woodcrafters, a lil help.

[Lance_Wallen]

I'm about to finalize some of my designs and I've never really worked with wood in small dimensions... How thin can I go with good hardwoods? Optimally I'd like to go 3mm wall thickness on a battery box/lid That's ~1/8th inch. Is that too thin? I'm open to suggestions, I usually work with metal and acetals so.... I've worked with wood, when I built a deck

 

[Switched]

1/8" is fine

 

[asdaq]

If you are building a box from parts 1/8" is fine. If you are routing out a solid block and then sanding it down from the outside and providing a good finish, you could go even thinner even 2mm.

 

[Lance_Wallen]

If you are building a box from parts 1/8" is fine. If you are routing out a solid block and then sanding it down from the outside and providing a good finish, you could go even thinner even 2mm.

yeah, I'm starting from solid stock... I think I'll stick with 3mm just to be safe. Well, it'll be a little less than 3 since I'll be milling it to 3mm then sanding/finishing which will take a little off of it. Thanks for the replies.

 

[asdaq]

The wall needed depends on which stage you are at. Milling and drilling is much more stressful on the wood and there is a higher risk of cracking. Sanding is gentle to wood, so leaving more wall for milling and then bringing it down by sanding is safer. I managed to drill a 3" long block with a 3/4" bit only leaving 2mm wall at the thinnest point, and it was fine, but when I was drilling a second 5/8" hole nest to the first the large hole split and now it is a desk stand with a compartment for a 14500.

 

[slimest]

If there is a need to drill two big holes close to each other, sometimes helps drilling first with a 2-3 times thinner bit and then with thicker one.

 

[Lance_Wallen]

If there is a need to drill two big holes close to each other, sometimes helps drilling first with a 2-3 times thinner bit and then with thicker one.

that shouldn't be an issue for me. At the most I"ll have 4 "holes" besides the void space I'm milling out of the middle for batteries/components, the holes will be for the bolts that will hold the body and faceplate together and they will be going straight through both parts so nut and bolt style instead of threaded hole. I'll be leaving 45degree corners inside the void space to increase strength in the corners and to give me room for the bolt holes and the bolts themselves are going to be tap fit so it should completely fill the void space I create by making the bolt holes. I decided to go bolts instead of a slot or magnet because I want to use the nut and bolt heads as a 'rest' sorta like little feet for the mod to keep it up off the table incase some one spills water or something or you set it down on a damp or wet surface.