.025 aluminum question

[sonex 1614]

I am scratch building and I am sure many others have been in the same situation. I am going to order a few larger sheets of .025 6061 T6. Are there any disadvantages to having it rolled for shipping? Obviously it costs around $100 less to ship it that way. I wasn't sure if it would cause too many headaches when trying to measure and cut the skins for the horizontal and vertical stabs. Does it weaken/work harden the metal?

Thanks!

[kmacht]

If you can have it shipped rolled that is probably the preferred method. There is much less chance of it getting damaged that way. When it unrolls it will lay just as flat as before it was rolled. The only thing to watch out for is when you unroll it be carefull when you cut the straps/tape. It will want to unroll really quickly by itself. Wear gloves when doing this.

Keith
#554

[rizzz]

As I understand from my metals supplier the rolling is more of an issue with the 0.032 materials as it will create a permanent bend.

[Bryan Cotton]

I have a scratch built hummelbird project, on hold for the Waiex. I have rolled 2024-T3 up to 0.040 for storage. You have to roll it tight if you want a permanent curl to it. If there is a curl, it is unlikely to be able to resist being formed into stuff and then the curl is gone anyway. Rolling 0.025 is easy, go for it.

[sonex 1614]

Thanks for the replies. I figured it would be safer, just didn't want to spend a ton of money on metal, then have it permanently bent when I got it. So far I am still having a great time scratch building! Cant wait to see the tail start to come together.