Replacement Part Creation

[anapex]

So I ran across this website http://www.emachineshop.com/ today and it got me thinking. In the back of my mind I've always wanted to replace the plastic magazine well thing on my Marlin Camp 45 and put in a 1911 style magazine release. So what kind of metal would I be looking to use if I wanted to replace the old plastic part? And anything else (other then cost) that I should be thinking about?

 

[armedandsafe]

For ease of work, so long as you can resist the temptation to "hog," I would say aluminum for non bearing parts. Any parts bearing pressure, wear points, pivots, etc, I'd use a steel or brass with the strength and/or lubricity factor suitable for that particular. In other words, dont try to use aluminum to carry a rotating steel shaft, nor to act as a wear surface for a sliding steel part, etc.

Metalurgy for different jobs is something that can occupy your mind for a looooong while. I got into it a little when helping to design control systems for center pivots. I learned that there was something I really didn't want to know much about.

Pops