Where to get depleted uranium (DU)?

I'm not sure how to buy it, but the Department of Energy
has about 500,000 metric tons of depleted uranium. Much is
in the form of UF6 gas cylinders, rather than the metal.
When alloyed with a bit of titanium, the machining properties are
similar to steel, except that the chips are pyrophoric, and
you don't want to touch or inhale the dust.

Tungsten is about the same density (~19 gm/cm3), and more
readily available. It is also a pain in the ass to machine,
since it is brittle and very abrasive. Use carbide tools and
setup similar to aluminum. I haven't checked prices in a long
time, but tungsten is something like $20-40 per pound.


- bob mackey
  flying a 235
  building a 320
  103MD -at- pure-flight.com
  [use this email address - the one at the top is spam bait]