Identify aluminum plate

[jives]

I have in my possession a 20" x 22" x 1" aluminum slab that served as a base plate for a piezoelectric force plate. There are threaded holes, some with ground off studs. The edges are rough with what looks to be epoxy remnants. Weights about 50 lbs. I am looking to sell but before doing so would like to know what grade of aluminum it is. Is there any way to tell? (BTW, it is aluminum and not magnesium as it passed the "vinegar fizz" test.)

So, any way to tell its type or grade and determine a sale price?

 

[PCustoms]

Looks like a mic 6 plate...

Lookup scrap price for aluminum.

 

[whateg01]

No way to easily, positively identify the specific alloy. It's not likely to be anything special either, so I agree, scrap price.

 

[mike93lx]

There is no way to identify the alloy, at least not at a cost that would make any sense.

Scrap value, especially with the holes all over it

 

[whateg01]

Be sure when you list it, to call it aircraft grade aluminum!

 

[blazemaster83]

6061 or mic 6

 

[Beerhippie]

If it were in my shop, it would find its way into multiple projects--but my shop is a continent away.

I guess I don't understand why anyone would get rid of that. Too damned useful, low resale value, fair replacement value if you're buying new stock to do what that scrap could have done.

 

[Steve_P]

Tooling plates are typically MIC-6 as said. There are easy ways to identify the alloy, but you would already know about that if you had access to one and it just takes a few seconds. PMI:

Positive material identification - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[jives]

It was no longer needed in our labs as we upgraded equipment. Some things we are permitted to take home or toss, some we give back to the college to use or sell as surplus. Our call. I thought I would be able to use it, but it is too soft to bang on, don't need it for a welding surface. Any other ideas?

 

[Old Man Roger]

It will thaw a steak pretty damn quick.lol

Don't scrap yards have that thing for testing metal?

 

[Steve_P]

It will thaw a steak pretty damn quick.lol

Don't scrap yards have that thing for testing metal?

I think that was a $20K tool in my picture from work. My "metal recycler" uses a magnet for stainless steel Aluminum is aluminum to them; they don't give a **** about the alloy.

 

[Old Man Roger]

I think that was a $20K tool in my picture from work. My "metal recycler" uses a magnet for stainless steel Aluminum is aluminum to them; they don't give a **** about the alloy.

There are scrap yards, and then there are scrap yards.lol A big yard in a big city can have some pretty high tech equipment. I seem to remember the one in west palm had like 5 different grades of aluminum. It may have been like you say though, my memory isn’t what it once was.

 

[Old Man Roger]

From there website, it looks like they have a way to know what it is they’re buying. I don’t even know what half of these are.lol

• Monel
• Cupro-Nickel
• Hastelloy
• Inconel
• Waspaloy
• Incoloy
• Nickel
• Titanium
• And More

 

[PCustoms]

From there website, it looks like they have a way to know what it is they’re buying. I don’t even know what half of these are.lol

• Monel nickel-copper alloy
• Cupro-Nickel copper-nickel alloy
• Hastelloy nickel-chromium-iron-molybdenum
• Inconel nickel-chromium
• Waspaloy nickel superalloy
• Incoloy nickel-iron-chromium superalloy
• Nickel
• Titanium
• And More

If they're correctly separating out scrap superalloy I suspect they have an XRF ($25k) or mass spec unit on site. Makes sense if there's aerospace machining in the area.

 

[Old Man Roger]

Pratt Whitney, Lockhead Martin, Gulfstream Areo space, Boeing, etc etc.

 

[PCustoms]

Pratt Whitney, Lockhead Martin, Gulfstream Areo space, Boeing, etc etc.

Yeah definitely I to some exotic materials

 

[Beerhippie]

From there website, it looks like they have a way to know what it is they’re buying. I don’t even know what half of these are.lol

• Monel
• Cupro-Nickel
• Hastelloy
• Inconel
• Waspaloy
• Incoloy
• Nickel
• Titanium
• And More

What, no Carpenter alloys?

 

[neophyte]

From there website, it looks like they have a way to know what it is they’re buying. I don’t even know what half of these are.lol

• Monel
• Cupro-Nickel
• Hastelloy
• Inconel
• Waspaloy
• Incoloy
• Nickel
• Titanium
• And More

Monel is a group of Nickel Copper alloys, with a majority nickel content, (usually 1/2 to 2/3 nickel),
Cupro-Nickel is a group of Nickel Copper alloys, that are majority Copper, (60%-90% Copper).
Inconel is a group of Nickel Chrome alloys, that contain 44%-72% Nickel, and 14%-31% chrome, but were 65% to 98% of the alloy is Nickel+Chrome. Basically making Inconel “Stainless Steel” but with with a much smaller amount of ferrous content.
Hastelloy is basically an Inconel type alloy, but with a slightly higher amount of Molybdenum (13%+/-) than any of the Inconel alloys contain.
Waspalloy is also basically an Inconel alloy, but with Cobalt content (14-15%) similar to the Molybdenum content in the Hastelloy.
All of the above alloys are usually used due to higher strength, resistance to chemical and corrosion within various environments, or resistance to corrosion and extreme heat.
Cupronickel alloys are also routinely used for coinage.
All of the above have interest to scrap yards because copper, chrome, and particularly nickel all have decent commodity values.

 

[gizardlizard]

Possibly Fortel but no way to prove it.

 

[PCustoms]

Possibly Fortel but no way to prove it.

I believe it's fortal, and isn't that just a brand name 7075?

Could be alcoa too...

 

[jives]

Okay, so identifying the type may be impossible. What uses could it have in the home shop?

 

[PCustoms]

Okay, so identifying the type may be impossible. What uses could it have in the home shop?

If you have to ask that question, then you don't need it.

It's aluminum scrap stock. You can cut it down and make fixtures parts etc.

 

[Beerhippie]

For cutting it down to size, I use a carbide-tipped wood cutting cross-cut blade. Just go easy and wear lots of PPE--the saw will throw hot, sharp aluminum chips. I use either a miter saw or my Skil 77.

I use aluminum all the time for projects where the ease of shaping, drilling and tapping are handy and I don't need the strength of steel.

 

[Old Man Roger]

Okay, so identifying the type may be impossible. What uses could it have in the home shop?

Like I said, some scrap yards are pretty high tech. Maybe give one a call and see if they have the equipment to tell you what it is. It only takes them a second to test it.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

For cutting it down to size, I use a carbide-tipped wood cutting cross-cut blade. Just go easy and wear lots of PPE--the saw will throw hot, sharp aluminum chips. I use either a miter saw or my Skil 77.

I use aluminum all the time for projects where the ease of shaping, drilling and tapping are handy and I don't need the strength of steel.

And spray wd-40 liberally to prevent gumming the blade. Its much easier to cut and leaves a mirror smooth edge if the blades are sharp.

 

[Beerhippie]

And spray wd-40 liberally to prevent gumming the blade. Its much easier to cut and leaves a mirror smooth edge if the blades are sharp.

I did forget to mention that a helper with a spray bottle of blade lube/coolant really helps things along.

 

[readhead]

Is the company that made the equipment still in business? If so ask them.

 

[NORTON'S SHOP]

Be sure when you list it, to call it aircraft grade aluminum!

Billet. It will sell in a heartbeat.

 

[Ultradog MN]

I definately would not scrap that.
I see lots of bearing and seal drivers, hinges, handles or whatever in that piece
Reminds me of a piece I have here.
All I know is what is what someone wrote on it with a magic marker - 7075
I just looked up the price of a 7"long x 14" dia chunk of 7075 AL round stock on Midwest Steel.
They want $1215 for it.
I haven't tried yet but think? I can get this into my band saw to cut it in half - crosswise.
If I can i will have a few years worth of AL for lathe and mill projects.

 

[AEAdam]

I use scrap like that between my casters and the bottom of my tool boxes to spread out the caster load. Casters often sit on fairly thin sheet metal, which any side load bends. Thick plywood or even MDF can work.

Id saw that in half and use the 2 pieces front to back. Really, anything you use under there helps

Theres a scrap yard in New Jersey I go to to buy aluminum like that for $.50/lb.

 

[mike93lx]

Theres a scrap yard in New Jersey I go to to buy aluminum like that for $.50/lb

50 cents is what my local scrapyard is paying right now for clean aluminum. They won't sell, though

 

[jives]

I'm mostly a woodworker with woodworking tools and have no machining capabilities, or need to machine the aluminum slab. It seems a waste to cut it up for odd projects here and there. As Ultradog pointed out, a 1" thick chunk of aluminum could be worth hundreds. I guess I should check around for a market.

 

[RegeSullivan]

It's worth what someone will pay for it, right? Try a best offer posting on face book and if someone offers you a number that's what your willing to take... get it gone, enjoy the neat orderly space you've gained and don't worry about it. If you're like my brother, afraid to leave a few dollars on the table... keep it with all the other stuff your kids will put in the dumpster when you're gone.

 

[PCustoms]

A new 24x24x1 mic-6 plate is $565 online (cheaper if you have a material supplier).

This plate has been around the block, is full of holes and and will have far fewer uses then a clean piece. Scrap price would be about $30.

GLWS

 

[mike93lx]

And someone that actually needs that material would never buy a unidentified scrap piece

 

[PCustoms]

A new 24x24x1 mic-6 plate is $565 online (cheaper if you have a material supplier).

$329 from coremark for a 20x22...

 

[AEAdam]

1" X 20 X 22" = 440cuin X.1lbs/cuin = 44lbs x $.50/lb = $25. That's what it's worth. Not hundreds. Maybe less due to the holes. Its scrap.

 

[john.k]

Steel will downgrade the scrap price ....if you do sell for scrap,try to remove the cut off studs.

 

[Beerhippie]

$329 from coremark for a 20x22...

So, this is replacement cost, new.

1" X 20 X 22" = 440cuin X.1lbs/cuin = 44lbs x $.50/lb = $25. That's what it's worth. Not hundreds. Maybe less due to the holes. Its scrap.

And this is what you can sell it for.

Aluminum isn't that much harder to work with than wood. Seems you could incorporate parts of that plate into some interesting wood projects.

 

[American Locomotive]

I'm mostly a woodworker with woodworking tools and have no machining capabilities, or need to machine the aluminum slab. It seems a waste to cut it up for odd projects here and there. As Ultradog pointed out, a 1" thick chunk of aluminum could be worth hundreds. I guess I should check around for a market.

If it were brand new, perfectly clean with no holes, with a cert from the mill identifying its heat (batch) number and specific alloy - it might be worth hundreds.

Unfortunately yours is not perfect, has holes drilled into it, and any paperwork from the mill it rolled out of is long gone. It's value is basically whatever its value as aluminum scrap is - and with broken off steel screws, it's scrap value (to a scrap yard) is actually diminished. You'll get paid the "dirty aluminum" price which could be anywhere from 1/2 to 1/4 the clean aluminum price.

As mentioned earlier, a scrap yard will probably give you $25 for it. You might be able to throw it up online (craigslist, facebook marketplace) and find some random person who could really use a thick slab of aluminum with threaded holes it and get $50-75 for it.