Sparks

[squasher]

Hey guys, im just wondering
i dont really have much experience cutting metal, or modding cases so this might be an ubern00b question
i was cutting out my fan grills the other day with my dremel (with a fiberglass reneforced cut-off wheel) and sparks were shooting out pretty far, i got some nice burns on my arm from it
is this normal, should i be worrying about it?
thanks in advance

 

[Aphex_Tom_9]

yeah, that's normal, but you should avoid the burns...

 

[_slh_]

wear long sleeves and safety glasses

 

[squasher]

thanks i had the glasses on but the gloves is a good idea
thanks for the help

 

[Electron Chaser]

In the future turn your work and hold you tool so the blade is spinning away from you and will therefore force the sparks downward and away from you.

 

[Brundle Fly]

In the future turn your work and hold you tool so the blade is spinning away from you and will therefore force the sparks downward and away from you.

That's good in theory, but "Murphy's Law" dictates that even when the sparks are aimed away from you to begin the cut, you will have to move your face in front of the sparks to see what you are doing, and you will get burned somewhere. This is carved in stone(by a guy who lost an eye carving stone), and cannot be changed or avoided.

 

[ghettocomp]

should turn off the electricity to the case before cutting into those fans...
seriously, I hope you dont have your mobo or anything in the case, and make sure you are wearing safety glasses (goggles are better) I spent an 3 hours in an ER because of iron filings and wind while working on the brakes on my car.. and I had to finish assembling the drums with my eyes full of iron filings so I could go! (I was grinding the drums)

 

[SavageBasher]

Just wear a hoodie.

 

[squasher]

lol, no dont worry its just my case, nuthin else
savage: thanks for that pic, it actually re-assures me that my sparks are not going out to far and a hoodie is a good idea
ow that sounds painful going to the em is teh suXor

 

[pcgamer4life]

thanks i had the glasses on but the gloves is a good idea
thanks for the help

Who said anything about gloves?


Anyway, I just use tin-snips to cut out my fan grills, then a file to get them down.

 

[Aphex_Tom_9]

Who said anything about gloves?


Anyway, I just use tin-snips to cut out my fan grills, then a file to get them down.

yeah me too. ive only used the dremel for making the hole in the top of my case for the rad and the hole in the bottom for the Prometeia hose.

 

[pcgamer4life]

I used a dremel for cutting out a little 8x11 window in my old case, I went through 9 discs in the process (very thick case, very poor discs) After that, I decided tin-snips were a huge step above "The Nibbler" (which sucks) and a small, more time-consuming step below a dremel.

Dremels are still fun, though!

 

[neonblingbling]

The sparks are half the fun! Burn baby burn.... >:]

 

[Niku-Sama]

Just wear a hoodie.

that looksd like my enermax case

 

[Susquehannock]

Yep, that's normal. If I had a dollar for every scar I have from welding & machining
for almost 30 years I'd be friggin' rich.

1] - Always use safety glasses. They are THE most important tool in your shop.

2] - Treat the cutting wheel as if it was 10 feet in diameter. Meaning, don't put your
face and/or bodily parts in the line of fire.

3] - Did I mention always wear your safety glasses?

In the future turn your work and hold you tool so the blade is spinning away from you and will therefore force the sparks downward and away from you.

Yep! ... as mentioned in #2 above^. Only a noob would have the sparks
shooting directly at their face.

(forgot to save big scrap piece)

With pneumatic tools the three holes in my Mobo tray took
about 10 minutes cut time. Can't imagine how long it would take with
a Dremel. Compared to air tools or a jeweler's flex shaft they are just an
underpowered toy. Still good for those who have limited resources though.

 

[squasher]

yeah i could use so more tools, but ill collect more and more over my life time (i hope!)
that pneumatic tool looks like a beast, do you have a big air machine (not sure what they are really called)
i think im gonna try the tin snips technique and grind it smooth with my dremel
oh and Susquehannock those are some really nice cuts!

 

[threeme2189]

what exactly did you make those big holes for?

 

[mtb856]

looks like he used pneumatic snips or a sheetmetal cutting tool...... they cut through that metal like butter

 

[V!5!0Nz]

He used a grinder for it, i know cause i love my die(sp?) grinder.

And the thing you use for them is called an 'air compressor' and thats mainly cause all it does is compress and store compressed air

lol...

 

[squasher]

lol thats a good name for it
ill live with my dremel for now