[HBR] 5052 aluminum

[Mike Hanz]

That's pretty thick, Bill.  If you haven't done it before, you will find 
a world of difference working with .080 rather than .063.  I have a 
fairly complete machine shop for restoring WWII radios 
(http://aafradio.org/garajmahal/ ), and bending 12 gauge aluminum 
requires significantly stronger tools than the thinner stuff.  One 
approach you might consider is to use .063" aluminum for the chassis and 
other parts that require bending, and then use a thicker aluminum just 
for flat panels where desired, like the front panel.  I'd shift to a 
different alloy for that, though...the 5052 bends easily without 
cracking but isn't as clean from a machining standpoint - my favorite 
material for that is 6061 in a T6 temper.

73,
Mike

On 6/25/2010 2:01 AM, William Wood wrote:
> Just looked at E-Bay Mike
>      They have a sheet of .080 that looks pretty tempting.
> Thanks for the tip, I might look into that.  I bought what I bought,
> because they called it drops, and I guess it is cheaper to buy scraps
> then have a piece cut for you.  31 for the sheet and 10 for shipping,
> I think I will double check that local place before I order.  I did
> ask for the .080 as that is what I had in mind, but they did not have
> scraps laying around.  : )  I'll double check tho and see what comes
> up.  I can always use this other stuff later, maybe my power supply
> etc.  Most of my work is going to be by hand tools, so maybe the
> aluminum is the way to go.
>