For this homework assignment, we had to cut out our home state from a sheet of metal. In my case, I cut out Florida. Once we got the file formatted correctly, cutting the state out was very quick and easy.

As with any plasma cut object, there were chunks of slag on the edges of the new object. At first I tried using a hand file, but the metal was too tough and the slag bits were too large for that to be effective. Using a hand dremel was far more efficient. The following picture shows the state after removing the slag, and smoothing the outside edge.

My goal was to create an object that highlighted its metal nature, and I wanted it to be as shiny as possible. The dremel was effective for the edges, but I had some trouble smoothing the concave portions of the edge. At first I tried sandblasting the concave portions, but that just changed the texture and did not remove the ridges. Then I equipped a smaller dremel head and smoothed out everything I could.

For the face of the state, first I tried using an angle grinder, with the goal of a smooth and shiny face with strokes in one direction. Then the lab technician showed me how to use the surface grinder to achieve a smooth and shiny face with minimal visible strokes.

However, the upper left tip of Florida was thinner then the rest of Florida, due to prior grinder and dremel treatment. Therefore, the surface grinder did not adequately smooth the tip. A dremel was applied to the tip to smooth it out and make it shiny. While it looks a little different from the surface grinder treatment, I think it adds character to the final product.