steel is the easiest and strongest. I prefer 4130.

aluminum can be used. just make them as thick as possible, a 7xxx series will work well. but 6061 will also work and is quite a bit cheaper.

but I really recommend a quality chromoly steel

 

chromoly steel....does it look good after machining, or will they need to be PC'd or painted??

 

it should be pc'd or painted.

4130 will rust if left to the elements. if you want something raw that will not rust, go with 316 stainless. even 304 will work, but is slightly less resistant to rust

 

safe to assume if I bought stainless, I'd have to get special bits or mill ends to drill with??

 

just use lots of coolant fluid with stainless and your bits will be fine ;-)
Most of the latest bikes all have ali dog bones , so you'll be ok with ali if you want to have an easy to work with material

 

not really gonna need special bits/EMs. if you take light cuts you can get away with allot. also watch your RPM's, its safe to run about 1/3 what you would run aluminum at. but that also depends if you are using a solid carbide end mill or high speed steel end mill.

drills should be fine. most have 118* angle tips, which is good for almost anything. break your chips often and keep your RPM's low.

be sure to use coolant on drilling and milling, even if its just wd40 or windex from a regular spray bottle.

 

OK< thanks for the advice guys.

 

and dougy feel free to hit me up for p coating

 

I saw you said you did that. How big is your oven??

I have a guy that does stuff, really well, but does not have an oven big enough to do frames, swingarms or wheels.

Also, you sandblast everything first, right?

 

yea, im sit settin up my shop, and yea i blast everything, hot tank, blast and metal clean everything, im doin smaller stuff now, but prolly up to a 17 in wheel, but im workin on gettin a legit large oven but that is mega bux

 

Doug, tell me what you need.. I've got at least 4 different sets of dogbones in my garage.

 

One of my customers, who buys a lot of stuff from me..and has me make what ever custom stuff I can make, is gonna need a set of dogbones for a sssa swap he did. I don't know what length he needs yet, until hes a linkage piece made....which is gonna be someone else...beyond my capabilities at this point.

 

plastic. no wait... metal.

 

i just made a set for rican jav