[Spridgets] Rearden metal

[WeslakeMonza1330 at aol.com]

Aren't you going to tell us what you're making?
 
 
In a message dated 15/12/2012 05:34:27 Coordinated Universal Time,  
dlh2001 at comcast.net writes:

I find  myself for the first time machining some 7075 Aluminum alloy on the
lathe  the other evening.

This is my new favorite metal.  It is as strong  and hard as many steels yet
it machines very easily.

The presence of  chromium in this alloy does not go unnoticed.  The surface
finish is  spectacular.  When cut with a fine tool you get that prismatic
effect,  like looking at a CD. This happens with other aluminum alloys to
some  extent, but they soon dull over after short time.  7075 stays  bright.

I can't believe I've wasted my whole life messing around with  6061.

I'll have to get some more of this stuff.  It's expensive  from the big
online vendors like McMaster or MSC, but there are a couple  guys on ebay
with very reasonable prices.

In fact I've discovered  ebay is the way to go for metal stock.  You can
often find oddball  stuff that people have left over from big projects that
they just want to  get rid of. I was able to get four foot of bearing grade
stainless steel  rod like this.  The shipping cost more than the rod!  The
same  stuff from McMaster would have cost over $150.