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R> Am looking for the best prices on 6061-T6 and 2024-T3. I have checked the

Ron,

I'm a hobbist, here's a link for small or large qty. supplier:

R> Am looking for the best prices on 6061-T6 and 2024-T3. I have checked the

most aluminum sold for aircraft parts have to have certificates and testing done on them which raises the price considerably, if not making aircraft parts you should be able to find a local supplier for what you need very inexpensively

online metals and metal supermarket come to mind

Thanks guys... William Henry wouldn't 6061-t6 0r 2024-t3 be the same wherever they were bought or do some folks cheat on the specs? Or is there another reason to avoid non aircraft parts suppliers?

Sure a piece of material can meet specs, but having the documentation to support it makes a big difference in price. If you're not making a part that is required to have the material documentation then don't worry about it. Lane

Unfortunately, there is some cheating when it comes to material specs. I have heard of this being fairly common with unscrupulous fastener dealers where cheap import fasteners (bolts, nuts, etc.) are sold as high-grade/high-tensile strength fasteners. For aircraft, automobile, heavy machinery, etc., this can lead to disastrous--and fatal--mishaps, which is why certified and documented fasteners are required for these applications. I imagine that similar low-grade substitutions could occur with other materials like aluminum plate or bar.

That said, just because a supply of, say, 6061 aluminum is not certified/documented and is less expensive, that does NOT mean it is inferior stuff. It would be totally cost prohibitive to keep a certified paper trail on every piece of metal that rolls out of a foundry, even if it's 100% up to specification. I don't know the numbers, but I would guess that only a small percentage of all working metal produced is certified/documented to the end user.

In short, unless you are using this for a critical application (e.g., airplane, automobile suspension part, etc.), I wouldn't worry about it as long as you buy from a reputable metal dealer.

Regards, Michael

Two weeks ago the best prices I found ranged from $3.15 for 2024 and $3.75 for 6061-T65. 7075 was $4.15. (per pound) Steve

Sometimes requiring documentation can cause some problems you don't anticipate. Way back in the late sixties I was working for Boeing in Huntsville and had to figure out what to do with some slightly rusty light fixtures. Easy lighty wire brush and then spray with CRC 3-36. Getting certified CRC 3-36 ought to be easy as it was being used on the Polaris MIssile program. And sure enough no charge for getting some with chemical and physical analysis data sheets. However it did mean that one could not go down to Hopper Hardware and buy a couple of cans. No to get cans of the lot with the analysis, the order had to come straight from the factory, and there was a minimum order size. So instead of two cans, NASA got about 100 cases of 3-36. It took about two or three weeks for all of that stuff to walk off Redstone Arsenal.

Dan

If they don't / can't provide certs, its anybody's guess what kind of material it *really* is...YOU can let the insurance company's attorneys sort it out at YOUR expense should something terrible happen, I guess...

Where certs become *very important* is where peoples lives are at stake, as in aerospace work...and where 7075 is called for....substitution with 6061 is quite likely to cause failure of the component in service.....

That said, if the material is stamped with the manufacturer, heat lot and alloy (as is the usual case with 6061 extruded bar)... your probly fairly safe in assuming it is indeed 6061.....

===

FWIW :

I have odd bits of material in the shop where I have hand written the heat lot # upon them, and have certification records on file going back well over ten years......and this is called 'inventory'....

I also have other odd bits, these having no identification written upon them whatsoever....and this I call 'scrap metal'..

I'm not William, but what he has to say is correct. It's not so much one worrying about being cheated as it is about not having the proper documentation for material when it's required. Defense work, for example, normally demands full documentation (certification) of not only materials, but all processing involved, and must generally be provided by approved sources, those that are familiar with proper procedures and use approved and certified processes. In spite of the fact that the material is marked with proper certification, you must have the piece of paper that can be traced back to the source. In most instances, the material markings are long gone once the material has been turned into parts.

So far as machining goes, anyone that can't tell the difference between 2024 and 6061 needs to go back to the basics. You can't, and won't be fooled by the wrong material in those two instances, not if you're familiar with them in the least. They don't resemble one another in any way aside from both sharing a similar color. Machining characteristics are totally different.

In general, you're likely to find 6061 at most supply houses. 2024 may be somewhat harder to find, and likely more expensive as a result.

Harold