09-04-2011, 01:08 PM
Just to clarify: The target plate will likely be about 6X6, 12X12, 18X18, or 24x28 inches, depending on convenience and range.
The parent plate from which the target plate is cut is generally much larger. I have rarely seen them larger than 4' wide, but they can run 8-12 ft long. Longer is doable, but handling the plate gets to be a bit of a challenge.
So, depending on what is found, there is a possibility of getting several target plates from one parent plate. These should have pretty much the same properties. Not always, but usually close enough for our purposes. Yeah, even this gets complicated when you don't want to unintentionally mislead or confuse yourself or your audience.
A RELATED POINT:
As a rule of thumb, try to keep the hits more than 1-inch from the nearest edge. (Three or four times the plate thickness or bullet diameter, whichever is larger)
The metal will have some heat-induced changes in properties near the edge if torch cut. Also, the plate will respond differently to hits near even a saw-cut edge because of edge effects.
The parent plate from which the target plate is cut is generally much larger. I have rarely seen them larger than 4' wide, but they can run 8-12 ft long. Longer is doable, but handling the plate gets to be a bit of a challenge.
So, depending on what is found, there is a possibility of getting several target plates from one parent plate. These should have pretty much the same properties. Not always, but usually close enough for our purposes. Yeah, even this gets complicated when you don't want to unintentionally mislead or confuse yourself or your audience.
A RELATED POINT:
As a rule of thumb, try to keep the hits more than 1-inch from the nearest edge. (Three or four times the plate thickness or bullet diameter, whichever is larger)
The metal will have some heat-induced changes in properties near the edge if torch cut. Also, the plate will respond differently to hits near even a saw-cut edge because of edge effects.