hobbyist in search

Dec 08, 2006 9 Replies

I am just a hobbyist looking to have a very simple piece machined. Its a tube about 5inx5inx5in with one side left closed. It would need to be in either copper or aluminum.



So far I got a quote from emachineshop.com for about $300. What I am wondering is if anyone can point me in the direction of potentially a small machine shop that would be able to do a single item run for less than emachineshop.com



Thanks.



Probably. But it would help a bunch if you tell us where you live.

Steve.

It would also help to know exactly what you want. I am envisioning an aluminum or copper cup five inches in diameter and five inches high. You don't say if this price is just for the machining or if this includes the material (the price on copper, well, if you have to ask, you can't afford it...). What are the tolerances? How thick are the walls? What kind of finish do you need (are machine marks acceptable or do they need to be polished out...)? Etc., etc., etc.

Jerry

Carving this out of a solid bar of stock is a time-consuming operation, not to mention turning a whole bunch of material into chips.

For proudction, deep drawing would be the way to go.

I wonder, for a one-off, if making this out of tube and welding a disc over one end would work? That could be a lot cheaper.

Jon

--Hmmm sound about the right size to hold something that's going to be shot into a "Little Boy" gun-type nuclear 'device'. Where didja say you're from??

henszey! Where are you? Give us a more detailed description of what you want. You've got guys speculating on how to build it and nobody knows what you have in mind.

awright

With no further description, this could be satisfied by copper-plating a coffee can. Or welded from aluminum tube, brazed in copper, or bent and soft-soldered from aluminum or copper sheet.

Standard plumbing items of this sort are available; see the NIBCO catalog

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There's a cast endcap for 5" copper pipe, weighs about 5.5 lbs... or a drawn copper endcap for 4" pipe, but that's probably undersized.

I guess that would be 5" OD, 5" long, and 5" ID? Send me a paypal for half the emachine price, and I'll e-mail you back the tube. ;-)

Get thee to a cookware store and buy a pan that is close.

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