5 Aug
2012
5 Aug
'12
1:18 p.m.
On 5 Aug 2012 at 18:38, Tony Duell wrote:
Aluminium : Farily cheap, Soft, and fifficult to
machine well, it
'clogs' the cutting tools
My least favorite utility metal.
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
On the other hand, plating (especially electroless nickel( is
inexpensive and extremely durable.
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
See my comment about PVD coating--very sexy.
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 like brass, both for the ease of working and its heft. Finishing
is easy--there are lots of plating choices, or just give it a coat of
clear epoxy lacquer. It's also available in a wide variety of
shapes. Keeps the old-timey feel of things.
There are also bronzes and copper, as well as exotics, such as
palladium, silver or gold if money is no object. I'd steer clear of
magnesium and titanium--they require special techniques for working
and the swarf is highly flammable.
--Chuck
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