Aluminum?

> 1100-0 - Playdough hardness
>
> 3003-0-H14 - a little bit better than Playdough hardness
>
> 5005-H32 or H34 - still soft
>
> 5052-H34 - Just barely hard enough to make a skidplate

Missing one here 5083. It's a marine grade highly weldable alloy with better as welded strength than just about anything you can get. A winner if you can find it.


>
> Heat Treatable (Strong) Alloys

20xx series are all basically non-weldable copper based alloys with terrible corrosion resistance

>
> 6061-T4 or T6 - Winner
>
>
> 6063-T6 - This is an architectural grade that you will generally only find in extruded shape form. It's mushy so avoid it.




Just bend everything with nice big radii and you can use 6061-T6 without trouble. For the money it will give you the most durability. I also think your welder may be outmatched by anything thicker than 1/8". I make a lot of parts out of 3/16" 5052-H32 and I usually run 260A on a pulsed MIG to get good penetration. Seriously look into borrowing the neighbors TIG.

-Tim

Industrial Metal supply
If price matters...
4'x4' sheet .250 thickness
5052-H32 $126
6061-T6 $212


I was looking into the 5083(used in armor plate and found 5086 H116. Would there be any reason to avoid this alloy?

---

Michael LeCompte



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2009 12:42PM by pikespeakgtx.

pikespeakgtx Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> I was looking into the 5083(used in armor plate
> and found 5086 H116. Would there be any reason to
> avoid this alloy?

They're basically interchangeable for this type of application. 5083 has slightly better properties but nothing dramatic. http://www.ipg.novelis.com/NR/rdonlyres/D87BB9BB-A2A5-4A3E-9F2A-37BB04B242E1/6542/NovelisMarineProducts_Datasheet.pdf

I bought a bunch of surplus 0.25" 5083 from FMC after they shut down the Bradley production line in San Jose (so yes it's used as armor plate too). It's great stuff to work with. It bends more easily than 6061-T6 and has better strength after welding.

-Tim

I bent the piss out of my skid plates (yes plural cause that is how often we bent them) on the bunny cause that bitch was so close to the ground, they were both 6061 and I just used a come along and a ten pound sledge, that shit bends just fine, trust me.

---

-Tom
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