Subject: Re: The Feel of Aluminium

From: [email-masked] (Barry Workman)
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 1995 17:33:01 GMT

[email-masked] () writes:

>I have pondered the feel of aluminum a few times.  Have you ever noticed
>that aluminum looks very much like aluminum?  If it's polished or not
>on the rack, or under the bench, when you spy the stuff you instantly
>know that it is aluminum.  As a matter of fact I have wondered if you
>know that it is aluminum just before you see it.  It seems that way.  Now
>if you touch it it will go out of it's way to tell you that it is aluminum.
>To be precise it will go out of your way to tell you it is aluminum.  It
>seems to be exactly the correct weight to please the touch but too light
>to juggle spheres.  If it is cool when you pick it up, it will warm and if it
>is warm it will cool when you touch it, but the truth be known you can rarely
>ever touch it.

>It is a jesting miracle, a true heart of plaid on a black velvet pillow.

>Dave Parsons

Well now, the tale to tell...
A friend was moving so had to get rid of a *LOT* of old stock from
his garage.  He let it be known to all who cut metal that such was
the case.  I went over to see what was there and off to the side was
a couple of slabs of 5/8" aluminum.  All told, 13 lbs of the stuff.
We all agreend that it's aluminum.  Not good for much as sheet stock
(paint, holes drilled, dented, dinged), but should do fine for casting.
Bought it.  Brought it home.  Started to scrape some paint off.  The
scrapings didn't feel right.  Add heat and get BRIGHT WHITE BURN!
Yeah, I have 13 lbs of magnesium.
-- 
    - Barry Workman

---

From: [email-masked] (Bill Ganoe)
Date: 21 Mar 1995 03:44:54 GMT

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (Barry Workman) writes:
>[email-masked] (Bluejay Adametz) writes:
>
>
>>In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked]   (Kevin Murray) writes...
   [snip]
>>---
>>In the exotic land of Ticklevania, the price of three souvenir
>>wristwatches is five Ticklevanian dollars and one pfennie (a
>>common coin not to be confused with our penny). However, one
>>souvenir wristwatch costs only one Ticklevanian dollar and five
>>pfennies.  Assuming that the Ticklevanians are good
>>mathematicians and fair in their business practices, what would
>>you expect to pay for two souvenir wristwatches if you visited
>>Ticklevania?? 
   [snip]
>Two Ticklevanian dollars, 10 pfennies.  The question is not how much
>you pay for two, rather what is the cost each if you buy 3?  It seems
>that either we have another coin, less than a fpenny or a dollar that
>has something other than 100 fpenny in it.
>-- 
>    - Barry Workman 

Looks to me like the Ticklevanian dollar is worth 3 2/3 pfennies.

-- 
Bill Ganoe -- U. of Arizona, SIE Dept **   Engineering:
[email-masked]                  **      The ultimate art
520.621.2528                          **      of the human mind.

---

From: [email-masked] (Rick DeNatale)
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 1995 21:50:17 -0500

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked]
(Bill Ganoe) wrote:

> In article <[email-masked]>
[email-masked] (Barry Workman) writes:
> >>In article <[email-masked]>,
[email-masked]   (Kevin Murray) writes...
> Looks to me like the Ticklevanian dollar is worth 3 2/3 pfennies.

No this would make the price of one watch 26/3 pfennies or 26 pfennies for 3,
but 3 cost 19 1/3 pfennies.  

I get 7 pfennies per Ticklevanian dollar by the following algebra

Given:

5D + 1P = 3W
1D + 5P = 1W

Pricing is fair so that the price of three watches should be equal to
three times the price of one so:

5D + 1P = 3(D + 5P)

Expanding:

5D + 1P = 3D + 15P

Gathering terms and simplifying:

2D = 14P 
1D = 7P   so 1 Ticklevanian Dollar = 7 pfennies!

Checking:

1W = 12P
3W = 35P + 1P = 36P = 3(12P) 

Q.E.D.

But what does this have to do with metalworking?

-- 
Rick DeNatale
Still trying to come up with a really cool Signature

---

From: [email-masked] (Nathan Phillip Stewart)
Date: 22 Mar 1995 03:48:31 GMT

>But what does this have to do with metalworking?

The Ticklevanian government changed the makeup of the fpenny (or was it
pfennie?) a few years back, and ruined a cheap & easy source of fpenny
stonze? 
N8

---

From: [email-masked] (James Foster x2912)
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 1995 15:32:51 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (Bill Ganoe) writes:
|> In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (Barry Workman) writes:
|> >[email-masked] (Bluejay Adametz) writes:
|> >
|> >
|> >>In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked]   (Kevin Murray) writes...
|>    [snip]
|> >>---
|> >>In the exotic land of Ticklevania, the price of three souvenir
|> >>wristwatches is five Ticklevanian dollars and one pfennie (a
|> >>common coin not to be confused with our penny). However, one
|> >>souvenir wristwatch costs only one Ticklevanian dollar and five
|> >>pfennies.  Assuming that the Ticklevanians are good
|> >>mathematicians and fair in their business practices, what would
|> >>you expect to pay for two souvenir wristwatches if you visited
|> >>Ticklevania?? 
|>    [snip]
|> >Two Ticklevanian dollars, 10 pfennies.  The question is not how much
|> >you pay for two, rather what is the cost each if you buy 3?  It seems
|> >that either we have another coin, less than a fpenny or a dollar that
|> >has something other than 100 fpenny in it.
|> >-- 
|> >    - Barry Workman 
|> 
|> Looks to me like the Ticklevanian dollar is worth 3 2/3 pfennies.
|> 
|> -- 
|> Bill Ganoe -- U. of Arizona, SIE Dept **   Engineering:
|> [email-masked]                  **      The ultimate art
|> 520.621.2528                          **      of the human mind.

Well, I still say it's 3 td, 3pf for two watches, which is the same
as what Barry said since there appear to be 7pf/td, and no, I can't
figure out what the h*ll this has to do with r.c.m either B^)

---

From: [email-masked] (ErnieLeim)
Date: 24 Mar 1995 23:10:36 -0500

As to the machinability of magnesium.

It is very easy to cut but it must be cut with care . In my early years of
machining I had to remove the surface of large magnesium blocks used in a
water tank as sacrificial free ion magnets. I succesfully set fire to the
lathe 3 times  and can say that as long as the lathe is completely clean
and free from oil and a non-solvent based cutting fluid is used, you can
cut it quite easily. I used a water soluble cutting fluid in a very weak
mixture and it ended my lathe fires. 
Milling isn't  as much of a problem since the surface speed is lower.
The research professors were joking that if I continued , they were going
to put a suckling pig on the lathe and have a cookout.
Hope this helps.

***********************************************************
*                    Ernie Leimkuhler                     *
*                 Stagesmith Productions                  *              *
               Custom Metal Fabrication                 *                 
   
*    ABANA   SCA     AWS    USITT   IATSE local 15, 488   *
*                      Renton, WA                         *
*"Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind" the bard  *
***********************************************************

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From: [email-masked] (Greg Lewis)
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 1995 20:03:07 GMT

[snip]

>Yeah, I have 13 lbs of magnesium.

Aren't VW blocks magnesium or some special alloy? I've been told they
aren't good candidates for home foundries... correct or no?

___________________________________________________________________
[email-masked]      	   	     They don't
Photojournalism sequence      	   	     Call this place
Department of Mass Communication   	     An institution
     and Journalism 	      	   	     For nothing

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From: [email-masked] (Mark Kinsler )
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 1995 22:42:36 GMT

I read a good British book referenced on this group: "Metals in the 
Service of Man".  It says that the flammability of magnesium is somewhat 
overrrated; that it can be cast and machined like anything else.  Matter 
of fact, he's pretty vehement on the subject, as I recall.
                                             M Kinsler

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From: [email-masked] (Jim Naylor)
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 1995 23:25:41 -0600

> It is a jesting miracle, a true heart of plaid on a black velvet pillow.

Dave, et al

I'm new to this group and haven't done my normal minimum lurking, but
can't seem to restrain myself from responding to this piece, which strikes
to the very heart of its issue! Would you consider cross-posting it to
rec.arts.poetry?

Some of my most restful hours have been spent touring the Boeing Surplus
sales yard in Wichita, wondering where to start working those beautiful
"scraps".

-- 
Jim Naylor    (Lurkers Anonymous)