MonkHouse tree topper out of Aluminum 7075?

[deonb]

Has anybody here ever tried cutting a MegaTree topper out of Aluminum 7075 (Aircraft grade aluminum), 0.25" thick?

Did it stand up to the challenge?

How far did drill the strip mounting holes from the edge?

It looks like I'm limited to a 23" disc without doing a complicated special order, so that means I have to mount the center of the 64x 0.3" holes around the rim at 0.65" from the edge of the disk. Otherwise the strips will overlap with each other. That means ~0.5" of Aluminum between the edge of the holes and the edge of the disc. Does that seem like enough?

[aknflyer]

I did one out of 0.25 steel. Lasered out. Holes 1/2" from the edge. Mine do overlap slightly at the top, I just do even strings first, then odd, in case I have to pull one string for repairs. Mine has the ring bungied down, so adds some force to the topper plate. Sounds like a sound plan. The only thing I would be concerned about would be the weight of 64 strings, how many pixels or incans per string are you using?

[deonb]

100 pixels per string.

My current/previous topper is a 20" A36 hot rolled steel one - I've been using it for 5 years, and it performed well, but it is a bit rusted now. That one has the strips overlapping, which I want to avoid this time around.

The specs for 7075 Aluminum is very close to A36 hot rolled steel, so it looks good on paper, but I've never actually dealt with custom Aluminum. It's certainly tempting that you can build a 3" larger topper that has half the weight of the steel topper.


I'll get it cut and powder coated by eMachineShop (same place I ordered my steel disc from, but I skimped on the powder coating back then ).

[aknflyer]

I coated my steel topper, and bottom steel square tube ring with flex seal spray. Amazing stuff, it foams up and coats like bedliner for pickup beds. 4 yrs no rust.

[uncledan]

Overkill Metal Products makes some nice toppers. My topper is 1/4" stainless steel. The topper, T-Hooks and shipping it was about $250. Pretty reasonable for what you're getting. Never have to replace that thing! https://www.facebook.com/OverkillMetals/

[barbotte]

why using 7075 ?? yes its aircraft grade but if there were any crack or drill hole at the wrong place you cannot fix that with a weld same as 2024 .... i would use 6064 as it is weldable (marine grade ) and should be strong enough to do you topper and probably cheaper too ... just a tough ... dont use 1100 or 3000 series as it is softer and could bend let me know as i am planning doing 1 next year with 6064 also i guess its all depend of the size of tree and high as the taller the tree the more pressure you will pull on the topper
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