Half-round alum, ovals -- buy or make?

Awl --
Where to buy? Not a standard alum item, according to my catalogs.
http://www.snappymaterials.com/aluminum-rb.php may have it, but I won't know until Mon. Some other places have it, but hobby-type stuff and hobby-priced.
It seems straightforward to make (not perfect halfs from a saw, but good enough), but mebbe still a pita, so just buying it, if I could get it somewhere near regular per-pound bar price, would be a help. I'm sort of surprised this is not a mill item -- iirc, it is a standard HR or CR steel item.
Has anyone made this? Any tips for doing it efficiently? I think at least two fixturings would be required -- after ripping the round bar on a RAS.
1" diam, or thereabouts.

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Half-rounds are an architectural trim item, made out of low-strength, corrosion-resistant extrusion grades. Is that what you want? You should find it on one of the sites that offers commodity-type extrusions. I haven't looked for one for a decade or so, so I can't help you there.
If you need 6061 or something stronger, this isn't going to do it.

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Yeah, it's not a high-strength application. As long as it's drill/tap-able, machinable. Blum is an established architectural supplier, but as soon as I see the word "architectural", all I see is $$$.
Almag, or Almaq in Canada does extrusions, mebbe I'll start with them, see if they have anything stock. I did think this would be easier to find, tho.
Come to think of it, I could even use plastic, altho I would prefer alum.

On Sat, 3 Jul 2010 11:41:31 -0400, "Existential Angst"
How many? If not too large a number mill them directly from round bar & slit them off to finished size. With a little creative approach you could probably make half a dozen in each setup.

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I will no doubt make them in the beginning, altho I'm not looking forward to it. It's not like holding plain ole bar.... :( And with my luck, the RAS will kick back the round bar right in my very expensive teefuses....

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I think there are two answers to coming up with this in the short run. Milling obviously. You could clamp in two or three places, mill, and then move clamps. Or... setup a roller clamp in front and behind a vertical bandsaw and feed. I think I recall you said it didn't have to be perfect. That should get you pretty close, and if you can sacrifice the kerf of the blade get you twice as much useable material.

Existential Angst wrote:
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Why not make a simple single cavity mold and mold them?
Best, Steve

On Sat, 3 Jul 2010 11:41:31 -0400, the renowned "Existential Angst"
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You could have a plastic or aluminum extrusion die made, probably make sense if you need hundreds of lbs of aluminum or a couple hundred lbs of plastic.
Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

Existential Angst wrote:
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There's a place called The Iron Shop in Broomall (Philadelphia), PA that makes spiral staircases, and probably uses what you're looking for. They also do other architectural metalwork, and even some contract welding and fab. Might sell you what you need, or could certainly tell you where to find it.
(610) 544-7100. Guy named Brian runs the weld shop, and might be better than trying to ask through the sales dept or front desk.
HTH.
KG

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Have you checked 80/20? http://www.8020.net/Catalog-Intro.asp