Kimber Pro Carry II

[Timothy]

Thanks Peg...interesting stuff. 

My experience is mostly 3000, 5000 and 6000 series aluminum for their fabrication properties in sheets.  I've cut a lot of 6061 over the years but it's not something that can be traditionally formed without fracture.  Alloy 5052 is better suited to forming and cold working.

We worked a bit with 1100 at my last job and that stuff is so soft it need stress relief after every welding operation.

[PegLeg45]

Thanks Peg...interesting stuff. 

My experience is mostly 3000, 5000 and 6000 series aluminum for their fabrication properties in sheets.  I've cut a lot of 6061 over the years but it's not something that can be traditionally formed without fracture.  Alloy 5052 is better suited to forming and cold working.

We worked a bit with 1100 at my last job and that stuff is so soft it need stress relief after every welding operation.

The secret to bending the 6000 series stuff after heat treating is to reheat it to around 600 degrees before working it. Even after it cools down, it is still pretty malleable until it starts to age again.

[Timothy]

The secret to bending the 6000 series stuff after heat treating is to reheat it to around 600 degrees before working it. Even after it cools down, it is still pretty malleable until it starts to age again.

True but my customers didn't want to pay for it....

[tombogan03884]

My experience with Al. depends on what I was doing, in "machine shops" it's all pretty standard 6061 T6, in "sheet metal shops it was usually 5052, but one time they office screwed up and got 6061, it was interesting, you could watch the cracks forming as the bend angle increased    since it didn't quite break  (By a gnats hair ) they formed it cold, then ran a bead of   weld down the break line.
Funny thing, we got a new person to take care of ordering material not long after that.  
Peg,
Lexan is like that as well, form it cold it snaps, heat it and form it slow with overbend and when it cools you're OK.

One of our more educational thread drifts  

Funny part is that folks who don't work in our fields may find it fascinating . If they try to read up on it there's all kinds of technical terms that make it sound like witch craft, same as other industries.
I was watching "How it's made" one time with friends who did other things, the episode was on Weber grills, they were saying, "Oh, that's neat" Who came up with such tricky machinery" and so on.
I was thinking, "Wow, they use that antiquated stuff, That machine belongs in a museum !"    
I kept it to myself but they were looking at me odd for laughing  

You guys and Joe know what I mean   

[TAB]

My experience with Al. depends on what I was doing, in "machine shops" it's all pretty standard 6061 T6, in "sheet metal shops it was usually 5052, but one time they office screwed up and got 6061, it was interesting, you could watch the cracks forming as the bend angle increased    since it didn't quite break  (By a gnats hair ) they formed it cold, then ran a bead of   weld down the break line.
Funny thing, we got a new person to take care of ordering material not long after that.  
Peg,
Lexan is like that as well, form it cold it snaps, heat it and form it slow with overbend and when it cools you're OK.

One of our more educational thread drifts 

lexan is polycarb, it des not tend to snap.  now acrylic does snap( and it leaves sharp edges)   both require heat to bed.

[Sponsor]

[tombogan03884]

It may not "snap", but it lets a heck of a bang under 100 ton break tool when it goes at over 90 degrees bend angle  

[Timothy]

We formed some lexan years ago for a sorting hood sight window, we heated it a bit but we formed it into an octagon so no bends exceeded 45 degrees.  It worked pretty well for it's intended purpose.  Gotta be careful with poly though, catch it on fire and the fumes and gas are quite noxious.

[TAB]

It may not "snap", but it lets a heck of a bang under 100 ton break tool when it goes at over 90 degrees bend angle  

lexan( polycarb) is known for some bounce.  what ends up happening when you try to bend it cold is it strechs.  which in turn thins it out and heats it up so it can bend.  That is if done slowly and with less force the the break strenght of the stock.

[JoeG]

once the surface treatment has been penetrated, whether it's through wear on the finish or from getting dinged some how, you have plain old relatively soft aluminum,  

Actually if that happened, I would expect that the "soft spot would wear down to slightly below the surface level and then stop.

I used to work in the chemical industry and it always amazed me how well the metalurgists could tune properties to address a particular corrosion or wear problem. A little pixie dust and cooking and there ya go! Strength and hardness mean different things and are sometimes counter intuitive. I would trust a company's reputation and the service history of the firearm. I think you ar right though: I OWE it to the communuty to do some research on an Al frame Kimber.

Joe

[tombogan03884]

Actually if that happened, I would expect that the "soft spot would wear down to slightly below the surface level and then stop.

I used to work in the chemical industry and it always amazed me how well the metalurgists could tune properties to address a particular corrosion or wear problem. A little pixie dust and cooking and there ya go! Strength and hardness mean different things and are sometimes counter intuitive. I would trust a company's reputation and the service history of the firearm. I think you ar right though: I OWE it to the communuty to do some research on an Al frame Kimber.

Joe

Some times hardness decreases strength, I will never buy another knife made by Puma, they take and hold an excellent edge, but they do it by increasing blade hardness which causes the blade to become brittle like glass, I snapped the tip off my last one twisting it to bore a small hole in a piece of soft pine, the slightly softer steel of another brand would not have been phased by this.

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