A little bit of Plastic?

[Adrian C]

Probably going to be overengineering this but what the hell....

I've got a black power coated die cast aluminium 4cm x 6cm rectangular plate to mount outside to a brick wall that has been skimmed and pebbledashed, so it ain't a nice flat surface.

My screw tightening regime in these type of situations has previously been one of timidness as die cast aluminium does not bend that well, so am now wondering about a stiff'ish material that could go up first with manly large screws, and then that could take 4mm screws for the smaller plate.

But what easily obtainable material in black? I'm currently thinking Nylon plastic, about 30mm thick - will be able to repel water and not distort in the heat of the sun. Wood is out - unless I treat and paint it..

I only need a little bit. I had a lurk around B&Q, PoundLand and other suspects looking at manufactured goods that I could butcher for the material. I came across a club hammer in the 99p store that looked like a possible, but there probably is some metal in the middle of that.

Any ideas? I suspect a trip to a Plastics Stockholder could be a bit expensive.

[Jim K]

piece of slate? i.e. ex fireplace, or stone tile (not roof!) or maybe Ebay for a house number sign (the type sold with numbers engraved into them for fronts of houses) - make em an offer for a "blank"?

Cheers Jim K

[The Wanderer]

Why not use spacers, one at each corner? You're only down to four points of contact with the wall, and they could be adjusted to allow for the uneven surface. Shouldn't be too difficult to come up with a suitable tubing that would make spacers. Might even be feasible to use mirror mountings.

[petercharlesfagg]

Some years ago I saw a similar problem solved using soft plastic tubing, similar to the plastic pipe used in aquaria, the builder cut of pieces that were a reasonably snug fit to the screws.

When he screwed the plate to the uneven wall he merely poured boiling water on each piece of plastic so that it softened and then tightened each screw. The wall plate then was vertical to the wall and as the pipe cooled it set in its squashed profile.

Hope this helps.

Regards, Peter.

[Jim K]

granite offcut from local kitchen worktop place - should be free altho watch the edges & could be fun drilling it?

Cheers Jim K

[The Natural Philosopher]

heres a completeley tangential idea.

tack up a sheet of polythenee or even cling film, with blue tack.

make up car bofy filler and apply to film in general area of plate. tale sheet of THICK poly and apply over, then press plate into the sheet squeezing out the body filler.

Hold for 5 minutres, then while still rubbery, trim all excess plastic and bodyfiller with knife and mark holes to be drilled.

You have made a custom strain spreading pad, moulded to your wall!