5 Aug
2012
5 Aug
'12
10:38 a.m.
Hm, has he considered other metals? Saving on the
anodizing might make
brass, or a mild steel, or some such, cheap enough to be worth doing.
My experience with buying small quatities of metals and machine them
suggests :
Aluminium : Farily cheap, Soft, and fifficult to machine well, it 'clogs'
the cutting tools
Mild seteel : Cheapest of the lot. Harder than brass or aluminium, but
still not hard to work. Worst problem is that it rusts far too quickly
Stainless steel : More expensive than mild steel or aluminium, but
chealper than brass. A hard mataerial, but not difficult to machine if
you have sharp tools. I like it
Brass. Most expensive of the common materials. If you pick a 'machining
brass' like CZ121, it is bautiful stuff to work. I'd use it a lot more if
I could afford it. But it does tarnish in air.
I'm just thinking that I probably would not buy a set at $150 but very
well might at $50....
That's basically my view. I'd like a set, but there are many more things
I could send 100 quid on...
For that matter, what about non-metals? A hard wood might make for a
nice set too, especially if the engraving is filled with paint and the
whole thing lacquered, or some such. Perhaps even plastic, though that
seems a bit d?class?, and quite possibly not suitable for garage
machine-shop production anyway.
Actually, a lot of 'enginering plastics' can be machined like metals.
Things like Nylon and delrin are worked in much the same way and
certainlt can be machined i na home workshop. If anything, it's wood
that taat's the 'odd one out' in terms of machining it.
-tony