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#Post#: 94989--------------------------------------------------
Annealing Aluminium. A question.
DIR By: Rory
Date: December 10, 2014, 2:24 pm
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One of my dear children decided to use one of the poles from my
12x12 tent as a leaver to try and undo a seazed nut on his car
resulting in , after he tried to repair it, a crushed end.
I now have to try and open up the end of the tube again in order
to be able to use the tent. I have a socket of the right size to
force through the tube to open it up again but I was wondering
if it I heated up the end to anneal it would it still be stiff
enough to support the tent?
How does the metal regain its strength or stiffness after
annealing?
I have been reading about it on the Internet but, to be honest,
most of it goes above my head.
Thanks in advance.
#Post#: 94995--------------------------------------------------
Re: Annealing Aluminium. A question.
DIR By: nickjaxe
Date: December 10, 2014, 3:46 pm
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Think I would put this question in Technical Questions
section...one thing to watch....be careful will heat...alloy
melts without warning....dont get red like steel....just falls
apart.
#Post#: 94996--------------------------------------------------
Re: Annealing Aluminium. A question.
DIR By: Blackbox
Date: December 10, 2014, 3:53 pm
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Rub a bar of hand soap onto the area of the pole you are going
to heat.
When the soap goes black you are as hot as you can go without
melting the aluminium.
Let it cool at its own rate, don't plunge it into water.
Aluminium work hardens, so as you work the tube out to the right
size you will lose the "softening" effect of the annealing.
You may have to go through a couple of cycles of annealing,
working on the pole, annealing, working on the pole to get to
the finished size.
It will be stiff enough to hold up the tent afterwards.
As to how it does it, too technical for me!
#Post#: 94999--------------------------------------------------
Re: Annealing Aluminium. A question.
DIR By: Rory
Date: December 10, 2014, 4:08 pm
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Thank you Blackbox for a concise and very useful answer.
I know about the soap trick as I watched Mark Evans build his
100" on the box, several times.
I put this in Anoraks Corner as it's not really related to
landrovers but thanks for moving it to here.
#Post#: 95002--------------------------------------------------
Re: Annealing Aluminium. A question.
DIR By: Blackbox
Date: December 10, 2014, 4:22 pm
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You're welcome.
You can also get a temperature indication with permanent marker
pens, same way as the soap or if you coat soot onto the work
piece.
I just happen to prefer using soap.
#Post#: 95004--------------------------------------------------
Re: Annealing Aluminium. A question.
DIR By: espacekiller
Date: December 10, 2014, 4:58 pm
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I have been told using a paint stripper gun helps reduce the
risk of burning a hole, not done it myself but it makes sense.
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