Board logo

Ali Sheet specs
Markymark - 14/5/18 at 07:36 PM

Hi All

I am looking for some more ali sheet in 16 gauge to panel my gearbox tunnel.

I spoke to Steve at Fury Sports cars and he recommended 6082 grade but I can't seem to get that anywhere, and I am having trouble contacting him to see where he gets his from.

What grade would you recommend and do you know of any good suppliers?

Thanks as always in advance

Mark

leon51274 - 14/5/18 at 09:09 PM

I doubt he will get 6082 in 16g, if your looking for something a little harder then 5251 will do the job however this won't fold, if you need to be able to fold it then 1050 will be your best bet.

mcerd1 - 15/5/18 at 07:34 AM

quote:
Originally posted by leon51274
I doubt he will get 6082 in 16g, if your looking for something a little harder then 5251 will do the job however this won't fold, if you need to be able to fold it then 1050 will be your best bet.

5251 is quite popular for panelling too or possibly 5083
1050 A14 is nice and easy to form though


6082 is more typically available for extrusions

Stevie_P - 15/5/18 at 07:45 AM

Sorry to hijack the thread but where is best to get ali sheeting from?
I need to do some panel work on the MK.

Thanks All
Steve

nick205 - 15/5/18 at 07:54 AM

When building my MK Indy the alloy floor panel came with the kit from MK. The rest of the interior panelling I did with alloy sheet sourced from a local fabrication engineering company. As a bonus they had a guilotene on-site and were happy to cut the panel up into sizes that I needed and would fit in my estate tin top.


Stevie_p

Noticing you're quite near to me in Hampshire I'm happy to share the contact in Winchester with you. Drop me a U2U if you like.

[Edited on 15/5/18 by nick205]

[Edited on 15/5/18 by nick205]

hughpinder - 15/5/18 at 09:16 AM

I usually buy from my local stockholder for whole sheets, but I have used these guys:
www.metalsupermarkets.com/

Good guide on grade selection in link below, 1000 series easy to bend and work, 3000 series is what I believe used to be used for car bodywork, 5000/6000 series much harder to bend (about 1.8* tensile/yield strength of 1000/3000 series, half that of steel), 7000 is the one for flat floor panels etc - yield and tensile strength about 1.25 that of mild steel, but you can't bend it)

https://www.metalsupermarkets.com/7-things-consider-choosing-aluminum-grade/

Regards
Hugh

motorcycle_mayhem - 15/5/18 at 09:58 AM

Old man here, usually going into a stockholders and asking for NS4. The (usually old) man at the counter then supplies me with something that seems to work well. I've used this grade for everything.

leon51274 - 15/5/18 at 10:06 AM

quote:
Originally posted by motorcycle_mayhem
Old man here, usually going into a stockholders and asking for NS4. The (usually old) man at the counter then supplies me with something that seems to work well. I've used this grade for everything.







NS4 is the old standard 5251.

mcerd1 - 15/5/18 at 11:34 AM

I got mine from Aalco:
http://www.aalco.co.uk/service-centres/

these guys are good too: http://www.raaltd.com/

but for you it'll depend what stockholders are near you....

Markymark - 15/5/18 at 09:41 PM

Hi

Thanks for the replies, lots of good info there.

Mark

Theshed - 16/5/18 at 12:10 PM

For "hard to bend" read - takes more effort but also (and more importantly) it will crack along the bend unless you bend around a radius. This is much easier to achieve than you might think. In a bender you just use a "nest" of present strips to form a radius. Then bend the sheet you want. I have lots of bent hard grade bits in my wagon.

Harder grades tend to be stronger so you can use a thinner material which will save weight. Less likely to dent in use. However some stronger grades corrode more. You pays yr money etc...