I always enjoy seeing this THREAD .......POP up.
This made me laugh out loud........ "Take the FEar out of forging.... Exploring the other metals on the periodic table" VERY catchy!!!
AND.....something to "think about"........I use aluminum(6061-6063) when teaching beginners the BASICS of blacksmithing(forging). USUALLY only for the first hour or so....then ON TO HOT STEEL....:) There are a limits to what you can do......(i.e. it's harder to "upset" aluminum cold.....no where near as easy or dramatic as with hot steel.) But drawing, fullering, cutting, punching, twists and bends are no prob.
.....I've also suggested aluminum to beginners that want to keep practicing forging while they are waiting to buy/build a forge. All that is needed is a hammer, ASO and some 6000 series aluminum.
Cold forging aluminum takes the HEAT out of the equation, extends the "forging time" and enables them to concentrate on developing good hammer control. Much easier to develop "muscle memory" when you can swing the hammer 40-50 times..........or til you wear out.....instead of the normal beginner experience with hot steel.......which goes something like this.....they pull it OUT.....admire it GLOWING (that HEAT can be a lil distracting to the PYRO in all of us).....then once they realize that they are losing heat FAST....they try to get it on the anvil as fast as possible and start forging. IN the beginning they are lucky to get in....10-20 blows before it's time to put it back in the forge. Because we're ALL told that we'll " go to hell for hammering cold metal".......beginners usually need to be "coaxed" into stopping when the metal gets to dull red. :)
look forward to following this thread........again.
happy hammering..
ps......I've got a few vids on YouTube that show "cold forging aluminum".........fwiw.