How to Anneal (soften) Aluminum (with a blowtorch)
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- čas přidán 24. 11. 2019
- In this video Fox shows how to anneal aluminum with a Sharpie marker and a blowtorch.
(we also put up a table of temperatures and times for various aluminum alloys in case you have an annealing oven)
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#aluminum #anneal #soften - Zábava
Brilliant tip👍,most people that work with metal know how to soft carbon steels but aluminium is difficult for most beginners but your tip is brilliant ezy and cheap what more could we ask for thanks 😊
Thank you! 😊
Thank you. As a beginner, this is very helpful ❤
👍👍
Factoid: Aluminum was more valuable than gold in the mid 1800's.
A Brit, Allen Millyard, tipped me off to the "Sharpie" method. I've tried it and "was pleased with the results"!
Tomorrow morning, I'm annealing a crush washer for the oil drain plug on my motorcycle.
👍
Thank you sir
I like it. Very simple way. Thanks
Neat tip. Thank you for sharing.
Just what I needed thanks
Very helpful.
Exactly What I needed , the Sharpie acting as a heat indicator is Brilliant! Now the question I have is how can we stiffen it back up after manipulating it? Can you just do this and quench it? Of course I am gonna try that before I get an answer here but..... 4now Just subscribed and see you have a lot of content that is pertinent to my proclivities !
Thank you! 😊
Unfortunately hardening aluminum is a bit more complicated.
Most aluminum alloys will work-harden, so when you bend it, it does stiffen up some. But to give it a proper hardening, depending on the alloy, you need to put it in an oven for certain temperatures for several hours to 'age harden' it (precipitation hardening).
Some alloys will return to some of their original hardness in time on their own.
Thanks! 👍👍
Thank you thank you thank you!
😊
@@SculptyWorks finished the aluminum loop last night: very proud of myself Thanx again
Nice. I read before that aluminum annealing requires quenching. This process proves that incorrect!
You so clever
I think the candle and water quench method works better.
Thanks for the info .Now if after shaping how can I harden that again ? Thanks in advance .
Hardening aluminum is a bit complicated.
Most aluminum alloys will work-harden, so when you bend it, it does stiffen up some. But to give it a proper hardening, depending on the alloy, you need to put it in an oven for certain temperatures for several hours to 'age harden' it (precipitation hardening).
Some alloys will return to some of their original hardness in time on their own.
Thank you very much for the valuable information . @@SculptyWorks
How you get it back hard?
Hardening is a lot more complicated.
Work-hardening which happens when you bend it around a lot can do that, but usually isn't a good way when you're trying to harden a finished product. I think precipitation hardening is the most common method but it requires more specialized tools than a blowtorch and a Sharpie, where you heat it up to very specific temperatures for a very specific amount of time and then cool it down in a very specific way depending on the alloy. 😊
How long are you letting it cool before bending?
What if bending in different areas... do you just repeat the process in each area?
I never timed, just let it cool to where I can handle it.
Any parts that reach the annealing temperature will be soft, and since aluminum conducts heat pretty nicely, on a small piece expect the whole thing to be softened. If it's a long/large piece and you want to bend a spot far away then yes it would have to be annealed by itself too.
@@SculptyWorks thank you...
Do single /small bends require re-hardening after annealing just the areas you want to bend?
For reference, I need to place four (4) ~90 degree bends evenly spaced along a 3-foot x 2-inch, 1/8-inch thick piece of 6063 aluminum flat stock
@@alwayshustle5591 The spot that is bent will work-harden when you bend it, but the area around it might be soft, so if you can try to control how far you let it heat up. Re-hardening will require either work-hardening or specific amounts of heat for specific amounts of time which can be quite complex.
If you can, try bending a test piece of the material before going through the trouble of annealing it. Most bar and flat and round stock has some degree of ductility unless specifically ordered hardened from the mill. ...or if it was cast. Or extruded. ...test a piece and see if it bends or break. 😉
Complete newbie here but how would this work with aluminium from tin cans? Would a lower temperature be required due to being incredibly thin. Has anyone experimented with this?
The temperature itself is the same. The difference is that less massive objects (ie. incredibly thin) will reach that temperature, and then go over it, much faster when you're using something like a blowtorch. So you need to be very careful with how you heat it up.
@@SculptyWorks Thank you. :)
I'm an artist. I have 2'x 2' of 16 gauge (1/16") aluminum sheet that I want to punch hundreds of small holes in for a bas relief artwork. I was surprise that even with punches designed for metal sheet and a sledge hammer I could not easily make a hole. Just shallow dimples. Now I'm wondering if softening the sheet w my propane torch as you've demonstrated will make this job a breeze. Do I wait for metal to cool down before punching, or carefully (not to burn myself) punch while the aluminum is hot?
That's hard to say, I would experiment with it and see what results you get (and let me know here!).
The interesting thing about aluminum is that it's a very 'gunky' metal, and it can be really pliable but it can also be very brittle, depending on the alloy and the heat treatment.
I always use the drill when I have to put holes in aluminum, I never tried punching them.
As for working it hot or waiting for it to cool down, I think you would have to have it very near melting point for it to make a difference, at which point you might change the crystalline structure and make it crumbly. Aluminum can be a bit of a pain to work with. 😉
So basically once you anneal aluminum the integrity is lost. Even when it cools down and you work it you still are left with a much more pliable aluminum than when you started. Again that just ruins the rigidity of the aluminum which defeats the purpose of having a high grade aluminum such as 6061 or 7075 for strength purposes.
I’m not sure how that’s correct. If you need to shape aluminum 2-, 4-, or 7- series, you have to anneal it periodically. Otherwise it’s a useless piece of flat aluminum. You, as the one performing the work, are responsible for the final product. That’s just how it is.
Precipitation hardening of Aluminum is done by heating it and letting it cool slowly. Quenching softens it. Copper behaves in the same way. This video is inaccurate.
Precipitation hardening is a different and complex process that involves multiple heating and cooling and quenching steps, not at all the subject of this video.
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