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Question:

Help - question on fabricating materials?

I am making a tool and it needs to be 8000th of an inch thick - shop ordered stainless steel sheet and it is as thin as Aluminum Foil - can the stainless be tempered to make it more rigid? If no, are there ANY other materials on the market that I can use such as, plastics? I heard that there is a plastic that is rigid but flexible but I have no idea what it isI started out using Aluminum for the prototype but the shop owner said it was porous and would collect bacteria so what if we coated the Aluminum?I really need help so whoever has an answer.I would soooooooo appreciate hearing it!Thank You

Answer:

.008 is about like heavy bond paper in thicknessI really don't know of anything in the world - no, I don't know of everything in the world - that won't have some flexibility at that thicknessThe best I could offer would be tool steelFirst you harden, then you temper, BTWAnd no, stainless can't be hardened to any great degreeTool steel or high-speed steel can beIt will still be flexible but it's the best you're going to getGet a set of feeler gauges like they use on carsThose go down to .001 and up, and they are tool steel and they are quite flexibleExpecting to get that thin and truly rigid is a pipe dream, I'm afraidAnything that hard, like ceramic, will snap at the first breathYou could anodize the aluminum but it will bend and stay bent, as it's quite softTool steel won't be cheap, with the whole hardening process and all.
Get a new prop with more cup That's your problem
Are you sure that your prop hub isn't spun? Take those wings off, I don't recomend them on sterndrives, except in the case of a super deep V hull, and only to increase stability.

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