type of aluminum?

Cassius the Rabbit · Post by **Cassius the Rabbit** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 7:30 pm

We have bought a sheet of Aluminum from the scrap yard and it is dead soft. It has no markings on it to say what kind of aluminum it is. Is there any test or way to tell what grade of aluminum it is?

Baron Alcyoneus · Post by **Baron Alcyoneus** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 9:41 pm

Not really...

Lots of alloys can come that way.

Nickenor · Post by **Nickenor** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 12:25 am

Sounds something like 5051 used for fabrication where bending is important, not machining because it gums up in your tools. I use allot of 6061 .050 for things like scale armor, and other special projects, because it is harder,but I can still bend it, I can dish it, and it works well in my punch press without mushing.

Has anyone tryed the 7071? suposed to be harder, but I dont know how workable it is.

kaiÃ¶ · Post by **kaiÃ¶** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 12:35 am

there are tests but they are 1. destructive 2. unfeasable without very sophisticated equipment and extensive chemistry knowledge.

Sean Powell · Post by **Sean Powell** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 8:44 am

If you send me a scrap piece about 2" square I can use the Niton gun on it. That will give us most of the chemical composition and give us a few alloys that it could fall into. Not guarantied to be 100% accurate since it can't read carbon content but for aluminum it should be OK.... it won't give us temper though. I would need to run different tests for that.

Sean

losthelm · Post by **losthelm** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 8:51 am

If it ends up being 5150 set it aside not very useful for armour but works well for decorative bits as that paticular alloy takes a while to tarnish.
workes increadibly well for costum application and shaped super easy.

Baron Alcyoneus · Post by **Baron Alcyoneus** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 3:49 pm

I can get 2024, 5051, 6061, 7075 in T-0. All would be soft.

Duke Areus · Post by **Duke Areus** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 11:29 pm

Baron Alcyoneus wrote:I can get 2024, 5051, 6061, 7075 in T-0. All would be soft.

I have 2 sheets of .090" 6061 t-0, I can bend it with my fingers. Still deciding what I'm going to make out of it and then get it heat treated.

Cassius the Rabbit · Post by **Cassius the Rabbit** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 11:26 pm

Well since trying to figure out what type of Aluminum it is may be a bit difficult how do you heat treat Aluminum to make it harder without work-hardening it?

losthelm · Post by **losthelm** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 1:17 am

It depends on the alloy...
Usualy its heated to a paticular temp in a convection oven with an artificial atmosphere. This artificialy ages the aluminum.
Some alloys can work harden enuff by tumbling with shot.

Konstantin the Red · Post by **Konstantin the Red** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 1:39 am

See what the net tells you about "precipitation hardening," the technical term for the process used hardening 6061 and other aluminum alloys.

I don't even know what precipitates in precipitation hardening, durn it.

Baron Alcyoneus · Post by **Baron Alcyoneus** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 9:17 pm

I found a recipe for 2024 online that could be done in a regular oven, to take it from 0 to T-3 I think...

I'll have to find it again..

But I did save this:
http://www.steelforge.com/alloys/?alloy=2024

A member in the barony told me about the oven recipe, I think, so I'll ask him tomorrow...