Paging the metallugists

Anything more highly alloyed than a 99% aluminium grade (Designated as a
1XXX i.e 1050 grade) will probably need anodising to protect it from white
fur caused by winter salt. I have anodised small pieces myself. Diet coke
and a suitable battery will do the job.

Personally speaking I'd use stainless steel. You're not going to notice the
weight difference. Besides that it'll have about three times the modulus,
therefore so you could use thinner sheet for the same stiffness. A type 316
grade (316L if you need weldability) would be best for salt resistance, but
a 347 or 321 grade would probably suffice.

Thicker than you need or could cut out with tin snips.

 

I wouldn't use aluminium (unless I was going to use a thin layer of
glass fibre over the top of it) because of the corrosion problem. If
you're feeling wealthy and can get hold of the right thickness then
use titanium but failing that go for stainless steel about 1mm thick.
It'll be a twat to form and you might have to make a mould out of
resin covered wood but you'll get a decent quality job.

 

heh. I was referring to the fact I thought you might pop up in this
sort of engineering type thread, not that you were a comedic
interloper per se !

P.

 

Well, Pip's comment can also be taken two ways. I was just covering
all the bases

P.

 

I've got more than one bat here, you know.

Fresh season, resupplied. All your nightdresses are mine.

 

http://tinyurl.com/64ygnf

Here's a shorter link

 

Yersh, very helpful. I'm not a mong you know, I do know how to handle
wrapped URLs, & that one wasn't wrapped anyway. The site was down when
I clicked it - simple as that.

--
Krusty
www.MuddyStuff.co.uk
Off-Road Classifieds

'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger 955i '96 Tiger '79 Fantic Hiro 250

 

So what you're saying is you're a batty-boy?


--
Krusty
www.MuddyStuff.co.uk
Off-Road Classifieds

'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger 955i '96 Tiger '79 Fantic Hiro 250

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Eddie

Realistically, buying a small amount of ally usually means getting a
grade which is best defined as "undefined". As it happens I have
(somewhere) some stainless steel sheet about 1mm thick. Tell me by email
(the gmail address) how much you need and an address and I'll bung some
in the post.

 

Well, the eBay auctions I saw specified a grade, but how the hell I'd
tell the difference once it turned up, I've got no idea.

Oooh, ta!

 

Testy.

 

<adds Krusty to the Bat-List>

 

Pip, The Red Knight ?



P.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Pip

How singular.

 

[stainless steel]

Well, yes ... and no. Ally is soft and compliant, see. Bends in the
fingers, no need for tools. Stays bent, does what it's told.

Stainless is nasty, brittle stuff that won't stay bent and tries very
hard to return to its previous shape when ever you take your eye off
it. Not only that, but it work-hardens like a bastard, making it
brittle and easy to snap in thin sheets - not to mention harder to
drill.

Yes, you can bend thin stainless round formers, it just takes more
effort to make it stay bent. Good luck.

 

And you two can **** off 'n' all.

--
Krusty
www.MuddyStuff.co.uk
Off-Road Classifieds

'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger 955i '96 Tiger '79 Fantic Hiro 250

 

Ah, right.

Hmmm. Maybe I should just make it out of layers of chopped-up beer tins
instead.

 

Eww!

 

I thought you were just being ironic. Now you've confessed I can see that
you were a **** all along.

 

Which is why it's not as good as stainless. Not stiff enough.

Not strictly true, but because of its stiffness you will get some
springback. Therefore you always bend it a bit more than you need. I've only
ever had cracking problems with type 321 because of carbide stringers. I've
been approving new drawings and specifying processing for 20 years (as of
three days ago) and I'd only specify stress relieve on a stainless
fabrication if the bends were 'kin sharp and sheet over 3mm thick [1].
Generous radii on 1mm thick stainless would be fine. Use a nice big wooden
mallet and a shaped bit of wood [2] .

If you're going to be ambitious about stuff like this when you can buy
carbon fibre lay up materials quite cheaply, you might as well be fucking
ambitious.

It does work harden yes. So will Aluminium. Especially if you go for one of
the more highly alloyed grades. They all do that sir.

It's also difficult to deep draw. So is aluminium [3]. If you want easy, use
low carbon sheet steel off a car body and paint it.

I've never known a stainless pressing/fabrication running at room temp to
move beyond the original instantaneous spring back due to residual stresses.
Jetpipes running at 600°C might be a different matter.

Have fun.

His biggest problem will be getting hold of small quantities of stainless
sheet in the right thickness. If I wanted some, I'd just have to wander over
the shop floor and get it out of a scrap bin. The OP ain't so lucky and
might find it worthwhile taking a wander over to a big scrap merchants
situated somewhere like Derby or Bristol.

--
Chris H,
FZS1000, two#55
He's predictable, but that's to be expected.
Please remove the numbers to reply

[1] barring rules offshore to reduce the liklihood of sulphide cracking,
then everything is annealed.
[2] or block of wood and another block of wood.
[3] without wrinkling.