Since I’ve got one building done now, I’m motivated to get back to my giant feed mill project that requires coverage in corrugated siding. While a
empty beverage cans seem appealing for the price (free) I’m not sure if I want to take the time to cut them all apart.
I thought I recalled someone ordering a roll of aluminum strips from MaCaster-Carr but done remember what type of aluminum it was.
Also I wasn’t sure if this tool would be easier than the paper crimper method?
That tool looks really neat. I wonder how thick the aluminum can be that is run through it?
I like the crimper but the problem always has been where to find the really thin aluminum. If you still have to cut cans up for the $29 tool it might not be worth it.
Following.
Craig, never seen that tool before so ease of use I have no clue. From the very limited information on the web site I am not even sure what size the panels might be.
As for material, McMaster-Carr it a great place to shop. These would be my suggestions for siding that is easy to crimp regardless of tool. The entry page is McMaster-Carr which gives a good general description of the material. Here is for a .003 tick material https://www.mcmaster.com/3970N12/ , and this is for .006 thick McMaster-Carr , both will be 50 square feet before crimping.
Thinner material will form easier, but will also not stand up as well to minor bumps and bangs. The 3003 alloy is great for outdoor use with no coating or finish applied.
Thanks Bob. I’ll take a look at 3003.
Craig,
I didn’t look at your link, but Bob M got one that looks like it would do a marvelous job but wasn’t cheap. You can get some pretty thin aluminum flashing that should run through it nicely.
Now with that said, I use the good old fashion Fiskers paper crimper and pop cans. Yes its tedious and time consuming. But for the price its hard to beat. I still do it the old fashion way with scissors. But once you have the tops.and bottoms cut off and the seam cut, a paper cutter would make short work of it. Even with aluminum flashing you are going to have to cut it to size. I think you will be surprised at how much tin you can bang out with pop cans and a paper crimper.
Craig,
I recently bought 36 gauge (0.005") aluminum from St Louis Crafts. its on Amazon for $10.59 for 10 SF roll or $40.79 for 50 SF roll. I used it for a standing seam roof for an industrial building. i bought a press for the roof on ebay (Make your own G scale single rib roofing. | eBay). I think he also has one for corrugated metal. It works pretty well, the only drawback is the maximum length you can press is 6.5"…
Devon,
The pop can is for sure the cheapest method. And I’ve done the whole collect can and cut them apart method. I’ll probably end up going this route as it will force me to go slow unless I collect a ton of cans in a short amount of time.
Tom,
That seems reasonable for a 50 SQ ft roll.
I would only add that you anneal the cut-up cans in the oven for a couple hours. We found during our sugar mill project that annealing the cans helped to take the curl out of the material, making it easier to crimp and to affix to our foam core.
Eric
Rolls of shim stock from Mcmaster Carr is what I use.
Or Amazon. Just select the mil you want.
Eric,
Yes the annealing part I remembered as well. I did it on the BBQ vs the oven but does the same thing.
The appeal of build shim stock was the hope that I wouldn’t need to anneal it first. So for those that have bought shim stock did you anneal it?
John,
What mill size did you use? And did you anneal it?
Craig, no I did not anneal it. It’s been out side on my buildings for years.
I’ll have to go back and check the size for sure, but I think it was .002.
I’ll correct that size if I find it different.
FWIW Craig, here’s a “wringer” tool (which is what I think BD Bob got?)
I gather it’s made for “wringing out” tubes of toothpaste / glue / etc., but have seen notes of people using it as a corrugator.
Quality seems to differ quite a bit between these things:
https://www.amazon.com/Big-Metal-Tube-Squeezer-Toothpaste/dp/B0811BJT6L
I used a Fiskars tool, but the results are not as crisp as I liked. I’ll have to get one of those.
Dwayne Steinmeyer used to make so really good corrugated metal. He used thin aluminum. The corrugations were about a 1/16" apart. He was another supplier that went out of business.
The guy on UB Railroad on YouTube does his with a corrugator he purchased at Hobby Lobby. It is make for cardboard, but he does use it on aluminum cars with good results. Just go to UB Railroad on YouTube and look thru his video’s, he has plenty of cost cutting ideas that he uses on his railroad. G scale corrigated sheet metal for your models ubrailroad - YouTube
trainman
That’s the same as the Fiskars tool I have, the one I have has smaller and more corrugations. Some can aluminum is a little tougher to crimp that others. I have not tried to anneal any, but I got a small convection oven a few weeks ago to try that . Just not sure how long to “bake” a sheet. Time for some experiments!
This is the first experiment with my new crimper and some .003 steel shim stock. Next I’m going to anneal some and see if that helps with the bowing.
It should lay down when you nail it down, I put some like that on my old barn.
trainman
