Polishing Aluminium

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Harold_V
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Re: Polishing Aluminium

Post by Harold_V »

pollys1dad wrote: Wed May 31, 2023 5:31 am " choose an aluminum alloy that leans towards blue at the outset. " What grade would this be? If I have a choice, what grade/s would produce the best result?
For starters, the aluminum grades of alloys that are at my disposal here in the states may or may not be at your disposal in England. That said, I would suggest that 7075 would be a good choice, and for two reasons. It contains zinc, so the color leans more towards chrome, plus it's one of the strongest and best machining alloys of aluminum, especially when in the T6 or T651 condition.
Are there any books to read that would be helpful, YouTube channels to watch and learn?
Unfortunately, I'm not a good source for that kind of information. I was trained as a machinist in a facility that built a specific product (missile) and have not pursued information from other sources. I simply don't know. Sorry I'm not more help in that regard, but there's no shortage of folks here who have learned "the hard way" that may offer some great guidance.

One thing to keep in mind. Aluminum is generally very easy to machine, so the challenges are easily addressed. Of importance is that you understand how and why a proper tool cuts. Once you understand that, you can solve issues that may be a problem for you when you're trying to make parts. You can do it. Just don't assume that you don't have to know anything to be successful. That simply isn't the case. It takes considerable experience before you can make parts reliably. Making chips is easy. (Good) parts? Not so much.

H
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
pollys1dad
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Re: Polishing Aluminium

Post by pollys1dad »

Cheers for the advice, appreciated.
jcfx
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Re: Polishing Aluminium

Post by jcfx »

pollys1dad wrote: Wed May 31, 2023 5:31 am
Are there any books to read that would be helpful, YouTube channels to watch and learn?
YT content that I recommend -
For entry level machining -
mrpete222
He explains well, with good demo projects.

I tend to like -
Oxtool
Stefan Gotteswinter
Robrenz
Joe Pie
All four of them are very detail oriented, Oxtools' turning a short taper video's had my eyes
glazing over with the formulas to derive the angle of the a taper ( Pt 1 )
Gotteswinter's videos have some great workholding setups.

As to books there is always the Machinist Handbook, it's a rather deep dive, very comprehensive
I have another set of books that I really like but the name and author escapes me, they're at home
and I'll post the title / author when I get home, they seem to be an apprentices book from the 1920's.
pollys1dad
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Re: Polishing Aluminium

Post by pollys1dad »

jcfx,
If I do a search on Amazon UK for, the Machinist Handbook, quite a few results turn up is the book you mean, among them?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=the+Machin ... nb_sb_noss
Thanks.
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Charles T. McCullough
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Re: Polishing Aluminium

Post by Charles T. McCullough »

You need to be careful about which "Machinist Handbook" you might find. The cheap ones are NOT the ones you want. Lots of people have published books of that name, but they are near useless wads of paper. I wish I had a real one with the ISBN to tell you what to look for.
.
If someone on here has a true copy of the REAL thing, please list the ISBN on your copy. But, I don't know if all the various updated editions have the same ISBN, so include the year of publication, too.
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Bill Shields
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Re: Polishing Aluminium

Post by Bill Shields »

If you are in the UK, the book to which charlie is referring may be scarcer than it is here in conus.
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
chief
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Re: Polishing Aluminium

Post by chief »

I believe what most folks call the Machinist Handbook is actually the "Machinery's Handbook" , machinist just rolls off the tongue easier. Lol

You can find it on Amazon or any of the tool sellers carry it. But the current edition is usually quite expensive, Amazon wants over $90.00 for it, I think we are up to edition number 31 now.

But unless you are doing some cutting edge work with the newest techniques or materials, few of us need the newest volume. If you search around on eBay and used book sites you can get older editions much cheaper, I personally use a 25th addition.

Terry
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Charles T. McCullough
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Re: Polishing Aluminium

Post by Charles T. McCullough »

chief wrote: Thu Jun 01, 2023 9:08 am I believe what most folks call the Machinist Handbook is actually the "Machinery's Handbook" , machinist just rolls off the tongue easier. Lol

You can find it on Amazon or any of the tool sellers carry it. But the current edition is usually quite expensive, Amazon wants over $90.00 for it, I think we are up to edition number 31 now.

But unless you are doing some cutting edge work with the newest techniques or materials, few of us need the newest volume. If you search around on eBay and used book sites you can get older editions much cheaper, I personally use a 25th addition.

Terry
THAT'S WHY MY BRAIN WAS FLOPPING AROUND while I was writing my previous posting. "Machinery's Handbook", I knew I had it wrong, but the ol' brain box needs some restoration and refitting these days.
pollys1dad
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Re: Polishing Aluminium

Post by pollys1dad »

chief wrote: Thu Jun 01, 2023 9:08 am I believe what most folks call the Machinist Handbook is actually the "Machinery's Handbook" , machinist just rolls off the tongue easier. Lol

You can find it on Amazon or any of the tool sellers carry it. But the current edition is usually quite expensive, Amazon wants over $90.00 for it, I think we are up to edition number 31 now.

But unless you are doing some cutting edge work with the newest techniques or materials, few of us need the newest volume. If you search around on eBay and used book sites you can get older editions much cheaper, I personally use a 25th addition.

Terry
I spent quite awhile looking around, ( I enjoy shopping around for the best price, deal :) ), quite recent edition, best price was, Machinery's Handbook Hardcover – 1 Mar. 1984 Used - Good condition Erik Oberg 22nd edition £40.02 inc delivery.
pollys1dad
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Re: Polishing Aluminium

Post by pollys1dad »

Other people, thanks for the input.
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Bill Shields
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Re: Polishing Aluminium

Post by Bill Shields »

a book that I find useful is "The New American Machinist's Handbook"

mine was 'new' in 1955 and edited by Fred Colvin who did a lot of steam loco work.

I am still trying to figure out how to do some of the things shown therein....
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
jcfx
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Re: Polishing Aluminium

Post by jcfx »

Chief is right, it's-
MACHINERY'S HANDBOOK - A Reference Book for the Mechanical Engineer, Draftsman,Toolmaker and Machinist.

My 21st Edition doesn't have a ISBN number just a Library of Congress Catalog Number - 72-622276

I would check on eBay for copies, the content is pretty much the same in comparing my 5th ed. ( 1917) to my 21st ed.( 1980 )
a more recent like the 31st ed. would probably have CNC info but I don't know if they would leave out anything from older editions.
21st ed. is 2482 pages the 31st has 2996 pages
This is the publishing company - https://books.industrialpress.com/machinery-handbook/

The other book that I like that escaped my memory is -
MACHINE TOOL OPERATION Vol 1 & 2 by Henry Burghardt ( 1922 )
It's two Volumes, and as I said before it seems to be geared towards an apprentice.

Here's a link on eBay for both Volumes -Machine tool operation Vol 1 & 2

and here's a Google Books link to Vol 1 preview Vol 1 link
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