killforfood Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 I have access to a fairly steady supply of aluminum shavings from my shops bansaw. the problem is that it's also used to saw wax and occasionally a small amount of plastic. Up till now it all just goes into the trash but I've been thinking how I could salvage the aluminum shavings. My thinking right now is to putl the shavings in a pot of boiling water and skim off the wax and plastic. I think i'll give it a try tomorrow.
oldguy Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 My assumption is the friction & heat from the band saw blade at the very least heats up the wax and/or plastic enough it would stick to any Al shavings they contact. Hot water should float off the wax, but maybe not the plastic, unless it is a buoyant type of plastic. Good luck with it.
M1l2n Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Like you I have alot of saw shavings as well. When I am wanting some Ti or Al shavings I just clean the saw before I start cutting the material and then I have clean saw shavings. Works like a champ.. Monty
killforfood Posted January 12, 2012 Author Posted January 12, 2012 Here's what I have to work with.We'll see how it cleans up tonight. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/killforfood/Pyro/Aluminumturnings010.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/killforfood/Pyro/Aluminumturnings011.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/killforfood/Pyro/Aluminumturnings005.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/killforfood/Pyro/Aluminumturnings006.jpg
dagabu Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Here's what I have to work with.We'll see how it cleans up tonight. I would screen it and use it as is. The wax and plastic will not change the comp you use it in. That looks like it would work well in rocket delay or as a spark increaser in Vitamin-F. I'll buy some off you if you want some testing done with it. I am a sucker for new stuff. -dag
killforfood Posted January 12, 2012 Author Posted January 12, 2012 Dag, Since I don't make vitamin F, why don't I just send you some to play with. All I ask is that you post up your results so that we can all enjoy your results. Old Guy, Would you be willing to do the same with some Ti turnings? I tried to find a cheap industrial blender like yours but cheap didn't fit into the equation. I tried reducing some in my Wife's magic bullet blender and it actually managed to cut the turnings into shorter bits but not nearly small enough to use in comps. By quick eyeball estimation, I would say it cut the chips down to 5 mesh to 20 mesh. I would love to see what your blender could do with it.
killforfood Posted January 13, 2012 Author Posted January 13, 2012 I stopped by the second hand store last night and picked up a $1.99 coffee pot to boil the band saw shavings in. It should also come in handy for washing precipitates. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/killforfood/Pyro/Aluminumturnings035.jpg I added about 2oz of shavings to the coffee pot and stirred while heating. After just a couple minutes of light boiling, you can see chips, wax and debris floating to the top.The plastic shavings did not rise to the top. I'm not worried about the plastic because the amount is miniscule and it will easily screen out. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/killforfood/Pyro/Aluminumturnings019.jpg There wasn't nearly as much wax contaminant as I had originally expected which confirms Dag and Old Guys opinion that the shavings could be screened and used as is. Oddly stirring seemed to integrate the wax back into the mix rather than freeing it. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/killforfood/Pyro/Aluminumturnings020.jpg Here's the mixture of shavings and wax skimmed from the surface. I'd say I lost less than 5%. The blue wax is stickier than Gorilla Snot and left a nasty scum line on my coffee pot and Momma's kitchen spoon. I'll hear about the spoon later since I doubt that it'll clean up in the dish washer. It dissolves readily in a solution of citric acid so clean-up should be easier once I get some. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/killforfood/Pyro/Aluminumturnings023.jpg I drained and dried the shavings and then sifted them through a 20 mesh screen. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/killforfood/Pyro/Aluminumturnings029.jpg About 75% passed through. The 25% that did not pass included the plastic shavings and one hex head cap screw. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/killforfood/Pyro/Aluminumturnings030.jpg Here's a close-up of what passed 20 mesh. It will be interesting to see what spark characteristics are displayed by long slendor shavings. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/killforfood/Pyro/Aluminumturnings032.jpg Here's what didn't pass 20 mesh. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/killforfood/Pyro/Aluminumturnings034.jpg Dag, Old Guy, I'll try to get your samples in the mail today.
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