One Giant Aluminum Yard

[univurshul]

Today I stopped by the largest aluminum surplus yard I've ever seen. A tip from a distributor led me to Alreco in Denver, CO.

Imagine a facility the size of Home Depot, but 99% of the product sold out of here is only aluminum stock & scrap.

Like a kid in a candy store, I bought 40 lbs worth to start my next builds. The crew are a bunch of good ol' boys, experts at all things aluminum. Really helpful, friendly to lend advice about cutting/ripping/polishing.

[rob]

O_O Wowzers! What are their prices like compared to, say, Speedy Metals or Online Metal Store? I'm probably going to be looking for 1/4" 6061 aluminum plate, anywhere from 12"x12" to 24"x24"...

--Rob

[univurshul]

Alreco: 303-787-7210. Not sure if they ship.

The main scrap was weighed in at about $3.50/lb. Their hinges, 1/16" gauged materials, and perforated metals were measured or priced individually. Most of what they have is 1/8" or greater in thickness. Nice structural parts.

Check out my trigger handles nearing completion:

IMG_0009.jpg (72.63 KiB) Viewed 1342 times

It's an old-school yard. They mainly keep inventory of the new stock. The remnants are "drive up, weigh-in, load up". They cut to spec too.

Sourcing from pure aluminum yards has me convinced that custom fabrication of parts on these scanners lending to an improved, more personalized machine. (You really need to hold the metal in hand and visualize with the element of aluminum before you start drafting, I believe.) I had this idea 1/8" plate was ideal until I applied force to 3/32" plate. Bought the 3/32".

[rob]

WOW! That's a great price, roughly half of the best 6061 plate I could find online! Do their prices vary by alloy? Uh... say, how often do you think you might get up there, wink wink

BTW, I'm drooling over those huge cylinders in the first pic. Not that I have any practical use for them, but still, they are just awesome to behold. And your triggers look very fancy, although I think they'll leave lines in your hand

I love Alreco's website... "We exist!"

--Rob

[univurshul]

I'm heading back down in about a week. I'm unsure about alloys or how aluminum in general is composed; I'm assuming the yard is all pure aluminum with exception to a few anodized pieces. I can ship you a 1/4" plate in that size, but it's gonna be heavy, Rob. Have you picked up a 1/4" plate 24" x 24"? --It's not what you might think.

If your certain, then disregard my stupid note of caution. 1/4" it is.

I might dip the triggers in PlastiDip or coat with clear acrylic. But I think the oil from your hands primes the metal over time.

The guys told me when you cut aluminum on a table saw or chop saw, use the 60+ teeth carbide blades, and lubricate the metal with one of the following: Diesel, WD-40, or my method: water and mineral oil (baby oil).

Diesel makes me nauseous; can't get the smell out of your clothes..

[rob]

Well, I don't need it immediately, so I'll wait on that

[univurshul]

FYI, never knew this:

Aluminum can now be produced from clay, but the process is not economically feasible at present. Aluminum is the most abundant metal to be found in the earth's crust (8.1%), but is never found free in nature.

http://periodic.lanl.gov/elements/13.html