perks

Some of us are happy to get paper or pens from work,
the traditional office perk.

This past job was a big score,

a bunch of aluminum sheetmetal, or really thin plate - 1/8" thick.

aluminum scrap

There were a couple big pieces too,
but these were the small pieces.

The skinny tall piece and a couple small rectangles were the 5086 alloy,
which has a high magnesium content.
It is really popular for use on boats.
5086 aluminium alloy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
5356 welding rod/wire is needed to weld this type.

The other pieces are a strange alloy, 2020.
Other than 6061, I'm not too familiar with the differences,
so I looked it up.

It's weird,
there's a ton of information but its all military or scientific writings.

Supposedly this 2020 alloy is used for aircraft,
and is an aluminum/copper/lithium mix, very light and strong.
I mig welded it with 4043 wire and it seemed ok,
so it should be strong enough for anything I'm planning.

There is a surplus metal store down south,
and I'm thinking my brother scrounged this stuff up down there.
It probably had slight defects so couldn't be approved for use on a plane.

The best part is it doesn't have that brushed finish that most aluminum has.
It also doesn't have that reflective tape that these roadsigns I've been using have!

Anyway,
I've got some ideas...

TP