don't forget the safety! Just a little warning, this happened a few day's ago, at approx 10 000 rpm's...be careful!

wow ive cut cases before...never bent the shaft

lol dremling a block dosent really look good if its gnna bend the shaft like that...hah

the dremel is inferior to the bosch or rotozip line. They go at 30000 rpm and explode eyeballs on impact. Much better imho. Dont forget they both have a large wheel attachment that looks like a metal pvc 90 degree elbow. It has a gear in it that slows down the rpms, but the larger discs allow you to cut through stuff like butter. butta.

Yeah the "Dremel" SHOULD have originally been designed like the RotoZIps!!! Dremel's are so WEAK for metal usages... it's a wood and plastic POS. :) But Mines held it's own, besides, who wants to shell out near $150 for one of them things?

so where do you guys buy your thick copper sheets? what is it really a sheet or block? a sheet is thin, a block is thicker in my imagination, somewhre in between i guess :)

thnx :)

do you guys use the flat bars or the plates?

usually whats the avg thckness of a WB?

No such thing as an average. I use anywhere between 1/8" to 1/2" for the bottom peice. Depends on the design. Use the copper flat bar.

Here is a collection of tools and stuff, that will come in rather handy, when wanting to do what you want... :)


http://3rotor.homelinux.com/images/F...P02756_sml.JPGhttp://3rotor.homelinux.com/images/F...P02757_sml.JPG
http://3rotor.homelinux.com/images/F...P02759_sml.JPGhttp://3rotor.homelinux.com/images/F...P02760_sml.JPG

silicon sealent ..hmm

in terms of strength do you reccomend using that over jb weld?

nope... only for sealing, not for strenth... and nowadays I use Goop, much stronger than sealant....

i leant that the hard way...

i was cutting into my PSU ... and well at 32,000rpm it went right into my foot.... it didnt pirce the skin, but i got a blister :)

one thing im worried about when i do cut my 1mm channels in my waterblock is, how i will do it, for example if i were to use a dremel how would i keep it steady while cutting it ?

lets say i buy the copper flat bar...what should u use to cut it into a square? would a jigsaw be fine in cutting it?

edit: whats a good tap/die kit to get...the ones ive seen go for 40$ or more...are theyre any cheaper ones?

A jig saw will work up to about 1/8" in copper with a good metal cutting blade. Anything over that something bigger would be needed. I use the water cooled band saw at work. If you use online metals they will actually cut the peice(s) close to size for you. But it does cost more.

I would just get the tap you intend to use and not a whole kit. You just need the tap and a tap wrench.

what drill presses are good? are 1/3 hp 8in tabletop drill presses ok?

BTW what does the "inches" on the specs mean?

You mean the 8inches? That is how much the table can move up and down on the column. I went to harbor freight and got an $90 10" press for $49, on sale. :D Nice drill press to. It is the same one Delta relables and sells for $180.