Brian Kraut wrote: > Be leary of any metal you get from Home Depot or Lowes if you plan on > doing > anythng structural with it. I am not 100% sure what alloy they carry, but > it is pretty bright and corrosion resistant which means it is most likely > a > weaker alloy than 6061.
The aluminum that's sold at Home Depot and that kind of store is usually 6063, which looks like polished 6061. It's also called "architectural" grade aluminum, which means it's pretty and won't corrode, but the name is a little misleading. It's great for making things look nice, but structurally not as strong as 6061-T6, so not the one to use if you're building an airplane. I fish a few scraps of aluminum out of the recycle bin at work on occasion, and although we hardly ever use 6063, I do see a piece now and then. Like Brian said, it's clearly apparent that it's not 6061, and more importantly it's real obvious when you drill it, as it cuts like butter and the chips are a completely different animal than 6061 chips (smaller and more crumbly). I made a pretty huge pile of chips last night, machining a piece of 4.5" diameter alumimum round down to 3.96" to make a plug for a Corvair cylinder head. This will allow me to pressure test the intake and exhaust valve sealing capability before installing the head on the engine. It takes the place of a 94mm cylinder, and bolts to the head to seal off the combustion chamber. A nice tool to have, and one that nobody sells. I made a tight fitting 94mm VW piston pin installer last week, which sure beats the old 15mm Craftsman socket that I've used for the last 30 years for that job! Another handy tool... Mark Langford, Huntsville, Alabama see KR2S project N56ML at http://home.hiwaay.net/~langford email to N56ML "at" hiwaay.net
