Is 28 Gauge Sheet Metal Too Thick?

After getting frustrated with my Miggle board's tempermental motor, I've decided to try my hand at making a custom board. I've found some pre-cut sheet metal in bundles of 5 sheets at 24" x 30" for only $60. As I'm mainly interested in indoor football, I figure I can make a pretty close to scale board with this size. My question though is 28 gauge too thick for the motor?

[RPD]

Use 24

I'm no board expert and haven't used 28 gauge... but 7 years ago Jayboy Combs walked me through building my own big board. I used 24 gauge sheet metal (like RPD recommended to you) and it only took one motor to power the entire field. I still have the board, and it still runs good today. I don't know if 28 gauge will work better, but 24 gauge definitely works.

Good luck with making your board!

- Don

It's funny....because I can find 28 gauge at really good prices out the wazoo on the net. That's why I was asking if it would make that much of a difference. I was concerned about the amount of power from the motor you would need and the associated noise.

[Joeram57]

Actually...As the gauge number increases, the material thickness decreases, therefore, 28 gauge would be thinner. I am not sure how it would work, however, it would scare me for sag. See URL below for the gauge to inch conversion chart.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheet_metal

Hope that helps a bit...

Joe Ram

Yeah....that's a really big difference in thickness actually. Thanks for the info. Obviously not trying to reinvent the wheel, so 24 gauge it is.