Back to cutting aluminum, I have done lots of it. At 3mm you will want a decent carbide tipped blade and some masking tape to cover the surface where the saw foot will slide. Leave yourself some filing room but not too much as even aluminum can take time. Score your line with a scribe or WHY. Clamp your guide making sure you use a piece of wood on the underside to prevent your clamp from leaving a mark. Do it outside so you can run a little water on it while you're cutting. Go slowly but you'll find aluminum cuts very easily with a good blade.
Oh, first off, you'll want to practice on a scrap piece or you may end up spending too much time filing...
...or worse.
Oh, first off, you'll want to practice on a scrap piece or you may end up spending too much time filing...
...or worse.
The tape is only required if you are going to see both sides of the piece. If not, place it good side down on something soft before holding it down.
Also cut it so you are on the cut off side of the guide. That makes sure that if you wander, you are wandering into the cut off, not your good piece.
Also cut it so you are on the cut off side of the guide. That makes sure that if you wander, you are wandering into the cut off, not your good piece.
Magura said:Exactly my point.
I happen to be fairly familiar with metal work, and what you were thinking of doing, I would never even consider, it's just not worth the risk.
....but don't get me wrong, it's not like I have a problem giving advice regarding stuff like this, as long as I know that my advice is not going to cause a risk, which it would in this case.
So, work safe, stay clear of what should not be done with the equipment and skills/experience at hand, and I'll happily help you.
Magura
I know you're experienced; I've seen some other threads on this sort of thing where you've contributed. Don't worry, I have a healthy respect for this sort of thing and the possible injuries!
I just don't understand though. If you wouldn't do it, how could your advice cause a risk? I'd assume your advice is not to do it...?
DCPreamp, yes, I have two routers (fixed and plunge/variable speed) and loads of bits, cheap and not so cheap. I've read various things about routing aluminium though, most of them putting me off!
Cal, yeah I was actually thinking originally of putting a few self adhesive felt bits on the base of the saw to make it slip more easily.
Anyway, cheers everyone for your comments. Good stuff.
Stuey
Yeah, yeah.
It's not the time, it's the effort, and also that hacksaws are notorious for going off line on long cuts. A straight cut means minimal filing.
Anyway, it's not just this job. I hope to be be building quite a few more enclosures in my lifetime (!) and had been thinking about this for a while.
Incidentally, I did see a site where some dude used a tile cutting blade (without teeth, diamond type) and reckoned it worked a treat.
Stu
It's not the time, it's the effort, and also that hacksaws are notorious for going off line on long cuts. A straight cut means minimal filing.
Anyway, it's not just this job. I hope to be be building quite a few more enclosures in my lifetime (!) and had been thinking about this for a while.
Incidentally, I did see a site where some dude used a tile cutting blade (without teeth, diamond type) and reckoned it worked a treat.
Stu
Magura's advice should be well noted...Still I have now cut aluminum , successfully , many times and have not experienced any real difficulty. I originally took material to a friend who spent his life as a sheet metalman. He took my material to his fine old Dewalt 10" saw and cut it perfectly. He PULLED the saw through the material slowly without mishap. The burr was easily filed away. I have repeated this many times with my own saw . The blade used is carbide tipped(are'nt they all??) and nothing special.
The one problem I can see with the hand saw method is .how do you provide the open space required for blade clearance??. Perhaps you could make a jig from common lumber. I think you and I have the same problem ...once and idea sets in ,there is nostopping...
The one problem I can see with the hand saw method is .how do you provide the open space required for blade clearance??. Perhaps you could make a jig from common lumber. I think you and I have the same problem ...once and idea sets in ,there is nostopping...
sandyhooker said:
Once again, it really doesn't matter if you have done it safely. This is not something you suggest to a person who has come here asking about cutting aluminum. There is no reason to do it this way unless you feel you have too many fingers. The burr is easily filed no matter which way you run the saw. The trick is to put the good side down so the burr is on the inside. When I was fabricating, if I ever saw someone pulling a radial arm saw through a piece I would send him home for the day to reorganize his genius. Please do not suggest this again.
I cut alu all the time at work on a dewalt tablesaw with a nonferrous metal blade which has the corners on every other tooth beveled off at a 45 degree angle. It does a fine job. I have cut up to 1.5" thick stock with it . I find that I get less of a burr if I wind the blade up as high as it will go so that the teeth are coming down on the surface at almost a 90 degree angle (does that make any sense). Also the alloy makes a considerable difference 6061 cuts with less of a burr than some of the other alloys which are optimized for bending and forming.
BTW I second what the others have said about the safety of the before mentioned method.
BTW I second what the others have said about the safety of the before mentioned method.
Stuey said:
Its one of the most dangerous tools
Such a tool should be handled as intended, and no experiments, as pr Calls posts
Its a very powerful tool and just the slightest wiggle and you may loose control and it could end in your face
Many older carpenters miss parts of their fingers
A table saw is just as dangerous, maybe even more
I once got a stick thrown in my stomack
I was lucky nothing happened
I grew up with those tools, and I admit they scare the hell out of me
btw, correct adjustment of the saw blade depth is very important
You should always work against the rotation of the saw. If the saw then bites or jams, you get what's called "kickback", a sharp but short jolt away from the material. Once the saw loses contact with the material, the jolt is over. In most cases, this damages the material, while being harmless to you. Mind that it still can be violent in certain circumstances. If on the other hand, you saw along with the direction of the spinning blade and it jams, it forces itself into the material, making the kickback event (or should it now be called "kickforward"?) a violent affair all the time.
When the saw is tightly guided (as in a radial arm saw), then there is no other option than throwing the material around. A handheld saw will fly out of the cut towards you, possibly forcing its spinning blade into your face or body.
So, unless your machine is specifically made for so called "climb cutting" (which leaves a smoother finish), don't do it! Always work against the rotation of the tool. This also goes for stuff like routers and planers.
When the saw is tightly guided (as in a radial arm saw), then there is no other option than throwing the material around. A handheld saw will fly out of the cut towards you, possibly forcing its spinning blade into your face or body.
So, unless your machine is specifically made for so called "climb cutting" (which leaves a smoother finish), don't do it! Always work against the rotation of the tool. This also goes for stuff like routers and planers.
If you can support the plate properly, even with a sacrificial piece of e.g plywood underneath, there's nothing wrong in using a circular saw. Use a proper blade, and feed slowly in the normal direction.
Use a solid guiding board and clamp it to the plate, - concider taping up the section where the saw plate moves to avoid scarring the surface. Solid support and easy working - no quick and dirty!
One of our mechanics even use a metal cutting disc in an angle grinder, and produces better cuts than most of us can do on a table saw!
Use a solid guiding board and clamp it to the plate, - concider taping up the section where the saw plate moves to avoid scarring the surface. Solid support and easy working - no quick and dirty!
One of our mechanics even use a metal cutting disc in an angle grinder, and produces better cuts than most of us can do on a table saw!
AuroraB said:
Sure
If less skilled you can mount a wood stick to follow with blade
btw, if a circular saw is used I would adjust the blade to just barely go through, or maybe even not to go completely throug
Man, those american names for tools makes somewhat questionable
Maybe someone would like to make a sticky thread with tools and their names and pictures of them, so we all know we are talking about the same thing
Guys, regarding your general comments about blade depth and general saw use, I have to stress here that I'm no novice in using a circular saw. I've sawn loads of wood, constructing everything from tiny speakers to kitchen cupboards to ply formworks to 12" x 3" karri roofing beams, but just not metal.
The reason I asked about the risk was that the negative reaction was much stronger than I expected, so I assumed there was some problem I hadn't thought of...but no.
So I guess my trusty McCulloch chain saw would be no good?
Again, thanks for the input.
Stu
The reason I asked about the risk was that the negative reaction was much stronger than I expected, so I assumed there was some problem I hadn't thought of...but no.
So I guess my trusty McCulloch chain saw would be no good?
Again, thanks for the input.
Stu
Cal Weldon said:
Once again, it really doesn't matter if you have done it safely. This is not something you suggest to a person who has come here asking about cutting aluminum. There is no reason to do it this way unless you feel you have too many fingers. The
As odd as it seems, radial arm saws are used the way sandyhooker says - pulled toward your through the work. This applies to aluminum cut on a radial arm saw also (Though I would NEVER use this saw to cut aluminum). Using it the other way (pushing it through the work) is dangerous...
Like any dangerous tool, the radial arm saw has a some learning attached - the blade needs to be the correct type (low angle for less agressive cutting) and shouldn't be used by someone who isn't familiar with it's operation.
If done correctly, cutting aluminum sheet with a circular saw when the sheet is clamped down and using a sharp carbide METAL cutting blade in the saw is more safe than using a tablesaw.
A recommendation: Support the entire sheet of aluminum with a larger piece of plywood or MDF. Set the blade depth to make the cut through the aluminum and about 1/4" into the plywood. Use a straight strip of plywood clamped down as the guide for the saw.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.