Aluminum?: 2011 or 6061

[cheese1566]

Do I want aluminum 6061 or 2011 for general lathe tinkering shop stuff?

Going to order some stock supplies from onlinemetals.com for my lathe.
I was looking at their aluminum metal packs.

Confused on what to get...6061 T6 or extruded 2011 T3.

I am still learning and tinkering with the lathe. My first projects will be gas check makers and some small die parts for fun. I already have an assortment of tool steel for this.

The aluminum will be used for powder bushings, ,small parts, and prototyping some primer tube adapters for the older Hornady ProJectors.

"Round Aluminum Bare Metal Pack 6061 T6
Each item in the pack is cut 3 feet in length. The pack contains the following sizes:
1/4", 5/16", 3/8", 1/2", 5/8", 3/4", 1", 1-1/4", 1-1/2" This pack is $73.

Extruded Round Aluminum Metal Pack 2011 T3
2011 is the most machinable aluminum. See for yourself! All items come 3 feet in length. Sizes in this pack:
1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 5/8", 3/4", 7/8", 1" This pack is $60"

I am leaning towards the 6061 pack.....

"2011 Aluminum
2011 is the most machinable of the commonly available aluminum alloys. Machining this alloy can produce excellent surface finishes on your product, and small, broken chips.
Weldability, strength, and anodizing response are all rated as average at best, and this alloy does not have a high degree of corrosion resistance.
If the ability to make your part quickly is important to you, and strength is not the primary desire, 2011 represents a good choice if you're using aluminum.

6061 Aluminum
6061 Aluminum is, by most any measure, the most commonly used aluminum alloy. It is specified in most any application due to its strength, heat treatability, comparatively easy machining, and weldability. If that were not enough, it is also capable of being anodized, adding a layer of protection for finished parts.
The main alloy ingredients of 6061 aluminum are magnesium and silicon."

[dragonrider]

I would go with the 6061, I have used a lot of it over the years have always been happy with the result. I will say that I have not used a lot of 2011, some, but not enough to form a conclusion of it's use and workability.

[theperfessor]

Haven't used much 2011, but it sounds like its a free machining grade that is designed to make small, broken chips so it can be used on automated and relatively unattended machines. You don't want stringy, tangled chips stuck in your chip conveyor. I know 6061 will make stringy chips but a hobbyist can easily deal with that. Shouldn't have any problems getting good surface finish with 6061. Only machining problem I've ever had with 6061 is what's known as BUE, (built up edge) where the chip welds itself to the tool face and actually does the cutting, leaving a rough surface. I use a cutting fluid designed for aluminum and pay attention to feeds, speeds, and tool geometry.

I'm sure you'll have fun whichever you choose, cutting aluminum is a hoot!

[W.R.Buchanan]

2011 is basically cheese. it is used on boats alot and is very soft and gummy , it welds nice ,but it machines poorly. It is not to be confused with 2024 which machines well, but can't be welded due to silicon component.

You want 6061 for 99.9% of what you do with aluminum. The T numbers after 6061 IE 6061-T6 designate the heat treat of the metal. You will rarely ever see anything other than 6061 T6 or T651, as they are the most (99.99%) common. Avoid T4 as that is dead soft and machines like the 2011 I described above.

BUT !!!! you don't need to buy and assortment of anything as you will probably never use lots of the oddball sizes, and for $73 you're not going to get much of any one size.

McMaster-Carr sells small quantities of virtually all types of metals. I just bought a 6' long stick of 5/16 303 SS for $11 shipped to me for a job I had that didn't require alot of stock. I could not have bought this piece of metal from any metal distributor In the Western US for less or even close to $11!

Point being If you just want to tinker buy a few 3' sections of 1/2, 3/4 and maybe 1" 6061 from MC you'll end up with enough to get started for not much money, it will ship out of Chicago to you in SD and you'll have it in 2 days.

This outfit is one of the most useful resources available. They literally have everything known to man, and everything is priced competitively.

You can also buy virtually any cutting tool you will ever need from them.

I say this with considerable experience Mc Master Carr is one of if not the best ran company in this country. IN nearly 30 years of dealing with them they have failed to ship an item to my door by the next day exactly 2 times. They have warehouses that are literally the size of small towns.

I fyou buy stock for a specific job always get a little extra, that way you will build up some stock to be used when you just need a little piece. Buying a bunch of material to just to have on hand and sit and collect dust will not help you in the slightest.

I want to make another suggestion here.

You said you jsut want to tinker? This is fine but you will find that if you only want to tinker you won't tinker that much. Any small setback will stop your tinkering and you will end on a bad note and probably not tinker as much in the future.

In would suggest that you take a machine shop course from your local Community College and then you can bring some of the work home with you to make on your machine.

You need to have a purpose for having the machine, and that would get you started.

I would also suggest that you break your tinkering down into specific jobs. A good job to start with is your powder bushings. Make a few and make them in sizes that you will actually use. They are not too hard to make and despite what some people think, starting out easy so you can get some success under your belt is the right way to go about learning a new skill.

Make a drawing of what you want to end up with and then go to your shop and make the bushings. That is a specific purpose and you will be successful.

By doing it this way you will actally have a purpose for having the lathe. If you go to the shop to tinker you will find that you won't do that much tinkering, and that is becasue tinkering is not really a job, and it has no intended goal. It's only result is to waste time.

I would also recommend that you cover your machines with a bed sheet, blanket or tarp or something to keep them clean when you are not using them. Most home shop machines suffer more from accumulated dirt from just sitting.

My room mate was given the nicest Atlas Lathe I have ever seen by his father. This machine has every peice of tooling that they made and it is all in virtually new condition. It is housed in my shop in a back corner and since I knew it was not going to get used hardly ever I insisted that as soon as it was cleaned up and covered with oil that it would be kept covered. It has been used exactly 3 times in the last 5 years and I used it 2 of the 3 times!

However it has been kept covered and it is clean and ready to use at all times.

Word to the wise. First pic is of my stock rack and some of those pieces have been there for 30 years, second is a pink blanket covering the Atlas Lathe, note box and plastic bag which have been there for 6 months..

Randy

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_182084f244949f2656.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=3632)http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_182084f2449605f14e.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=3633)

[yovinny]

FWIW, I dont usually buy from Fastenall, only as a last resort, because their prices are steep.
But if you have one nearbye, it bight be worth stopping in and seeing what they have available in alum stock.
Their doing away with their raw-stock racks and I was able to get a few nice pieces of 6061 alum rod stock at a great price.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Yovinny: I will second the Fastenal point about generally not buying from them. I used that outfit for nearly 2 years for my inhouse product hardware. IN that 2 years they never,,, not once , got an order right. They managed to screw it up every single time in some way or another. Finally when I got a bill for something that I had paid cash for, and they threatened to cut off my net 30 account if I didn't pay it. I told them to hose off.

I went directly across the street from them and got prices that were fully 1/2 of what I had been paying. I was flabbergasted that I had been being so severly taken advantage of.

They have some pieces of stock like All-thread but they don't carry aluminum round stock in common sizes and if they did you couldn't afford it.

Randy

[deltaenterprizes]

I get my metal from the local scrap yard. They usually have drops from local machine shops and the prices are right. You can also try some of the local shops to buy drops also, what you give them will be more than they will get from the scrap yard!

[drhall762]

6061 machines much nicer.

[JIMinPHX]

I use 6061 for everything aluminum, unless I have a specific reason to do otherwise on a particular part. I also have a lot of experience with 7075 & 2024. They are excellent materials, but they tend to be kind of pricey & not worth the cost for most of my applications. I have never cut 2011, so I can't comment on that one.

[Lefty SRH]

go with 6061-T6, its easy to machine.

[Reload3006]

6061 and 2011 are both pretty gummy to machine but they are weldable 7075 is the best machining but not weldable. 6 of one half dozen of another just keep oiled to prevent tool adhesion

[blikseme300]

2011 is basically cheese. it is used on boats alot and is very soft and gummy , it welds nice ,but it machines poorly. It is not to be confused with 2024 which machines well, but can't be welded due to silicon component.

You want 6061 for 99.9% of what you do with aluminum. The T numbers after 6061 IE 6061-T6 designate the heat treat of the metal. You will rarely ever see anything other than 6061 T6 or T651, as they are the most (99.99%) common. Avoid T4 as that is dead soft and machines like the 2011 I described above.

BUT !!!! you don't need to buy and assortment of anything as you will probably never use lots of the oddball sizes, and for $73 you're not going to get much of any one size.

McMaster-Carr sells small quantities of virtually all types of metals. I just bought a 6' long stick of 5/16 303 SS for $11 shipped to me for a job I had that didn't require alot of stock. I could not have bought this piece of metal from any metal distributor In the Western US for less or even close to $11!

Point being If you just want to tinker buy a few 3' sections of 1/2, 3/4 and maybe 1" 6061 from MC you'll end up with enough to get started for not much money, it will ship out of Chicago to you in SD and you'll have it in 2 days.

This outfit is one of the most useful resources available. They literally have everything known to man, and everything is priced competitively.

You can also buy virtually any cutting tool you will ever need from them.

I say this with considerable experience Mc Master Carr is one of if not the best ran company in this country. IN nearly 30 years of dealing with them they have failed to ship an item to my door by the next day exactly 2 times. They have warehouses that are literally the size of small towns.

I fyou buy stock for a specific job always get a little extra, that way you will build up some stock to be used when you just need a little piece. Buying a bunch of material to just to have on hand and sit and collect dust will not help you in the slightest.

I want to make another suggestion here.

You said you jsut want to tinker? This is fine but you will find that if you only want to tinker you won't tinker that much. Any small setback will stop your tinkering and you will end on a bad note and probably not tinker as much in the future.

In would suggest that you take a machine shop course from your local Community College and then you can bring some of the work home with you to make on your machine.

You need to have a purpose for having the machine, and that would get you started.

I would also suggest that you break your tinkering down into specific jobs. A good job to start with is your powder bushings. Make a few and make them in sizes that you will actually use. They are not too hard to make and despite what some people think, starting out easy so you can get some success under your belt is the right way to go about learning a new skill.

Make a drawing of what you want to end up with and then go to your shop and make the bushings. That is a specific purpose and you will be successful.

By doing it this way you will actally have a purpose for having the lathe. If you go to the shop to tinker you will find that you won't do that much tinkering, and that is becasue tinkering is not really a job, and it has no intended goal. It's only result is to waste time.

I would also recommend that you cover your machines with a bed sheet, blanket or tarp or something to keep them clean when you are not using them. Most home shop machines suffer more from accumulated dirt from just sitting.

My room mate was given the nicest Atlas Lathe I have ever seen by his father. This machine has every peice of tooling that they made and it is all in virtually new condition. It is housed in my shop in a back corner and since I knew it was not going to get used hardly ever I insisted that as soon as it was cleaned up and covered with oil that it would be kept covered. It has been used exactly 3 times in the last 5 years and I used it 2 of the 3 times!

However it has been kept covered and it is clean and ready to use at all times.

Word to the wise. First pic is of my stock rack and some of those pieces have been there for 30 years, second is a pink blanket covering the Atlas Lathe, note box and plastic bag which have been there for 6 months..

Randy

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_182084f244949f2656.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=3632)http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_182084f2449605f14e.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=3633)

+1

I would recommend getting material from McMaster as well. I get my aluminum from them, typically 6061, as they are economical.

They also do good steel for other projects. I use their W-1 and O-1 steel alloys for much of my reloading tooling.

Hope this helps.

Bliksem

[dnotarianni]

6061-T6 for just about everything. Easy to machine and weld if needed. 7075 is great stuff too with small chips and no gumming of toolbits. If you got plans for something, instead of a hobby pack check e-bay. Have bought lots of material there instead of going to my local supplier if I need small chunks instead of 20' lenghts.

Dave

[Blacksmith]

It won't help many of you but anyone in the Mid Atlantic area should check out Joseph Fazzio, Inc. and their subsidary Steel and Metal Liquidators. They have locations in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania and have tons of metals in stock. It is mostly old stock and leftovers from manufacturers and other companies. They have lots of surplus machinery, equipment, hardware and tools also. They say they ship and small orders are OK but I have only dealt with them as a walk in customer.

Here is a link:
http://www.shopjfi.com/steelliq

This is what they say about themselves.
Joseph Fazzio, Inc. is a supplier on a 23 acre site, offering a massive 26,000 ton inventory of INEXPENSIVE steel, metals and industrial items - ready to ship! Our structural steel product line includes beams, road plates, flat sheets, plates, expanded & grating material, pipe, square & round tubing, bars and metal roofing. Most items are available in galvanized, carbon steel, stainless and aluminum as well. Our industrial hardware line includes shackles, cable, chain, wheels, etc. Walk-in customers and pick-up orders are welcomed and encouraged. Stop in and look around!

SERVICES include saw cutting, shearing, punching, bend form, computerized flame and plasma cutting. Our newest services are 'shot steel blasting', in which steel is cleaned at a high rate of speed and a painting system to prime materials. Delivery and shipping are available to your location. Small orders are no problem.

[quasi]

isn't 2011 the material Lee uses for their moulds and 2024 what Mountain Molds, N.O.E. .... use for their molds?

[bumpo628]

+1 for McMaster Carr
A month ago I bought some steel rods at 10am and they delivered them around 2pm - the same day!

[uscra112]

Another thumbs down for Fastenal. Expensive, and they can't get an order right to save their hides.

BIG thumbs up for McMaster. I have once or twice ordered something at ten PM and got it the next day anyway! And if they ain't got it, you don't need it. Only for cutting tools do I go to Enco or MSC.

And as you might expect, there's metal dealers that sell small surplus chunks (called drops") of various metals in evilBay. One is out on the West Coast near the Boeing plant, and you can often get chunks of 7075 from them.

2011 is a free machining aluminum, from all the source data online. Not gummy like the 3000 series alloys that are used for cheap extrusions. Your choice. I've never had 2011, but 2024 machines like brass. Easy to polish to a high shine, too.