WTF is it!?

Just got back from the scrapyard, picked up 68lbs. of aluminum and some angle iron for $50. At least I was told it was aluminum. Looked much too heavy and on attempting to cut it up, it sure as hell ain't... can't cut jack with a hacksaw blade, but it's nonmagnetic. It has edges showing a nice gray break (like aluminum or hardened steel, although hardened steel is usually much finer than this).

The shape is some sort of grate, 1/4" bars spaced about 5" with rings (cored holes) at each intersection, and a uniform height of about 1 1/4". It's almost nonmagnetic.

What the heck is it!?

Tim

-- "I've got more trophies than Wayne Gretsky and the Pope combined!" - Homer Simpson Website @

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Reply to
Tim Williams
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Reply to
Machineman

Titanium sounds reasonable.

Nice description, by the way - you covered all the bases. Except maybe for a spark test, which might be worth a try.

John Martin

Reply to
JMartin957

I think it's too heavy though...

Thanks... --- Mmmmm, good point... forgot that!

*Checks*

Nothing. Lots of pressure produces a thin, short orange trail right off the disc, probably only incandescence of the grinding dust.

Is this turning into a gloat..? :)

Tim

-- "I've got more trophies than Wayne Gretsky and the Pope combined!" - Homer Simpson Website @

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Reply to
Tim Williams

No, feels like steel in weight.

Tim

-- "I've got more trophies than Wayne Gretsky and the Pope combined!" - Homer Simpson Website @

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Reply to
Tim Williams

Measure a bit accurately. Determine the volume, and weigh. What's the density?

Reply to
Ian Stirling

Correction, it's 7/16" at the thickest and 1 1/2" tall. It is very slightly magnetic... a Nd magnet barely clings. I'll try heating it up and seeing what happens in the forge later.

This isn't some superalloy-ish stuff is it?

Tim

-- "I've got more trophies than Wayne Gretsky and the Pope combined!" - Homer Simpson Website @

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Reply to
Tim Williams

"Tim Williams" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

Could be cast stainless

Reply to
Anthony

Cast stainless steel or cupro-nickel (Monel)?

Ned Simmons

Reply to
Ned Simmons

I don't know of any stainless this hard (the edges look fractured as hardened metal does, but with a little bending throughout the scrap due to junkyard forces so it's not dead hard). Forges like the Gates of Hell, I got it yellow hot and it didn't budge under my hammer. After the ordeal it looked exactly like it went in...

I don't know about monel or other similar stuff, but I'm increasingly getting the impression it was at least melted in an induction furnace, probably under argon or vacuum.

Tim

-- "I've got more trophies than Wayne Gretsky and the Pope combined!" - Homer Simpson Website @

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Reply to
Tim Williams

Could be various things, but most likely stainless steel. Could be a nickle alloy, monel, inconel, Renee.

You could also use a automatic center punch on it and other things to get relative hardness. That and specific gravity would really narrow things down.

Dan

Reply to
Dan Caster

Could be from outer-space.

Reply to
Arne

Its not titanium. I bet its CRS. Charlie

Reply to
Charlie

Is this what hit the house in New Zealand?

Reply to
Shawn

It is beginning to sound like aluminum bronze. I have a big sheet of it out of scrapped equipment. Way heavier than aluminum, but not quite as heavy as steel, i think. It has a white, granular appearance when broken. Thtanium is supposed to screech horribly when cut, this aluminum bronze is TOUGH stuff, but it cuts without much noise, and doesn't destroy the cutters, although it wears them some. Any bronze is very tough stuff.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson

Yeesh! If there's any possibility it IS titanium, you sure don't want to set it on fire!

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson

Could be, but I think this has a little too much elongation to be many cast alloys, although I could be wrong... I mean, the pieces are squashed a bit, probably from being ran over by a bulldozer or something. Most cast alloys are hard out of the mold, so have very little ductility. Parts of these are bent like 30 degrees over a... 2" radius? I still don't think it's something with 1-2% elongation like a zamak or Al bronze alloy is (I'm familiar with ZA). Also, how is Al bronze's hot strength? Poor like most bronzes? It was almost as strong as at room temperature, at 1800°F. Not sure about Al bronze but most would melt by then.

Oh, and the piece I tested in the forge had a hacksaw mark on it... after all that heat, the color is only slightly straw, like steel tempered at maybe 350-450°F. It's a straight white metal too, no yellow at all (or swirl as I've heard Al bronze can do).

Tim

-- "I've got more trophies than Wayne Gretsky and the Pope combined!" - Homer Simpson Website @

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Reply to
Tim Williams

Not welded. Cast. Rather hard to get loose sand in the corners (I guess they didn't ram it very tightly) when welding CRS. :^) Plus most CRS is magnetic. :)

Tim

-- "I've got more trophies than Wayne Gretsky and the Pope combined!" - Homer Simpson Website @

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Reply to
Tim Williams

Hmm, maybe a spaceship burnt up and that junkyard is hiding some more stuff the Pentagon would like their hands on... intriguing...

Tim

-- "I've got more trophies than Wayne Gretsky and the Pope combined!" - Homer Simpson Website @

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Reply to
Tim Williams

OK, that certainly rules out the cast sheet aluminum bronze I have here. No way could it be bent like that.

Could it be Chrome Moly steel? That is pretty ductile, but I think it would show more conventional sparking on the grinder. Whew, quite a puzzle. There are ways to test Titanium with chemicals, as it is one of the most acid-proof metals around. Or, you can make a long thin chip or cut a sliver with a knife and try to light it with a torch. If you get a white flame that consumes the sliver, that would strongly suggest it IS titanium.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson

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