Pre-finished Aluminum Stock for Medallions???

[bill south]

Hay Guys;
I've opted to help out a local motorcycle club by making club medallions for them. They have the club logo and are high polished aluminum. I'm using 6061 extruded flat stock .25 thick by 6" and it cuts and engraves fine but the finish is very difficult with the extrusion mark being difficult to polish off. I once watched the Swede build a small cnc and he used pre-surfaced aluminum to prevent having to prep the metal. Does anyone have a source for such metal??? All help and direction will be appreciated!
Many Thanks
Bill

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[cmparts]

[QUOTE=bill south;2056826]Hay Guys;
I've opted to help out a local motorcycle club by making club medallions for them. They have the club logo and are high polished aluminum. I'm using 6061 extruded flat stock .25 thick by 6" and it cuts and engraves fine but the finish is very difficult with the extrusion mark being difficult to polish off. I once watched the Swede build a small cnc and he used pre-surfaced aluminum to prevent having to prep the metal. Does anyone have a source for such metal??? All help and direction will be appreciated!
Many Thanks
Bill


Onlinemetals.com

[bill south]

Thanks for the information cmparts. I guess I should have been more specific! What would this type of pre-finished metal be called. I've read all the descriptions but none specify the type of finish on the flat stock. I hate to purchase stock then have to spend hours polishing it to obtain the finish I"m looking for. Again, any help or ideas will be very much appreciated.
Bill

[Jim Dawson]

What kind of surface finish are you looking for? Maybe this will help define what you want.

https://www.google.com/search?q=alum..._hoEatncWXk6M:

[coherent]

The local metal suppliers in most any large city will have precision tooling plate etc. They may call it cast aluminum jig and or tooling plate. It will be machined on one or both sides. It will likely have a PVC protective film on one or both sides. The finish is much better than standard grades and may already be at or near a polished finish. Most of these suppliers can also cut blanks to size and also polish sides or edges if you don't have the ability or desire to do so yourself. Starting with a precision plate would require the least amount of work to get it to the required finish. Other than that you can always use a good surfacing end mill. I've seen surface finishes produced by a good quality flycutter or face mill (some folks say the Tormach Superfly works well) produce a finish that is near a mirror finish. There's lot of info online regarding what to use and how to polish different metals, and if you use the right grades of abrasives, polishes and process steps, you can produce the finish you need.

[bill south]

Thanks Guys;
That is the information I was looking for. Using the 6061 I can get the finish I'm looking for but it takes sanding and lotz of polishing to get rid of the scratches. That is what I'm trying to avoid. I don't mind the polishing just having to sand out all the scratches is very time consuming and just a general PITA.
Again, many thanks.
Bill