aluminum homebrew? Good/Bad idea?

[Baloopaloop]

Hey peoples,
One of my friends dad is a metal worker, Mostly cutting and polishing and a bit of welding stuff in his shop. So he works with a ton of sheet aluminum, and therefore has lot's of long strips that would be the perfect size for pick making, would aluminum be a bad idea flat out for making picks? It seems like it would retain it's flexiblility but it would warp too much. But would some sort of heat treatment ect. help that? thanks peoples

[FarmerFreak]

I have never tried to make a pick out of aluminum. And I don't plan on it either. I don't think you would be too happy with the results when you try to pick a lock with one. I'm sure it would be too weak.

If you do make one, let us know how well it works.

[jamesphilhulk2]

no, aluminum would make nice light handles for your picks but not the pick itself, ask him for some spring steel

[Baloopaloop]

All have to ask him if alluminum is the only metal he works with, I think it is but it might be worth asking

[raimundo]

Aluminum will destroy files and grinding wheels by gloming onto it and being impossible to remove. this makes aluminum very difficult to work,
Usually aluminum is machined with cutters with only one edge so there is no place for the chip to fill, even then, if the speed of the machine is wrong, the cutting will chatter, digging out parts of aluminum that are deeper than the cutting edge and just pulled up by the chip.

Aluminum, is a very soft metal suitable for making beer cans, but to make airplanes, they add copper to the alloy for hardness and call it duraluminum
alloys are made of it for all sorts of properties, remember this about metal properties, malleability, ductitility, etc, you may want to use these properties while making someting of the stuff, but when the thing is made you may want to turn off that property. No one wants a malleable anvil or a ductile nail.

aluminum oxide is a hard abrasive, and aluminum oxide is formed on the surface of all things aluminum. You will be rubbing this in the lock on the pins, and polishing them if your lucky.

Aluminum does not have the stiffness to hold up over time as a pick. especially the picks that are used as prybars levering off a fulcrum of warding in the keyway.