stress relieving aluminum.....

Front grill on my car...is composed of 5 horizontal bars of 1/8 thick and 1" wide aluminum, with a divider up the middle, and the bottom is welded angle...

this was made long time ago, custom for my '72.....so about 3 years ago it got hit and bent up bad....the repairs are a quoted 'bitch' because Johnny can't get the TIG torch head in there, to tight a spot, as the slats are 3/4 inch apart....

so some of the bars are bent because they got stressed during the repairs...

so the question is....suppose I clamp/force them straight, and heat with a torch till they all pretty hot, keeping both sides under similar setup and temps....will that stress relieve the metal enough ???

or is it a joke>>>>>

I know this is difficult to imagine over the internet...but the other less desirable solution is to put more vertical bars in there for support, but they will look rong....

:beer:

Take off the grill, cut out the bent stuff, weld in new stuff. THAT is the easiest way.

big2bird said:

Take off the grill, cut out the bent stuff, weld in new stuff. THAT is the easiest way.

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Yeh, but that's the situation, is it's not really bent, it's under tension because the repair effort was done quicker on account of time, back when....

same guy who made it for me years ago.....he says to cut it and buy all new aluminum,.....

it's just trying to get away from all that as being too much like work....

:smash:

Shoot Jason Lowe at DC an email. He's a ME working at an airplane factory and may be able to help. But I think Bird's correct and aluminum is pretty cheap.

Tim, Gene can't go to DC anymore, he was part of the group that was banned a while back for not playing well with others.:lol:

Aluminum can be annealed by heating to about 750-800°F hold for 2-3 hrs depending on size and cool @ 50°F/Hr until 500°F.

It's probably easier to start with new strip stock.

put dishwashing liquid on the alu and hit it with the torch, wait for the dishwashing liquid to turn brown and then work on the aluminum

Twin_Turbo said:

put dishwashing liquid on the alu and hit it with the torch, wait for the dishwashing liquid to turn brown and then work on the aluminum

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That sounds like a neat trick.Whats the aprox temp when the liquid turns brown?

Roger, I'd say it's about 300-400°C , it's just an old trick. When you heat it it suddenly starts to bubble and turn brown. Another technique is to use a carburizing flame to soot the material and then heat it until the soot burns off. This is easier for panels, the dish washing liquid is more user friendly on a rod.

BBShark said:

Tim, Gene can't go to DC anymore, he was part of the group that was banned a while back for not playing well with others.:lol:

Aluminum can be annealed by heating to about 750-800°F hold for 2-3 hrs depending on size and cool @ 50°F/Hr until 500°F.

It's probably easier to start with new strip stock.

Click to expand...

Banned? how the bad times still haunt him, He most likely was trying to sell his ""VAC INDUCTION SUPERCHARGER""? Who wants to play with that toy!!!!!!

Cherry said:

BBShark said:

Tim, Gene can't go to DC anymore, he was part of the group that was banned a while back for not playing well with others.:lol:

Aluminum can be annealed by heating to about 750-800°F hold for 2-3 hrs depending on size and cool @ 50°F/Hr until 500°F.

It's probably easier to start with new strip stock.

Click to expand...

Banned? how the bad times still haunt him, He most likely was trying to sell his ""VAC INDUCTION SUPERCHARGER""? Who wants to play with that toy!!!!!!

Click to expand...

HEY, I remember some post from non other than TT over that technique....somewhat shocked, but knowing the A/F ratio had to be correct for combustion to take place, and smelling that tank, it smelled like SHIT not gasoline...I figgered to give it a shot, with the vac outside on the drive, and a LONG hose to the tank....

hey, I werked!!!!.....RNE at it's finest....

:quote::rofl:

Another trick to annealing the aluminum is to mark the metal to be worked with a Sharpie permanent marking pen. Heat the aluminum until the line is gone and the aluminum has been heated to the correct temp. An old body man taught me that trick and i have used it successfully. If you are working a large area, you will need to use a rosebud tip, keep the heat down, and keep the flame moving to anneal the large area. Be careful, you can easily overheat the aluminum doing this and end up with a puddle. Try it on a scrap piece first to gain confidence using the technique.