Aluminum Type

[yeomansjon]

Quick Question... What type of Aluminum does everyone use for metal wall art? I do 99% 11ga steel but want to start playing with aluminum. My steel supplier has 50 different types of Aluminum alloys. Is there a particular alloy that is better than others for plasma cutting and displaying on the wall?

[weldor2005]

Not good for welding, but just for a wall art go with an 1100 series as it is basically pure aluminum and will cost less.

[Garysbiz]

I cut a lot of 3003 .090, it's a little more spendy but TIGS nice

[yeomansjon]

Thanks guys, that's a big help! I have requested a quote for a sheet of both from the steel yarde i buy from so we'll see what they come back with. At the moment I do not have a tig so it will be just for cutting and mounting on the wall. I am in search of a syncrowave 300 to get into tig welding so the search is on.

I was also going to start cutting stainless. I was going to order a polished finish stainless but the guy at the steel yard said that plasma cutting a mirror or polished finish stainless will 'blue' the edges or discolor it at least. He said any decorative cutting of stainless is done with a waterjet. Has anyone run into this before? I think I will get a piece of stainless and cut it to see what happens and then polish it myself. I think the steel guy was ultimately trying to sell me on buying his waterjet services...

[weldor2005]

Yes, you will get the discoloration on the edge, which can be easily removed by pickling or sanding. Seems most I see are cut then polished/brushed.

[Gamelord]

I cut stainless all the time. It does discolor and turns the edges black but you can clean it up pretty easily. Sandblasting takes the discoloring off and then you can polish or brush the finish back on. Here are some pictures of my last buggy I built. it is all 100% T304 Stainless steel. Brushed finish. The front fork and rear axle plates are 3/16" plate. The foot peg plates are 1/8" thick. I have also done polished stainless as well. If you want to see a pic let me know.

[yeomansjon]

Thank you all, that's a big help! I will see what I can get from the steel yard and start playing around with it.