Question for you Welders.....
Question for you Welders.....
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Postmaster
Joined: Apr 2000
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From: North of Tulsa, Oklahoma
Question for you Welders.....
I was wondering just how hard or easy it would be to make a home made metal safe to store my documents and small valuables? I've looked at the small safes found at walmart and lowes, but they look like some kind of plastic composite and are only fire rated for 30min. I'm sure a house would burn and smolder longer than 30 minutes? So if I was to make a home made safe what metal and at what thicknes would need to be used and what type of welding would work best?
Elder User
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 726
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From: Glendale USA
Question for you Welders.....
making the box would be easy. As for the thickness of the metal I would say 1/4" would be fine even 3/16 would do. What you would need to do is line the inside or sandwich the outside with some kind of fire brick that you can find at Home Depot. When I did masonry there is a fire brick out there that can withstand 1500 degrees on the inside of the fireplace and you could hold your hand firmly on the outside at the sametime it was rated for over 8 hours of constant heat and the outside would never reach over 100 degrees.It was developed in Germany. The thickness wouldn't really help since the metal will heat up and transfer the heat all the way thru and act like a smoker. It is the insulation that makes it fireproof
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Postmaster
Joined: Apr 2000
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From: North of Tulsa, Oklahoma
Question for you Welders.....
That's brilliant! Using the fireplace brick as insulation. But what type of metal? Iron, steel, hardened steel? The metal structure of the Twin Towers didn't last 2hrs, so what type of metal should I use for my safe?
Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 29,941
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From: Drummonds, TN USA
Question for you Welders.....
Tungsten would be the most heat resistant I think - but also the most expensive.
See if you can find a heat chart for different metals showing melt and plasticity points.
Plate steel should be more than adequate for most uses, and personally - I think a fair sized gun safe lined with insulation is more than most homes would need.
That way you don't have to design your own door and lock mechanism
See if you can find a heat chart for different metals showing melt and plasticity points.
Plate steel should be more than adequate for most uses, and personally - I think a fair sized gun safe lined with insulation is more than most homes would need.
That way you don't have to design your own door and lock mechanism
Postmaster
Joined: Nov 2000
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From: Texas
Question for you Welders.....
Why not just put the safe in the concrete floor? Most fires start near a wall but the heat rises. Cut out a 16x16 square in the floor and then weld the anchors to your fire retardant type door. Place it in a closet out of the way.
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Postmaster
Joined: Apr 2000
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From: North of Tulsa, Oklahoma
Question for you Welders.....
>Why not just put the safe in the concrete floor? Most fires
>start near a wall but the heat rises. Cut out a 16x16 square
>in the floor and then weld the anchors to your fire
>retardant type door. Place it in a closet out of the way.
>
>Krosati
It is a lot of work to cut concrete!:-staun Also, who knows where the pipes run in the foundation? I'd rather just have a portable metal safe. Also most damage after a fire comes from water when the firemen try to extinguish the flames. The concrete cutout would be the lowest point and would have to be extremely water tight.
>start near a wall but the heat rises. Cut out a 16x16 square
>in the floor and then weld the anchors to your fire
>retardant type door. Place it in a closet out of the way.
>
>Krosati
It is a lot of work to cut concrete!:-staun Also, who knows where the pipes run in the foundation? I'd rather just have a portable metal safe. Also most damage after a fire comes from water when the firemen try to extinguish the flames. The concrete cutout would be the lowest point and would have to be extremely water tight.
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