Expanded Metal or Razor Wire

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So, how do you deal with the razor sharpness of expanded metal? I want to make some guards, but the stuff I bought is sharper than a cheese grater. Simply powder coating the metal cant be the answer, can it?mike
Reply:Did you get the standard expanded metal or the flattened kind?.No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Flattened, but it seems the standard metal is every bit as sharp. I see it used on carts and as machine guards everywhere, but the edges inside the diamond stuff I have, are really sharp. I can't believe making a guard out of this stuff, would make any more sense than surrounding it in barbwire.
Reply:If it is something that will be touched on a reular basis and will cut a hand, I hit it with a wire wheel.  The wire wheel will soften the edges.  If it isn't handled regularly, i just paint it and am done with it.  When I make a rack for a four wheeler, I always hit it with a wire wheel cause a little girl's finger may get sliced open if she is riding on the back.  When I use it for a floor of a trailer or carraige rack, I just paint it.
Reply:I used the flat 3/4'' expanded for sides on my 5x10 trailer and just painted it.  Wire wheels may take the edge off, but usually paint will kinda cover that edge so it isn't so bad when you touch it.
Reply:It's a painstaking process, but you can go around the inside edges of all the holes with a die grinder and a carbide burr.   If you're making something that will be touched alot by bare fingers, it's better to use sheetmetal instead of expanded metal, in my opinion.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:I have used a torch to melt sharp edges. On sheared pieces the edges are razor sharp so I would just use a small rose-bud and move along the edge with it...Doesnt take too long and will quickly melt/blunt the points or edges....
Reply:If it is only the edge of the section, back it with a strip of 1 by 1/8 flat. Set the cut edge at the middle of the strip and run a weld full length, getting all of the pokey edges with the weld.If you mean the edges of the holes, a method I have used one or twice is to drag the sheet in the sand. Gets the sharp edges, but doesn't stretch and distort the material like media blasting. Drag one side down, flip it, drag the other side down. Don't need to go fast or hard. Too fast or too hard will bend the stuff up. If the sand is clean, cleaning the material after isn't too bad.