Aluminum practice material?
 

My bossing mallets are due to arrive in a couple of days, so I need to find some material to start practicing.

I've decided to try my hand with aluminum for my eventual motorcycle sidecar project.

That leaves me with the question of what exactly I should get. What alloy? What thickness?

Is that stuff sold pre-annealed, or should I figure on doing that too?

We have a few wholesale metal supply places in town here. Is this the sort of thing I would expect to buy locally, or am I going to have to have it brought in?

Thanks again for any recommendations, and in particular, thank you for indulging my beginner questions!

3003 .050 half hard (H14)
Look for half sheets or "drop" remnants.
Learn to anneal with an O/A torch or a Western air/propain weedburner.

Perfect! Thanks, Kent!

I'd suggest .063 3003 H14. I find the .063 a bit more forgiving of ill placed hammer blows and overstretching.

As long as you wheel or planish it to relax the metal when it begins to get 'tight', you can work 3003 H14 until it becomes tissue thin.

I've never had to anneal anything on the roadster. On Monique, everything was done cold except her face and ears.


http://www.allmetalshaping.com/attac...0&d=1383427904

I've been using 0.063" 3003 aluminum for my first project and I really like it. To anneal I cover the part in a grid of Sharpie™ lines and the heat it with my big propane torch until the lines disappear. (The kind of torch that connects to a 20 lb. propane tank, the burner is about 1-1/2" across.)

I'm reproducing some fenders for a friend who is restoring a 1951 Indian Scooter.

https://instagram.com/p/BmoorJxhB1U/

https://instagram.com/p/BmuNA2bB6N8/