The Murphy Builders Site

Brian

Is this something you have seen done? How long did it take?

This thread has come up at a good time as I have been given an aluminum part
with a couple of screws twisted off in it and I have been contemplating the
right way to deal with it and eating the screws out with acid sounds too good
to be true.

Cheers,

Dave R
elite583.cjb.net

This came up on one of the newsgroups in the last month i've tried

Brian Lawson wrote:

Hey Scott, Ken et al,

Nitric acid will dissolve the hardened steel of the drill (or a tap)
without damage to the aluminum. Standard disclaimer, read and follow
the HAZmat and MHDS sheets, and try a test piece first.

The following is a recent quote of a current thread on a specifically
metalworkers group that I subscribe to. It is about a lubricant for
drilling and tapping Aluminum.

.........................................................................
......................................................

"I have been saying this for several years now, and will continue until
the entire world sees the light of day. The best cutting fluid for
aluminum, bar none, is industrial strength Citrus based solvent. I
don't care what brand. The one I use is made by ZEP, and is called Big
orange. The active ingredient is D-Limonene, and is extracted from
orange, lemon, lime, and grapefruit skins. It is the same stuff in
Fast orange hand cleaner , and all the citrus based cleaners. The
greater the percentage of active ingredient, the better. Big orange is
98% D-Limonene. Take Off ( a floor cleaning solvent) is 45%, and is
available from Asplund Cleaning Supply. Big Orange works better than
any industrial aluminum cutting fluid I have ever used, and smells
great. It is also extremely safe, biodegradeable, and water soluble.
The shit just works great. Try it , and you will not go back.

"I use it for tapping, cutting, drilling, sawing, milling, and turning.
Just keep some in a small pump spray bottle. Squirt a little on the
cutting edge as you cut." - Ernie Leimkuhler

Grant Erwin Kirkland, Washington
===
I have been looking for a Canadian source for this d-limonene. I found
one that offered the stuff in three quantities - 55gal drums, tank truck
and railroad tank car. This wasn't quite what I had in mind. I
eventually tracked down

http://www.tkoorange.com/

It sounded pretty good from the data on the web site but I couldn't find
the actual concentration of the d-limonene so I e-mailed them asking for
that info. Less than an hour later I had a reply.

"...Orange TKO is about 90 - 95% pure d'limonene. We use the technical
grade of d'limonene, so it is a much higher quality that the food grade
that some other products use (because food grade is cheaper). ..."

Aparently it has all the certs for use on food preparation equipment if
you want when not cutting aluminum. I got a hold of some and tried it
out this afternoon boring a ~2-3/4" hole in 6061-T6. Worked as good as
Ernie claims - better than the A-9 I have been using.

.........................................................................
.......................................
Take care. Good luck.

Brian Lawson,
Bothwell, Ontario.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

On Fri, 05 Dec 2003 08:03:15 -0500, you wrote:

I've got a wee can of Green aluminum cutting fluid/lubricant that I find

is essential for drilling/tapping thick aluminum. You'll want some
before proceeding.

Can drill from the back side? It will destroy the bit when they touch
but if you are lucky you will be able to then drive a 1/8" punch through

from the back. Gently warming it may help but I don't like to let it get

hot enough to boil water for fear of loosing the heat treating.

Good luck
Ken

Scott & Leere' Aldrich wrote:

and

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David A. Ricker
Fall River, Nova Scotia
Canada





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