Hi everyone,
We have some extruded 6061-T6 aluminum tube (3.25" OD, 0.125" wall, 30" length) that we're trying to finish to cosmetic standards. The tubes came from the supplier in normal rough metal shape and after tumbling, bead blasting, and anodizing, there are obvious scratches and nicks that are too deep to remove via finishing methods.
I'm wondering if it's possible to mount the tube on a lathe between centers (self centering chuck on one side, super large live center on the other side) and peel off 0.010" or so from the surface to expose a fresh surface that only contains light machining marks. Although the tube is extruded, some casual measurements indicates that concentricity and distortion in the tube shouldn't be a major issue.
My concern is with flex in the aluminum and getting a chatter free cut throughout the length of the tube. Does anyone have any tips or feedback on how I might approach this project? Thanks!
We have some extruded 6061-T6 aluminum tube (3.25" OD, 0.125" wall, 30" length) that we're trying to finish to cosmetic standards. The tubes came from the supplier in normal rough metal shape and after tumbling, bead blasting, and anodizing, there are obvious scratches and nicks that are too deep to remove via finishing methods.
I'm wondering if it's possible to mount the tube on a lathe between centers (self centering chuck on one side, super large live center on the other side) and peel off 0.010" or so from the surface to expose a fresh surface that only contains light machining marks. Although the tube is extruded, some casual measurements indicates that concentricity and distortion in the tube shouldn't be a major issue.
My concern is with flex in the aluminum and getting a chatter free cut throughout the length of the tube. Does anyone have any tips or feedback on how I might approach this project? Thanks!