Sadly, I don’t have before, during, *or* after photos for this one. Blogging it anyway to remind myself what the gotchas were, as I still intend to replace the guest bath counter. I sacrificed the zinc sheet intended for that purpose to expedite this project, though, so I’ll have to order another. I’m sure Roto Metals won’t complain.
Anyway, I now have a bit more experience with working with sheet metal. This was kind of a get-it-done project, so I wasn’t overly concerned with making it look pretty. Serviceable. I was going for serviceable. Here are some of the things I discovered…
It was more malleable than I expected. But maybe that’s because I’d just been working with galvanized steel. That said, for a relatively light-duty application like the guest bath, I’d be inclined to go with 24 gauge. (This was 22 gauge, .027".) I don’t expect people to be slamming things down on it, and I suspect that it will be easier to get a clean edge and flat face. For this project, I literally pounded the heck out of it with a hammer without regard to dents and imperfections. Nothing like a DIY project that doubles as stress relief!
While I wasn’t overly concerned with making it look pretty, I was concerned about making sure the corners weren’t dangerous. Instead of simply trimming the corners for a single seam, I opted to wrap around each corner. I’m glad I did, as soldering turned out to be the point of failure in this project. I wrapped, pounded, and filed the corners down with the intent of soldering any remaining edges that didn’t quite meet.
Clearly, I need to level up my soldering skills before I tackle the bathroom countertop. I understand the process and theory, but was unable to heat the zinc edges to the melting point of the solder. The zinc sheet functions as a giant heat sink, my soldering iron was underqualified, and I was probably irrationally concerned about heating the underlying plywood to its combustion point. For my second attempt, I used a heat gun to pre-heat the zinc before trying to solder, but it still stubbornly refused to liquify. I’m sure it didn’t help that I was working outside & it was cool and windy. And it’s entirely possible I need to go back and study Practical Soldering 101.
I tried a couple different adhesives. The Gorilla Glue Heavy Duty Construction adhesive worked, the cheaper stuff didn't. I cleaned the zinc with acetone and roughed it up with some coarse sandpaper before gluing it up and clamping it. Glueing up two shelves at the same time and clamping them face to face with some cross blocks worked well. Ideally, it should stay clamped for 24 hours for the adhesive to cure...I was in a hurry and started in on the edges after about 14 hours.
For the bathroom counter, I think I want to wrap the front edge under far enough that it meets the cabinet base & there are no edges to worry about. A little adhesive and a few screws to secure the underneath flap is probably not a bad idea, though I didn't bother with either for this project. After all the pounding, it stayed in place without assistance.
Overall, working with the sheets was easier than I anticipated. Gloves, of course, were essential, but I managed to fabricate four tops/shelves without injury.
For the bathroom counter, I think the challenge is going to be bending the edges with more finesse and avoiding unsightly divots in the front edge. Will have to skip the direct hammering, for sure. And figure out how to properly solder the corners...
