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B-Power-B
Penny Pincher Member
USA
111 Posts |
 Posted - 08/08/2008 : 15:12:15
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I was reading this link in hopes of figuring out how best to distinguish between aluminum and stainless steel :
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How do you guys tell if a piece is stainless or aluminum? Can you rely on stainless being magnetic and aluminum not?
-Brian
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Those who trade liberty for security have neither.
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natsb88
Administrator
USA
1850 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2008 : 16:24:53
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Good stainless is not magnetic, so that won't work.
Typically aluminum is much softer than stainless. You can easily bend most aluminum sheet and dent aluminum bars. The exception to easily denting would be cast aluminum, which is usually harder but more brittle than extruded aluminum.
Stainless is much tougher to bend/dent/cut etc.
If the metal is bare, you can also tell by the color and shine. Aluminum has a lighter color and a softer luster. Stainless usually has a more bold luster.
Weight is probably the easiest way to distinguish. Stainless is significantly heavier than aluminum. |
Nate
The Copper Cave
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B-Power-B
Penny Pincher Member
USA
111 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2008 : 17:50:23
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So lets say I have 1/2 inch tubing. If I can easily bend it in half, the bet would be that its aluminum. If its heavier, shinny, and/ or tougher to bend/cut, the best bet is that its stainless.
And finally if the tubing breaks in half, the best bet is that its cast aluminum...
I know its hard to say without seeing the piece, but am I on the right track here? |
Those who trade liberty for security have neither.
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wavecrazed
Penny Sorter Member
USA
69 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2008 : 18:35:05
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| Aluminum will cut like butter with a saw-zall. Stainless will be hard to cut. |
scrappin" all over |
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B-Power-B
Penny Pincher Member
USA
111 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2008 : 20:23:54
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| I usually do not have access to power so I usually use a stihl cutoff saw. I just wish there was some kind of hand held device.... (lame I know, but we all wish we had one) |
Those who trade liberty for security have neither.
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n/a
deleted
91 Posts |
Posted - 08/09/2008 : 14:39:33
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if you have a grinder...
touch the grinder to aluminum it will not spark
touch it to stainless you will get small sparks
there was a way to use a nail to that a guy at the yard showed me dragging a nail across it with slight pressure the aluminum will dig in and stainless will not. |
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B-Power-B
Penny Pincher Member
USA
111 Posts |
Posted - 08/09/2008 : 15:32:34
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the grinder and spark thing is a good point. Thanks for that tip. I will try the nail thing as well and see if I can come up with any results.
All these tips are great! |
Those who trade liberty for security have neither.
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horgad
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1641 Posts |
Posted - 08/09/2008 : 18:06:48
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quote:
Originally posted by clwp
if you have a grinder...
touch the grinder to aluminum it will not spark
touch it to stainless you will get small sparks
there was a way to use a nail to that a guy at the yard showed me dragging a nail across it with slight pressure the aluminum will dig in and stainless will not.
I just took apart a hard-drive today. The main part of the hard-drive case was obviously aluminum, but there was a sheet of metal that acted like a cover screwed onto it. It was not magnetic, but unlike the rest of the hard-drive case it sparked with white sparks when I touched it with a Dremel. So I am not sure what it is. Would you guess a high nickel content stainless or something else? |
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natsb88
Administrator
USA
1850 Posts |
Posted - 08/09/2008 : 18:27:53
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quote:
Originally posted by horgad
I just took apart a hard-drive today. The main part of the hard-drive case was obviously aluminum, but there was a sheet of metal that acted like a cover screwed onto it. It was not magnetic, but unlike the rest of the hard-drive case it sparked with white sparks when I touched it with a Dremel. So I am not sure what it is. Would you guess a high nickel content stainless or something else?
I have one of those as well. I didn't try the spark test but it's too hard to be aluminum. Hmm... |
Nate
The Copper Cave
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478 Posts |
Posted - 08/09/2008 : 21:24:51
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A high power magnet will attract, ever so slightly, to even high grade stainless.
Use a file for the scratch test. A file will rip aluminum to shreds with ease. It will have trouble scratching stainless. A small propane torch like those uses for soldering can also be used. It will melt Aluminum in short order. No way in hell will it melt stainless.
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deleted
91 Posts |
Posted - 08/10/2008 : 00:52:14
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| most hd covers are stainless, i have even found a few brass (most brass covers have a brownish tint) i always wait till i get a decent amount of hd cover plates plug in the grinder and check each one |
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simplicitycounts
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
535 Posts |
Posted - 08/10/2008 : 15:12:09
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| Most of what you will come across is Aluminum. The only stainless I find is broken restaraunt equipment, dented trays, mixing bowls, that kind of stuff. |
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B-Power-B
Penny Pincher Member
USA
111 Posts |
Posted - 08/10/2008 : 15:17:30
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Currently I have a large project that involves scrapping out a lot of industrial/scientific equipment. I actually have come across stainless ventilation ducts. The stuff I am dealing with now is tubing. I think it was used for some sort of gas, liquid or air ventilation. I will get a picture in the next couple of days, and hopfully you guys can see what I am talking about and why I am sort of cautious of just calling it aluminum
-BB |
Those who trade liberty for security have neither.
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n/a
deleted
91 Posts |
Posted - 08/10/2008 : 19:33:14
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| about 80% of my hd covers are stainless |
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horgad
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1641 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2008 : 07:40:18
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quote:
Originally posted by clwp
about 80% of my hd covers are stainless
Thanks, I am learning stuff everyday. I didn't even know before this thread that stainless is not alway magnetic. That explains alot of mystery metals that I have laying around that I couldn't figure out. I am guessing that alot of the screws and pins that I took out the HD case are also stainless.
What do the sparks on brass look like or are you just grinding to see the underlying color? |
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natsb88
Administrator
USA
1850 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2008 : 09:10:27
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quote:
Originally posted by horgad
quote:
Originally posted by clwp
about 80% of my hd covers are stainless
What do the sparks on brass look like or are you just grinding to see the underlying color?
Brass doesn't spark.
Well, I should say clean brass USUALLY doesn't spark. Never say never...there could be other impurities mixed in. |
Nate
The Copper Cave
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Edited by - natsb88 on 08/11/2008 09:13:21 |
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n/a
deleted
91 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2008 : 16:39:06
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correct no spark on brass , you are just trying to take the chrome colored layer off a very small section to see underneath.
you screws are almost always steel |
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Saul Mine
Penny Collector Member
USA
343 Posts |
Posted - 08/12/2008 : 23:57:26
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| All you need is a pocket knife. You can't cut stainless. Watch out for zinc alloys that look just like aluminum. |
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Cerulean
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
993 Posts |
Posted - 08/13/2008 : 13:30:07
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Mohs Hardness Scale, gents.
Stainless steel will scratch aluminum, but aluminum will not scratch stainless steel. |
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horgad
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1641 Posts |
Posted - 08/13/2008 : 13:51:44
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| Good old MOH. I have not ued that since Geology class about 20 years ago. So I think the next logical question is what is the easiest way to tell the difference between cast zinc and aluminum? |
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B-Power-B
Penny Pincher Member
USA
111 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2008 : 15:41:51
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Yeah... How do you tell the difference between cast zinc and aluminum.
And is there another way of distinguishing between cast aluminum and aluminum besides trying to snap it in half? What if the pieces are too big to break.
Here are a couple pictures of the type of things I am confused about.
Anyone have any way of telling what they are made of?
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Those who trade liberty for security have neither.
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n/a
deleted
91 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2008 : 17:31:18
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| cast aluminum will break with a hammer |
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Cody8404
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
602 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2008 : 17:41:54
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I had always thought of Aluminum as lighter? than nickel or tin. Stainless is just nickel alloy is it not?
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horgad
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1641 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2008 : 18:52:51
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quote:
Originally posted by clwp
cast aluminum will break with a hammer
That is kind of backwards of what I was thinking. I noticed some stuff is more likely to bend than to break. I figured the brittle porous stuff was likely cast zinc and the stuff the liked to dent and bend more before breaking was aluminum. So I still have issues telling the difference... |
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WheatieFan
Penny Pincher Member
USA
106 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2008 : 22:58:44
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I believe most of the conduit couplings are diecast zinc. I saved up a bit, and had a problem telling the difference between that and aluminum. But if you check google for suppliers of new fittings, the ones that tell you the makeup say they are zinc.
WheatieFan
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n/a
deleted
91 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2008 : 17:15:31
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| Examples of cast aluminum would be gas grill covers, hard drive cases, some disk drive frames. If you get a second take a hammer to one and get a feel for it. |
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Distinguishing between stainless and aluminum
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