Re: [ATM] Cutting thread in aluminium

[Dale Eason <atmpob@yahoo.com>]

It depends on the kind of aluminum.  Some are very
sticky others machine easily.  I use cutting and
taping fluid for hand work.  For machine work at
higher speed you need to use special fluids made just
for aluminum.\

You have to be gental with the tap on aluminum and
turn it only 1/4 to 1/8 of a turn before you back it
out to break the thread chip you just made.  If you
push it too far it will jam.  When you feal it
starting to jam you should back out immediatly.  Don't
try to go forward anymore until you can back out
easily.  You may find it hard to back out.  Then you
will have to work gently backwards to get past the
problem.


I you search you can find charts of aluminum types and
their machinability.  

Dale Eason

--- Göran Hosinsky <hosinsky@ya.com> wrote:
> Is there any special trick to cutting threads in
> aluminium?
> I was cutting a M5 thread by hand in a 15 mm thick
> piece of
> aluminium, unknown type, when the tap (tap no 1 in a
> three
> tap set) sized up and broke. I was pouring alcohol
> over the
> cutting.
> 
> At my second try, with a new tap, I managed to back
> out again
> when it began to stick. I then drilled up the hole
> to a bigger
> diameter and found to my surprise, that the drill
> had difficulties
> to go through the threaded part of the hole, it was
> like the
> aluminium had been hardened at that point.
> 
> Any advice would be welcome as I have quite a few
> holes that
> I want to put thread in.
> 
> Goran, La Palma
> _______________________________________________
> ATM mailing list http://www.atmlist.net/
> 

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