Reynolds Metals

Which type of aluminium would be good to machine a tube out of?

Lets say you started with a round bar and bored it out. Which aluminium would give stronger walls, less likely to dent?

Public Comments

1. You'd need an alloy, possibly one of the aircraft grade duralumin series - alloyed with copper or zinc. There are always downsides, though, and you could wind up with a more brittle or corrosion-prone tube.
2. As long as you don't intend to do some welding on the piece later, you may use a 7xxx series alloy. This is aluminum alloy armor though so if you would have a hard time looking for it you just have to settle with the more common 6061 - T6. These so far are among the hardest type of aluminum alloys.