Anywhere to have some aluminum cut?

Hello All,

I'm looking to make a custom tail light bracket / license plate / turn signal bracket. I have a template made and would love to have somebody cut it out on a machine. Isn't there somewhere I can send it? It seems like there would be a web site in this day and age where one could have just about anything made. From what I've seen a plasma or water-jet cutter could do this in 5 minutes. It needs to be make out of aluminum plate around 1/8" thick. Actually could be any material/thickness strong enough to hold a plate and a set of turn signals.

I can cut this myself but it would look a lot better if it were done professionally. I'd have to use all hand tools....no drill press or band saw, etc...

Any ideas?




This is what I had - 2 pieces - the plate bracket broke after 950 miles. I thought a new one piece unit would be great.
(view from underneath):




And how it looked before it broke:

Nice design, You'll need to make it out of thicker materiel or double it up or tempered aluminum STREET SIGNS are tougher than hell. For water jet or EDM you'll need a CAD drawing and a one off will be expensive. Drill your holes and use a fine sabre saw blade. Then progresively finer files and sandpaper. Scotchbrite or polish. YOU CAN DO IT!

check with a local hvac shop,lots of them have cnc plasma cutters for making duct work

go over to "do the ton.com" and look up a guy named swagger.He does custom machine work and does it well.bj

hocbj23 wrote: go over to "do the ton.com" and look up a guy named swagger.He does custom machine work and does it well.bj

I have to register to search anything....I'll look into it.

In the mean time, I just found www.emachineshop.com You download free software, design your part, and get a price. I'll try to get the part drawn up this weekend and see how terribly expensive it will be.

Messed around a little today with the cad program. Here are the 2D and 3D versions:

The fender eliminator kits I've bought before, for the MKII and the KZ A's, are all made from 3mm thick aluminum. Will that be strong enough? Material selection has been difficult....not sure what I need. Stainless can be much thinner but cost more, steel is cheaper but will need painted or powdercoated...suggestions on how to calculate the material requirements?

aluminum work hardens over time is my biggest issue with it,make it out of stainless buff it and forget about it! :laugh:

I wouldnt attempt that out of one piece, make two and tig em together, same with the bent tabs, be a hell of a lot easier, or u could really fuck up and listen to wireman :woohoo: :silly:

thats a proven fact! :woohoo:

79MKII wrote: Messed around a little today with the cad program. Here are the 2D and 3D versions:

Nice job on the CAD drawings

I know a couple of people that use their service. It's a volume based deal for pricing. More = cheaper. Might be worth your while to see what 5 would cost and ebay the other 4 or put them in the for sale section here...... just a thought..

Johnnybravo - Yea, I'm definitely considering making just the license plate part and welding it onto the taillight part that I already have. I know a guy here that welds aluminum really well.

Wireman - As far as the stainless steel, what thickness would you recommend? I'm sure it would be thinner than the aluminum, right?

Larry - I was thinking the same thing...order 4 or 5 and try to sell a few on eBay. The biggest problem I see is that some people might not want the 45 deg bend for the license plate. I might have them made straight and then bend mine myself. Mine's a little different since I have an extended swingarm - I need to bend it to clear the tire.