OK… here goes…
I’ll attempt to make a small Freight Forwarding shed.
It will [ be covered in Taylor Tin] corrugated tin, set on a cut stone foundation. Wood loading dock and ramp.
1 office door, 1 window, 2 freight doors, and open dock storage space.
No real prototype, but very similar to what you would find all over the country.
Nice looking little freight depot found in Anytown U.S.A. And I know you will dress it up into a fine project.
Going to try something new this year. Traditionally I have used 1/2" Baltic Birch for my building construction, and then used TightBond III to glue up and coated it over everything as a waterproofer. Has worked well in the past… Since the Russian Invasion of Ukraine that stuff has dried up except at over $100 a sheet now.
So this Year I’m going to try using a product from the sign industry for outdoor signage. It’s two sheets of thin Aluminum bonded to a plastic core. The stuff I got ahold of is brand named “MAXMETAL”, but there are other brands of the same product.
From their web site:
"ACM, or aluminum composite material. Comprised of two, pre-painted .15mm aluminum panels bonded to a solid polyethylene core, it is lighter and more durable than MDO and solid aluminum panels. The low mineral core makes MAXMETAL™ easy to fabricate, and its low thermal conductivity allows for a quick cool down.
Cuts on the hand or table saw, and can be router cut or milled… 100% weather proof.
Will have to figure out how to work it, and mount the corners together…
Stand By…
Good choice. I use it all the time at work.
For corners, you can V-Grove the back with a router leaving a small amount of the core and the outside skin intact. Once routed it can be carefully bent up to 90 degrees.
Photos of V-Grove process for Maxmetal corners…
After routing, before bending…
After bending and attachment to PVC “spine”…
Better view of spine…
These will slip over steel posts then end up looking like this when done…
Jon… thanks for the hints… Are those Pop-rivets or screws where they are joined?
They are screws, but their only purpose is to hold everything in alignment while the acrylic epoxy (Weldon 45) dries. They were removed before installation. Sometimes we will make these for posts that have the sign above, in that case we cut another sheet to close the opening and use painted truss head screws to attach the panel to the spine.
This sign has closed post covers at the bottom. It is unfinished in this pic…
Jon… If I were to lay out all 4 walls as one piece, V notch the corners, Do I or Will I need some kind of a brake to get a good fold on the corners?
Not for 3mm. I bent those post covers with my hands. If it’s a wide expanse some extra hands might help.
You may want to make a jig or form to bend around to keep the bends from exceeding 90 degrees and to square everything up.
Jon , is that available to the general public for sale or do I need to find a sign shop? Is it crazy expensive?
We buy from a sign supply house. I’m pretty sure you can find someone who sells it at retail. The generic name is ACM or Aluminum Composite Material. Common trade names are Maxmetal, Durabond , DiBond and others. Common sizes are 4x8 4x10 and 5x10 in 3mm thick or 6mm thick. I have no idea on price as I don’t do the buying.
EDIT to add - I googled it and found that Home Depot lists 3mm (.125") in 2’x2’ panels for $22 to 4x8’s at $135 so cheap it’s not. If you have any reasonably large sign shops near you, stop in and ask to buy “drops” or scrap. They will probably give it to you.
The Panel I picked up was one that had come off of a wall, and fell into the street, it has been run over several times, and even has an small stone embedded in it…
Not perfectly flat but it will all be covered in Taylor Tin…
And it’s 16 degrees out in my unheated garage… just might have to do indoor stuff today… Cardboard mock-up…
Yikes I won’t complain about my garage being a balmy 40°🤪
Well I had to spend about 4 hr’s today at the Studio and will do the same tomorrow… Work always seems to get in the way… At least it’s warmer then in my garage…
I’ve had to turn on the A/C.
That’s the price you pay for being a day in the future and 6 months behind in the season.
It’s going to be 35 this week (95f)
It is nice to see some use of metric on the LSC. (Esp amongst the 20.3ers not just the Coca-Cola consumers).
Not a Damm thing done on the Mik today…
But I did get a 30 “x 48” canvas print done for a client’s daughters birthday tomorrow…
So I guess I can afford the $35 for MIK… But I have tomorrow off, cardboard cut out planed, and time to put in an order to Taylor Tin for some custom roofing lengths and siding…
Got start on the build… Finally drew up full size plans for the main part of the freight shed… I’m going to try the new ACM Board… Decided that I’ll cut each wall section single, as I’ll have to hunt and find the good sections that weren’t to damaged when it got ran over in the street.
Dug out one of my remaining doors from long past Mik… And found the mold for the Cargo Doors… I’ll need to cast a couple.
It’s progress… Found another old cedar fence board, that will end up as the decking…
It’s progress… Stay tuned!!
I see you’re shopping for the same style of napkins as me. 
Dave, I like your HAD (Hand Aided Design) work. I faintly remember doing some of that, as Rooster would say, back in the day, in the hood 
Nice, straight, clean lines. Mine all had eraser marks and smudges.
Dan et al: Believe it or not. In my school days I took 3 years of Mechanical drafting and Architecture… Fast forewords 40+ years and… I have a version of 2D3D Turbo CAD on this new laptop, I just haven’t spent the time to get into the learning curve. I really should…
And I have a SLA 3D printer now 5 years old, and still in the original shipping box, Again, I haven’t put in the time to learn the software, and run the hardware…
I would love to CAD my milling machine, but if I can’t do the CAD drawing, having the mill is useless…
