Projects to do with Aluminum stock?
So I got a micro mill (hitorque 4700 from littlemachineshop) and for practice I bought a chunk of 6061 aluminum. Now of course it barely fits in my mill with it's limited Z axis, and I don't believe milling it in half would be a good idea as it's a 4x6x17 bar. So after some searching on reddit, it seems I can use a carbide tipped blade in my mitre saw to cut it. (unless anyone has better ideas for me)
My thoughts were for starters to make some 1-2-3 blocks (without the holes for now at least) as practice. Then play with my rotary table (when it gets here).
In general, I bought it to turn it into chips.
I'm just looking for projects I can make with it to help me learn what I'm doing (and figure out what I don't know so I can learn that too).
Thanks.
Re: Projects to do with Aluminum stock?
Yes you can cut it with your saw (not a hand held one though). Just make sure you let it spin up to speed before cutting. Hardware stores sell circular saw blades for cutting. aluminium ...
But a 6x4" band saw is a very good addition to your mill....
Re: Projects to do with Aluminum stock?
I'd hold off on the 123 blocks until I'd had more experience and everything was dialed in. Since they're a measurement tool, they really need to be pretty close to perfect to do you any good. But a hold-down kit could be useful even if it's not too precise. Start with the staircase blocks, then make yourself some strap clamps. They'll come in handy for projects that are too big to fit in your vise.