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[stormdog]

Here's an idea for an art project. I want to construct a hanging metal sign. The support will be a basic pole with an arm on it that I can construct at my forge. The sign I want to be a piece of sheet metal that I've cut holes and lines through to form the Japanese kanji for rain. It will hang from the crossbar of the pole from two supports on

Comments

[randomdreams]

How thick a piece of steel are you planning on using? Steel thick enough to use a cutting torch is going to weigh hundreds of pounds. If you're using the sorts of thicknesses that people usually use for signs -- 12 gauge or thereabouts -- it's far easier to use a sabersaw or jigsaw. They're fast, accurate, and don't require as much experience as a cutting torch, and unless you have a really smooth hand, the torch is going to leave a pretty pitted, scalloped edge, whereas the sabersaw will leave a nice straight edge. Kanji are based on straight lines but have subtle curves to them: a sabersaw should be able to follow those pretty well.
(I'm talking about this kind of jigsaw, *not* a reciprocating saw aka 'Sawzall' -- having a foot on it so you can hold it down against the work is critical to making it accurate, and if you're worried about the scratches you can stretch a piece of brass or aluminum under the shoe of the saw, or a layer of cardboard