We began this assignment in class by learning how to use the plasma cutter. In class I was able to cut out two small versions of NY state after prepping the vector file in Illustrator to remove all small islands and other objects that wouldn’t show up in the final cut. While these two NYs were too small for the final project, they did give me a good chance to see what worked and what didn’t on the plasma cutter. Since I was using steel, it wasn’t an issue that the area between Long Island and Upstate NY was so thin because it would be hard to bend the metal in the first place. Using the small cut, I was able to see where dross would be more of an issue (around the small bends and curves of Long Island).

When I went back later to cut out NY larger for the final project, I came across a odd issue, when I simply scaled up the file that I had already cut, I saw that the cutter would cut out in places that I didn’t want it to. I realized that when I scaled up the image the machine was able to make a path around small details that it had not previously been able to see. Thus, I had to take the file back to Illustrator in order to smooth out Montauk and the Long Island Sound to stop the cutter from cutting outside the lines of the state. Once this was done, it was simple to cut out the larger state from 1/8 inch thick steel plate. I ended up cutting out 5 of the big NYs because I knew that I could encounter post processing issues causing me to need to scrap a few of them. Even if I didn’t have any issues, I wanted to have pieces to conduct tests on so I could ensure I knew what I was doing with the final pieces.

This photo shows the average dross that I ended up with when I finished cutting out my pieces. This is a photo of the worst area and it really wasn’t bad at all. In order to get the dross off I spoke with Joe and he let me use the electric disk sander with a course disk to grind off the dross. However, watching a video online a few days later I found a far better way is to use a cold chisel and a hammer to knock the dross off since it has not completely welded itself to the face of the item. Using the chisel method, there is no scratching of the surface of the object.

Joe and I then moved to the powered horizontal grinding machine to try to give the surface of the pieces an even finish.

This is a super cool machine that uses an electromagnet to secure the workpiece to the bed making clamps unnecessary. This photo shows my piece secured to the magnet. The machine then swings left and right while inching forward across the workpiece. The spinning grinding disk has different depth settings to remove material.

While the machine did work, it ground too deep in the process. This let the stress in the steel out forcing my workpiece to warp as soon as it was taken off of the bed. We determined that we didn’t have the time at that moment to perfect the machine so we scrapped the idea.

I decided to just do the work by hand. First I wanted to clean up the edges of the workpieces since the cutter leaves both cutting marks and a slight angle on the edge. I wanted both pieces to turn out exactly the same so I tacked them together with CA glue and set them in the vice. I use a file to smooth out both edges at the exact same time. I filed with the edge instead of against it. This took far longer but enabled me to achieve a much better finish on the flat parts and to maintain the curves and ridges on the more complicated parts. I followed up the file with a quick sand of the edge. The following photo shows the edge after I was done.

I used a lighter to heat the steel enough to break the CA glue bond and set to work on the faces of the pieces.

For the faces, I decided that I really liked the blacked look that the steel already had and I couldn’t figure out an easily accessible method of reintroducing that after I had sanded down the face (spray paint wouldn’t look as nice). For that reason, I only gave the front faces a light sanding with an electric sander and a 240 grit paper. This preserved the blackness while giving the edges a really nice polish that sets them apart from the rest of the face. For the back face however, I wanted to see how polished I could get them. I kept going with the sander for a while and was able to get a near-mirror finish that I also really liked. I considered going back and doing the same on the fronts but I really liked the blackened look.

The above picture is the front faces and the below is the back faces.

 I liked the way the finish came out so much that I did not want to paint them.

Overall, I really enjoyed working with steel. For this project especially, I felt that steel was a better choice for me than aluminum. Since I was using steel I knew that even though it would be much harder for me to work the material, every mark that I did make would be made with purpose. I knew when filing that I wouldn’t have to worry about removing too much material, I would be able to keep the contours of the state’s shape. I also did not have to worry about bending Long Island by accident.