Exotic Metal DooDads

Hey Gang, I am in the process of finishing a custom aluminum gas pedal and a copper brake pedal which I plan to post when I finish. The aluminum isnt to exotic but I was curious what other trinkets and doodads people have made out of exotic metals like copper and brass, ect., that your using in your cars/bikes. pedals, knobs, ect. lets see some pictures.

Stutz

 

Not a large item,Made my carb linkage from brass rod and aluminum,
Because of body channel I needed a 2" drop from motor to firewall.

 

better pray that brass (soft) doesn't bend under compression and hang your carb wide open. Better to use Stainless rod.

 

Cool thread! Would like to see the same... BTTT

 

i made this winged V8 emblem out of copper

 

SUHRsc, That way cool my friend, You did a great job.

Didn't use "soft brass" on the linkage,It's a type of hardened brass that
we use making signs.

 

im using a titanium punched sheet metal insert for my cars grill. ill post pictures when i get the "go ahead" from my boss to take the scrap titanium from work... i gotta pay the scrap price for it.... im also trying to get some 3/8 titanium coils for making oil coolers or trans coolers out of the remote oil cans.

 

Cool parts!

All carb linkages should fail in the closed position and have 2 springs! I like the 2 spring GM set up found at the quick pics in most auto parts stores.

70/30 comp brass is pretty darn strong. We used a lot of brass rod for boiler controls and systems and it held up very well in some very bad enviros. A36 is the most common structural steel and 70/30 brass is at least 70% as strong.

And yes, it is hard to beat cold rolled stainless for strength!

Something to compare other metals to:

Some typical tensile strengths of some materials:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 border=1><TBODY><TR><TH>Material</TH><TH>Yield strength
(MPa)</TH><TH>Ultimate strength
(MPa)</TH><TH>Density
(g/cm<SUP>3</SUP>)</TH></TR><TR><TD>Structural steel ASTM A36 steel</TD><TD>250</TD><TD>400</TD><TD>7.8</TD></TR><TR><TD>Steel, API 5L X65 (Fikret Mert Veral)</TD><TD>448</TD><TD>531</TD><TD>7.8</TD></TR><TR><TD>Steel, high strength alloy ASTM A514</TD><TD>690</TD><TD>760</TD><TD>7.8</TD></TR><TR><TD>Steel, prestressing strands</TD><TD>1650</TD><TD>1860</TD><TD>7.8</TD></TR><TR><TD>Steel Wire</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>7.8</TD></TR><TR><TD>Steel, Piano wire</TD><TD>c. 2000</TD><TD> </TD><TD>7.8</TD></TR><TR><TD>High density polyethylene (HDPE)</TD><TD>26-33</TD><TD>37</TD><TD>0.95</TD></TR><TR><TD>Polypropylene</TD><TD>12-43</TD><TD>19.7-80</TD><TD>0.91</TD></TR><TR><TD>Stainless steel AISI 302 - Cold-rolled</TD><TD>520</TD><TD>860</TD><TD> </TD></TR><TR><TD>Cast iron 4.5% C, ASTM A-48</TD><TD>276 (??)</TD><TD>200</TD><TD> </TD></TR><TR><TD>Titanium Alloy (6% Al, 4% V)</TD><TD>830</TD><TD>900</TD><TD>4.51</TD></TR><TR><TD>Aluminum Alloy 2014-T6</TD><TD>400</TD><TD>455</TD><TD>2.7</TD></TR><TR><TD>Copper 99.9% Cu</TD><TD>70</TD><TD>220</TD><TD>8.92</TD></TR><TR><TD>Cupronickel 10% Ni, 1.6% Fe, 1% Mn, balance Cu</TD><TD>130</TD><TD>350</TD><TD>8.94</TD></TR><TR><TD>Brass</TD><TD>approx. 180+</TD><TD>250</TD><TD> ;</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

due to my race care up bringing i use exotic metals where ever i can. radiator rods made from titanium, most bolls and nuts are titanium. I look for left over scrap to make most parts out of. I have an argon chamber set up to weld the titanium in. it takes a good polish and is not that much to buy and almost 2 times lighter then stainless.

 

you don't need a chamber to weld titanium. ill tell you since i weld titanium all day everyday...(mostly heat exchangers, or parts racks for the plating industry) all you need is to purge the area you are welding front and back, weld only 5/8ths of an inch at a time. set your rear purge to always be on(you might need a dual feed regulator on your tank) then on your tig welder set your after purge time to 20 seconds, more if its really thick. also use a big purge cup. we use 12s at work.

ok ill run through it- tack your piece together, strike an arch and hold it till it melts.. dip dip dip ect ect.. you know the drill(just like steel), then after about 5/8ths an inch stop and let off the pedal fast but not all the way, let the arch stay super small for about 2 seconds* so it wont "crater" then let off completely holding the torch still. youll see the metal harden 2 times* once is the metal becoming mostly solid again, then it kindof completely hardens. its easy to see the metal first harden, but the second time is almost like a shadow flying over the metal. when that happens the second time count to about 3 and pull the torch away.

if you do not purge the weld it will come out blue mostly or red or purple. if it does you didnt purge it long enuff or not at all. when its not purged it becomes contaminated and looses its tensile strength. and can break and be susceptible to corrosion. if its welded right the weld will look silver! and there will be no color anywhere.

hope that helps.