RogueRose
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Posts: 1585
Registered: 16-6-2014
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Making some metal alloys - question on material aquisition
I'm looking at making some zinc based alloys, starting with ZA27 which is 25-28% Al, 2-2.5% Cu and remainder zinc. I found that US pennies (newer
ones) are 2.5% Cu, so that could be a good source for the right % of Cu/Zinc. The problem I'm having is finding Al alloys that don't have other stuff
like Si or Mg, which can really mess up this alloy.
I was thinking of trying to find some Al wire, which I think is ~99%+ pure, I have scrap magnet/transformer wire that is Al and I know they make
larger gauge used for bus bar connections, like 2 - 10g wire, I'm hoping to find some of this scrapped.
I'm looking to get some pure Ti and everwhere I find it, it's an alloy. Does anyone know of any pure products?
I also need to get/make some pure iron and was considering using an angle grinder or bench grinder on some cast iron, either old cook ware or some
engine parts (transmission casings, valve heads, etc). The only think I was worried about was if the iron would oxidize when I grind it from the heat
associated with it, which is why I was thinking a bench grinder might be better b/c it's slower rotational speed. I figured I'd use a magnet inside a
plastic bag to collect the grindings as the Al Oxide or whatever the wheel is made of shouldn't collect on the magnet. Does this sound reasonable?
I'm only making about 15-25g batches, so I don't need a lot of material for these trials. The iron I'm looking at about 2-6%, so I don't need very
much.
As for the Ti, I don't even know where to start. i'm wondering what common items are made from Ti, maybe some old "rugged" thumb drive/hard drive
cases or something, I know most are Al, but I've seen some that were Ti years ago & the price should have dropped for a 2-16GB USB drive, lol!
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Fulmen
International Hazard
Posts: 1693
Registered: 24-9-2005
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Mood: Bored
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Al: Regular foil should be 1000-series alloy (99% +). It's also used for extruded profiles, especially tubes.
Ti: Grade 1-4 are considered pure, and have excellent corrosion, forming and welding properties. Should be available on ebay.
Fe: Cast iron could contain a few % of Si. Also, an angle grinder will probably produce a lot of oxides. Machining would probably be simpler.
We're not banging rocks together here. We know how to put a man back together.
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