Woodchipper
Member
How hard is it to turn soft aluminum on a lathe with turning tools?
Turning metal on a wood lathe?
- Thread starter Woodchipper
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Dieseldoc
Member
If you asking about alum thin in fills on blanks not a problem. Carbide cutter tools will work best, but not staying sharp for long.
leehljp
Member Liaison
I turn thin brass and aluminum spacers without a problem. I have turned 1 inch thick 4 inch long aluminum shaft on a wood lathe too.
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An occasional posted photo:
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www.penturners.org
Woodchipper
Member
Hank, that is what I was considering. What grade aluminum and what tool did you use?
jttheclockman
Member
Aluminum brass and copper are all easy to turn using carbide tools as well as HSS tools if sharp. I have shown many many examples of me using aluminum as spacers and dots in pens I make. I also have made a few full aluminum body pens such as the one I show here. I use 6061 aluminum. It is a very common grade aluminum.
carlmorrell
Member
I made this one a long time ago. Before carbide was a thing, so it must have been a HSS gouge followed by sandpaper
Woodchipper
Member
Thanks to all. Opens up more selections for sales.
Parawolf
Member
Ok really dumb question where can I get the brass and aluminum stock?
Thanks for your time..
Thanks for your time..
Woodchipper
Member
Amazon, MSC, to name a few.
Woodchipper
Member
Bringing this to the top. I got a three foot aluminum bar of 6061 T5 at Home Depot today.
howsitwork
Member
As long as your tools are sharp HSS works fine on aluminium . Then it's a matter of sanding until you are happy with either a brushed look or mirror finish.
Woodchipper
Member
Looked at a couple of YouTube videos who go into detail about turning aluminum. Confirms a lot of what is said here.
Darley
Member
Very nice what kind of kit is this one and where to get it from,
carlmorrell
Member
I bought that kit over 30 years ago. I think it was from Hut.
Darley
Member
Thank you