Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

What has everyones experience been with annealing their own aluminum? Is it as pliable or more so, as the aluminum that is called "bendable"? I spoke with Ron at RW Johnson, when I picked up my fenders and he indicated that some of the T molding isn't as pliable as they indicate. If annealing with an oxy/actelene torch, did you use a sooty cool flame, lots of gas and little air? Thanks for the info in advance. Any other info is appreciated? Doug Hodder

Dear Doug,

One of your last posts was about shining aluminum. Remember that anodized aluminum oxidizes much faster, so you may be shining a lot more often. Of course this dpen ds on interior vs. exterior application. Additionally, it is more brittle.

Guy, my previous post was for polishing the skin, anodizing is a protective coat, not the same as annealing, which is using heat to make a material less brittle, more malleable. Doug Hodder

Sorry, Doug, I had a brain fart and read it as anodizing.

I annealed my 1/2" x 1/16" alum. that I got from lowes and it bent like a dream. I started out doing what the guys on this board had talked about by laying a layer of soot from a candle on the trim and then heating till it disappeared (heated it with a propane tourch). From my experience it was easier to heat it slowly an watch the flame till it turned red and then slowly moved forward on the peice till it was done. I was amazed at how soft it was after the heating!

myjeepcherokee,
did you anneal the whole thing or just where you needed to bend it?

I did the whole peice, I think it helped it bend a little better, that way the whole peice could flex.

The soot method is good but I'm a heat and bend as you go kinda guy. I have some photos of annealing aluminum in my gallery: http://www.mikenchell.com/forums/album_personal.php?user_id=194
And there are a couple of old threads that address re-hardening and re-annealing.
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=1041&highlight=annealing+aluminum
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=1193&highlight=annealing+aluminum

D. Tillery

Everything I read about annealing says that the smut is not a function of the annealing process, but rather, an indicator of when the process is complete. When the smut disappears, the metal is annealed, pending cool down. Supposedly you can do the same thing by rubbing a bar of soap on the metal and when the soap turns dark brown or black, the aluminum is annealed. Depending on the type of aluminum, annealing will occur between 650 and 750 degrees and should be allowed to cool slowly. Supposedly true annealing allows the metal to cool in an oven over an extended period.

Doug, we found that properly annealed AL bent easier than so called dead soft AL, although MOST of the dead soft bent well enough we did have to re-anneal some of it...do not use a sooty torch...use soot as an indicator...lightly(very) soot piece to be annealed...we used a large headed propane torch for the job andit seemed to work quite well...we also annealed just the area to be bent(when appropriate)...I really see no advantage to using an ox-act torch for annealing especialy since it would be more expensive than using straight propane...as in everything...practice a bit and it will become easier and easier to do/tell when the AL is actually annealed...look for that orange flame and disappearing soot and move on down the line or you will end up with blisters or melted AL....
madjack

p.s. a jig, a hardwood dolly, a rubber or dead blow hammer and an extra set of hands helps the bending process...TonyJ has a nice looking, one man jig in his album...

halfdome, Danny wrote:I found Mapp gas to work better than propane. Danny

MAPP burns hotter than propane so it should work quicker BUT I didn't have any so....... By the way Danny, didja use a Turbotorch for that MAPP gas or just a regular propane type????
madjack

halfdome, Danny wrote:I found Mapp gas to work better than propane. Danny

MAPP burns hotter than propane so it should work quicker BUT I didn't have any so....... By the way Danny, didja use a Turbotorch for that MAPP gas or just a regular propane type????
madjack

..picture of propane torch I used from HF

madjack wrote:

halfdome, Danny wrote:I found Mapp gas to work better than propane. Danny

MAPP burns hotter than propane so it should work quicker BUT I didn't have any so....... By the way Danny, didja use a Turbotorch for that MAPP gas or just a regular propane type????
madjack

..picture of propane torch I used from HF

It was about $45 and all Home Depot had was the ones like a regular propane torch with a self igniter and a constant on button. I might add that I may have needed the Mapp gas since I did all my annealing outside so as not to pollute the shop air. Some days it was below 50 deg when I was doing my annealing. Danny

easttexan99 wrote:Everything I read about annealing says that the smut is not a function of the annealing process, but rather, an indicator of when the process is complete. When the smut disappears, the metal is annealed, pending cool down. Supposedly you can do the same thing by rubbing a bar of soap on the metal and when the soap turns dark brown or black, the aluminum is annealed. Depending on the type of aluminum, annealing will occur between 650 and 750 degrees and should be allowed to cool slowly. Supposedly true annealing allows the metal to cool in an oven over an extended period.

I don't know what this guy reads...but it's soot..not smut..smut never disappears..