finally started the cuttin'!

[schultz]

alright! i finally got to starting the cutting of my sisters case! i'm so excited! actually, i completely cut out (rough cut) a hole for a window in the side of the case. now i just need to grind/file it down to make it fit my "exact" measurements i have marked down on the case. man, i wish i had a digital cam to be able to show some pics!

oh...here's a question for you guys. this case is steel and through the process of cutting out the window i used up 8 "heavy-duty" cutting disks and 2 fiberglass reinforced cutting disks. is this normal? or is that a bit high of a number even for steel? just curious whether i am doing this some what right or not, or whether i need to improve my technique(s) so i don't use as many cutting disks. hopefully i can find a digital camera sometime soon to be able to post up some pics of my work!

[sapasion]

Sounds about right. I went thru a lot of those wheels when I cut my case too. The reinforced ones are so darn expensive. I found a little secret if you will. I would load two or even three regular heavy duty cut off wheel at once. Doing this you must go slower or you'll break three at once but a steady hand will lend better results and less frequent change outs

[muisejt]

a jigsaw would of been better for cutting the windows if you had one available

[schultz]

Originally posted by sapasion
Sounds about right. I went thru a lot of those wheels when I cut my case too. The reinforced ones are so darn expensive. I found a little secret if you will. I would load two or even three regular heavy duty cut off wheel at once. Doing this you must go slower or you'll break three at once but a steady hand will lend better results and less frequent change outs

i almost considered doing this. i was almost done with the cut, though, so i decided against it. guess i will have to try this the next time i make a cut!

Originally posted by muisejt
a jigsaw would of been better for cutting the windows if you had one available

yeah, it definitely would have been...unfortunately i do not have a jigsaw..so i got to have some fun with my dremel instead!

[Bolweval]

Originally posted by schultz
yeah, it definitely would have been...unfortunately i do not have a jigsaw..so i got to have some fun with my dremel instead!

Whatever works! ; )

[schultz]

of course!! the next step now is going to be grinding down and making the edges nicer (some file work too, probably). i just don't have time tonight. i'll see if i can get to it tomorrow. after that i'm going to be measuring out the window and then cutting that to fit. that will then be followed by some etching. should be fun! and my order from svc came in with the ccfl's i ordered! yes! i'm all ready for the fun!

[Captain Hook]

Two questions: How much did all those cutting wheels cost? Second, how long did it take to cut it like that?

[schultz]

Originally posted by Captain Hook
Two questions: How much did all those cutting wheels cost? Second, how long did it take to cut it like that?

question 1: well, i just bought my dremel this summer and it came with 25 of the heavy-duty cutting disks. i also bought another accesory kit (182 piece) and that came with 36 1/64" cutting disks and 30 1/32" cutting disks. the dremel also came with 2 fiberglass reinforced disks and the accessory kit came with 6 of those. the dremel cost me about $60 and the accessory kit cost me $27 something. so that doesn't help a whole lot, but may give you some semblence of an idea.

question 2: i'm not sure exactly how long it took me. probably some where between one and two hours. i'm not really sure because i stopped quite a few times when people wanted to ask me questions and also when i was trying to make sure my sister didn't see what exactly i was doing to the case (i'm making this a surprise for her).

hope that answers your questions!