cprince
Petty Officer 2nd Class
- Joined
- May 22, 2008
- Messages
- 148
I am not a metallurgist. That is likely painfully obvious by my thread title. I have a removable bow and aft casting deck project that I will get going in the spring. I am a cheap bugger and I am looking for cheap to free sources for my building material.
The decks will be aluminum as I want it to be super light weight and strong and I want it to last.
My bright ideas are as follows;
Aluminum framing/skeleton -
Will be made out of a couple of crushed/damaged aluminum ladders; Is this a good idea? Are these generally safe to use and strong enough (of course NOT using the damaged parts!).
Decking - Here is where it gets REAL muddy for me... I was thinking about using old aluminum siding... if I can find some. What I can easily get is corrugated tin roofing from the farm. This old roofing has never rusted and it has been outside for years. Could this mean that it is actually aluminum and NOT tin? I don't know the difference by looking at it. I think that tin visibly rusts and aluminum not as perceptible...
If the consensus is that this is not appropriate material to use, what would be suggested? (Think free scrap or REAL cheap!)
I will be fastening this all together with pop rivets and, perhaps self tapping screws. I will finish off the decks with exterior carpeting glued down with contact cement.
Thank you!!
The decks will be aluminum as I want it to be super light weight and strong and I want it to last.
My bright ideas are as follows;
Aluminum framing/skeleton -
Will be made out of a couple of crushed/damaged aluminum ladders; Is this a good idea? Are these generally safe to use and strong enough (of course NOT using the damaged parts!).
Decking - Here is where it gets REAL muddy for me... I was thinking about using old aluminum siding... if I can find some. What I can easily get is corrugated tin roofing from the farm. This old roofing has never rusted and it has been outside for years. Could this mean that it is actually aluminum and NOT tin? I don't know the difference by looking at it. I think that tin visibly rusts and aluminum not as perceptible...
If the consensus is that this is not appropriate material to use, what would be suggested? (Think free scrap or REAL cheap!)
I will be fastening this all together with pop rivets and, perhaps self tapping screws. I will finish off the decks with exterior carpeting glued down with contact cement.
Thank you!!
