Dome cutting

I received my 300mm hydro dome a few weeks back - its such a great piece as it is so it was a bit daunting thinking about cutting it.  After stocking up on a few new tools and clearing out our spare bedroom which is now a dedicated R2 building room I was all set.

All 13 panels in my dome will be hinged using the ultimate hinges (from Kevin Holme) so there is a fair amount of cutting to do.  I started on the inner dome so any mishaps will hopefully be covered up.  I've also started experimenting with polishing and cleaning the dome on the inner skin.

I first marked all the panels on the inside so I can match up the parts once they are all cut out.

I then attacked the first panel with a hacksaw - i tried to cut as close to the dome part so less to file off afterwards.


After removing the first panel I filed the edges with a large file, then a smaller smoother file, I then used some 600 grit sandpaper and finished up with some fine wire wool.  This managed to take all the rough edges off nicely.

The second panel I attempted to cut with my dremel but it was a lot more tricky and time consuming than the hacksaw so ditched that idea.

So a couple of hours later and the five top panels on the inner dome are removed and all edges cleaned up.

I also tried some different polishes to clean the dome.  I know others have sanded the entire dome to remove the slight imperfections - I am undecided on this as I quite like it as it is - I don't want it too shiny - plenty of time to decide on that one though.

Could resist sizing up one of the hinges... they are going to be tight but thats a problem for another day....

...and that's day 1 of my build done... can't wait for my next free time to carry on!