Thread: Planing Aluminium and steel

Hi everyone i’m actually new in machining ! I have a question if you can help me , I actually have some steel and aluminum blocs and I want to improve their surface to make it plan and to have the same thickness everywhere. The first idea I had is a drum sander or a wood planer , it might work with aluminum but definitely not with steel. I know that milling with fly cutter on a CN machine will work for me but it takes a lot of time and cost expensive ! I’m looking for machine that can do the job for aluminum and steel bloc

Aluminum through a wood planer? Hmmmm.... Ya know, I've never seen a planer explode...
Bill

what you are looking for is a face mill or fly cutter, yes they are $, but its the cost of doing buisness

[QUOTE=imane;3693016]Hi everyone i’m actually new in machining ! I have a question if you can help me , I actually have some steel and aluminum blocs and I want to improve their surface to make it plan and to have the same thickness everywhere. The first idea I had is a drum sander or a wood planer , it might work with aluminum but definitely not with steel. I know that milling with fly cutter on a CN machine will work for me but it takes a lot of time and cost expensive ! I’m looking for machine that can do the job for aluminum and steel bloc[/QUOTE/

You want to learn about machining. However if you try to do this job in a wood planer your chance of success is nil to none. The chance of you being injured is quite high. Don't use a wood planer to mill metal unless you have a desire to get hurt. Do the job in a Milling machine built for the task. Look at Hobby Machinist on the computer to learn about machining processes. Don't allow yourself to get hurt. I encourage you to learn the basics of machining first.

All The Best
Roger

You can plane them both at the same time with good cutting oil & sharp tool. This is an auxilliary table made & planed for one of my table saws with a slider section.

FWIW the junkyard sourced al donor casting was something like a very large drill press base. Unknown actual original purpose.

smr

Originally Posted by stephen thomas

You can plane them both at the same time with good cutting oil & sharp tool. This is an auxilliary table made & planed for one of my table saws with a slider section.

FWIW the junkyard sourced al donor casting was something like a very large drill press base. Unknown actual original purpose.

smr

Not the kind of planer OP is talking about. I think he's trying to use this:



The alternative is too scary to consider

Pete - OP said

I’m looking for machine that can do the job for aluminum and steel bloc

Being from France maybe he saw my planer on Vielle machines a courroies plats & wanted more info.

( more joking if not obvious. Though the planer is on that site.)

To the OP : also search under etaux-limeur. (shapers). Smaller more accessible machines for small to large work. There are even Capable hand cranked versions.

I lust after a planer-like device for regrinding lathe beds. But it would be among the dumbest uses of my available space, and believe me, some I'm using very poorly indeed!

Thank you for your replies ,
I think the "etaux - limeurs" or surface grinder will work best for me. What a meant by the drum sander is this machine , but it's definetly a bad idea and not safe it was just to explain that i'm looking for a machine like this one who can do the same job for metal blocs
https://cdn0.grizzly.com/pics/jpeg50...2aaacf64ea.jpg

You’re looking for a: “wide-belt sander” or a timesaver. Other companies manufacture similar machines, doubtful anyone on this forum will recommend Grizzly products for anything more than a doorstop. A wide-belt sander will never be as accurate as surface grinding, or any milling operation, but you’ll remove a lot more material faster and in a larger envelope than surface grinding. It’s not clear to me exactly what your intended effect is. For creating a uniform surface finish, wide-belt sanders are great. I’ve typically used them in architectural shop settings for that exact purpose. Making architectural details uniformly thick and with a uniform finish.
That said, like any other machine that produces fine dust, there is an element of danger to wide-belt sanders. In industrial settings they typically require fairly advanced dust collection and filtration systems. Most I’ve seen are multistage through water, a system which may cost as much or more than the machine itself.





Be safe and stay healthy





Jeremy

If you are working with small pieces of hardened steel the surface grinder is appropriate. Can also be used in a manner to attain excellent bright finishes.
However, surface grinding is very time consuming compared to planing or milling processes.

Also, in the USA, used shapers (etaux limeurs) are available for relatively low cost compared to a working automatic surface grinder in decent shape. Tooling for a shaper (the cutters) are cheaper than any other machine I can think of.

I have an industrial widebelt sander (Martin/Tannewitz)in the wood shop. I have run one in a factory used for strictly steel parts. As Jeremy relates, they are not a simple machine to set up for metal including fire suppression. Very costly to operate on an hourly basis. (Air, electricity, abrasive belts, swarf extraction, constant maintenance.). Always keep in mind that aluminum + ferrous swarf mixed = thermite. The machines are used inproduction primarily for surface finish, not calibration (not for sizing or making parallel)

A type of surface finishing machine that is inexpensive in the US is a stroke sander. These will smooth & polish surfaces but will not calibrate. They take up a lot of floor space in the shop. I use mine for wood & sometimes metal.


Good luck.
It would be interesting if you post your eventual resolution or show pictures of what you are making.

smt

The engineers' planing machine is easily the cheapest to tool and most suitable for reducing large areas. Also the least heat (buckling) issues. Almost certainly not,though,what the OP had in mind!