To Doug, post #11: There are places called "Makerspace" in most larger North American cities. They often have laser cutters and engravers, 3D printers, photographic equipment, computer stuff and many other cool tools, plus lots of good advise. These are clubs you pay an annual fee to join. google to find one near you.
To cut a slot into aluminium I use my !0" table saw with an 80 tooth carbide tipped blade. I cut a shallow groove, turn the stock over, repeat, raise the blade, repeat. This avoids overheating the aluminium and warping it. Then file the rest to get to where I want to go. Be careful to hold on to or clamp down the aluminium, otherwise it will run away on you. Wear safety glasses and leather gloves! E
To cut a slot into aluminium I use my !0" table saw with an 80 tooth carbide tipped blade. I cut a shallow groove, turn the stock over, repeat, raise the blade, repeat. This avoids overheating the aluminium and warping it. Then file the rest to get to where I want to go. Be careful to hold on to or clamp down the aluminium, otherwise it will run away on you. Wear safety glasses and leather gloves! E
When I quickly read the stated problem I thought "drill holes and file," then I read the post again and saw the slot is to be 1/8" wide. I don't think any of my files would fit in that slot.
It's worth saying again, and the basic method I'd try.Many excellent suggestions above do not apply here because of some very specific parameters to be met by your front panel slot cut:
1) forget V-cutting from behind, you'll never get uniform slot width.
2) forget grinding of any kind, this is soft easily deformable aluminum, edges will have a horrible impossible to hide or correct burr.
If anything, use water jet cutting which sort of self polishes the cut.
3) same applies, to a lesser degree, to any cutting with a mini saw type wheel.
And since it touches panel at an angle, you can't cut vertical walls at the slot ends.
4) straight 1/8" router bit is best.
Of course, neck must be proper diameter to fit your router collar, while cutting edge will be 1/8"
5) since slot width is bit diameter , you won't find one with a tiny tiny ball bearing at the end to guide it ... which to boot requires a previous hole made with a standard drill press, so:
a) this router bit also has a cutting "drill tip" so it can cut its own initial hole:
https://www.burnstools.com/accessories/router-bits/40-001-1-8-hss-router-bit
b) it's HSS steel , not carbide, so it's cheaper 😉
c) more important, it's HSS steel, so slightly flexible, unlike carbide, so I guess is better for hand holding than a carbide one which requires the stability and precision of a CNC machine.
d) since it won't self-guide and human hands are excellent for zigzagging cuts (not your goal I guess) what I do is to *externally* guide the router, by sliding its edge along an L shaped aluminum extrusion or for woodworking, a straight 2" x 6" , firmly clamped to the surface being cut.
In fact I said all this in my earlier post, only I use more words here 😉
Set up guides and stops for your router base to slide against. In fact, you'll spend around 5 to 10 times as much time setting up guides and stops, than making the actual cut.
When you try an unfamiliar method or technique it's always wise to make a practice cut on a piece of scrap material, even if you're not able to make exactly the same cut because the scrap isn't as large as the finished piece. There's a small mountain of short pieces piled under my router table, showing evidence of my efforts to properly set up dovetails and finger joints.
(If you don't have any scrap material, use some other material of similar dimensions just to get a feel of how you'll handle the tools. In some cases you can sacrifice an area of the production material that will be covered or hidden after assembly.)
I'd choose a high-quality tool steel bit over a carbide bit. Yes, carbide is MUCH harder than tool steel but it's also extremely brittle. Any chattering or jerky movement risks shattering the carbide edge.
Until you have a good feeling for what YOU are capable of doing with the tools and facilities of YOUR shop, keep the feed rates slow and the cut depths shallow - maybe only 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm (0.010" to 0.020") deep for the first pass.
Dale
I wouldnt bother with carbide on aluminum ever, did you know that high speed steel is sharper?
Save the carbide for ferrous metals.
Too bad your files wont fit the groove.
If you choose a table saw to do it, make sure the blade doesnt go all the way through, make a few passes to get to that point. I have been able to use a wood blade on softer alloys doing this. The blade will tend to grab on the exit, similar to when you are drilling.
Seems like you may need to find a thinner file either way.
Hard to have to spend so much time trying to figure out a way to do something that would take ten minutes on a proper mill...
Save the carbide for ferrous metals.
Too bad your files wont fit the groove.
If you choose a table saw to do it, make sure the blade doesnt go all the way through, make a few passes to get to that point. I have been able to use a wood blade on softer alloys doing this. The blade will tend to grab on the exit, similar to when you are drilling.
Seems like you may need to find a thinner file either way.
Hard to have to spend so much time trying to figure out a way to do something that would take ten minutes on a proper mill...
OT a bit from cutting aluminum, but isn't tool bit rpm a bit of an issue when cutting ferrous metals, regardless of type of bit?
Most wood working routers operate in the range of 10s of thousands of RPM - the variable speed version of the Bosch shown in a photo earlier tons from 16,000 to 36,000, and some of the large production routers such as the PC7518 can run as low as 10,000- sometimes when machining 8/4" sold maple or white oak with an 1 1/2" radius, that lower speed makes for safer and cleaner work
Most wood working routers operate in the range of 10s of thousands of RPM - the variable speed version of the Bosch shown in a photo earlier tons from 16,000 to 36,000, and some of the large production routers such as the PC7518 can run as low as 10,000- sometimes when machining 8/4" sold maple or white oak with an 1 1/2" radius, that lower speed makes for safer and cleaner work
I'd take it to a machine shop along with cash or a case of beer, and the cutout sketched directly on the metal. "Here, clamp this in your bridgeport with a 1/8" bit and make a line from here to there."
Literally a 5 minute job.
Literally a 5 minute job.
Double ding, bingo, and Yahtzee to gmarsh's suggestion, and who knows, the connection may come in handy on a life time of future projects
Trouble is, the OP seems to want a slot that is about 1/8" wide, and the nibblers like the one you pictured that I've seen cut slots that are more like 1/4" wide.
However this one cuts a far narrower slot:
Draper Nibbler
or:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sheet-Metal-Nibbler-Steel-Cutter-Hand-Nibbler-Shear-AT249-/400720113323?hash=item5d4cc7aeab:g:vkIAAOSwFnFV~SS2
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I really would avoid any kind of business with hand router and aluminum. If you never machined aluminum, you will most likely hurt yourself before you make any cuts. Please, please keep in mind that is very dangerous way to work on metal.
Out of all suggestions, more than kind offer from Jackinny only makes sense to me. Hand routers operate at very high speeds - in thousands of rpm, where on regular milling machine we are talking a few hundreds rpm. Only very small diameter mills require such a high speeds, but on a heavy milling machine where stock is tightly griped in vise or on a milling table. What will happen is that aluminum will immediately gum up to your bit, which will cause router to get stuck, which will than pull router from your hand and start flying around at full speed. Please do not do that. The other scenario is your push speed. At the very moment you push faster than is a proper that router will fly from your hand.
Metal work requires ether proper equipment or if done by hand tools - patience - read files. To do it by hand drill many holes, cut by hand and than file. Most likely that will never going to be as good as if done on a milling machine. So if you would like to have both hands, and good looking hole on your front plate do anything else but not hand router.
Out of all suggestions, more than kind offer from Jackinny only makes sense to me. Hand routers operate at very high speeds - in thousands of rpm, where on regular milling machine we are talking a few hundreds rpm. Only very small diameter mills require such a high speeds, but on a heavy milling machine where stock is tightly griped in vise or on a milling table. What will happen is that aluminum will immediately gum up to your bit, which will cause router to get stuck, which will than pull router from your hand and start flying around at full speed. Please do not do that. The other scenario is your push speed. At the very moment you push faster than is a proper that router will fly from your hand.
Metal work requires ether proper equipment or if done by hand tools - patience - read files. To do it by hand drill many holes, cut by hand and than file. Most likely that will never going to be as good as if done on a milling machine. So if you would like to have both hands, and good looking hole on your front plate do anything else but not hand router.
Seriously, any (I mean any) machine shop with any kind of vertical mill will be your best option here. For the money you pay a machinist to do this job, you would be hard pressed to purchase the gear necessary. Your end result may vary, depending on methods, gear, and patience employed. By the time you hunt down all the bits, tools, cutting fluid, etc., and set up your workpiece, the machinist could have made a dozen.
Places to try to find are the ones that do custom fabrication and machining. Think trophy shops, wood sign makers, engine shops, auto mechanics / service centers, independent auto parts dealers, sheet metal fabricators, tool repair shops, the list is endless. The larger, chain or franchise type places will either quote you too much, or just say no. You may know someone who does industrial maintenance in a factory somewhere, or know someone who knows someone, who would do an outstanding job for something bartered, say some ice cold beer. To a skilled craftsman, this task is comparable to ripping a check from a checkbook, or tearing a movie ticket in half. The hard part is finding that guy who will consider doing something so small.
Places to try to find are the ones that do custom fabrication and machining. Think trophy shops, wood sign makers, engine shops, auto mechanics / service centers, independent auto parts dealers, sheet metal fabricators, tool repair shops, the list is endless. The larger, chain or franchise type places will either quote you too much, or just say no. You may know someone who does industrial maintenance in a factory somewhere, or know someone who knows someone, who would do an outstanding job for something bartered, say some ice cold beer. To a skilled craftsman, this task is comparable to ripping a check from a checkbook, or tearing a movie ticket in half. The hard part is finding that guy who will consider doing something so small.
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Hi all, just wanted to let you know that I'm still here and reading, and appreciating the advice. Unfortunately circumstances have prevented any progress to report yet.
Indeed. For persons in Europe/Netherlands: Bring it to me with a bottle of whisky and your problem will be fixed.
/\ SEE /\ ABOVE /\
Now that's what I'm talking about. I found one of those guys in Holland for you...😀
I would try to find someone closer though, or begin the whiskey brand selection process.
Being from Kentucky, I prefer brands like Knob Creek, Makers Mark, and Jim Beam. Straight bourbon, yummmmm!
Now that's what I'm talking about. I found one of those guys in Holland for you...😀
I would try to find someone closer though, or begin the whiskey brand selection process.
Being from Kentucky, I prefer brands like Knob Creek, Makers Mark, and Jim Beam. Straight bourbon, yummmmm!
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I thought this was a DIY not a HAM (hire a machinist) forum, but, if you can find someone to do it for 15 USD then by all means, send it out.
Hand held routers work on aluminium (and brass for that matter) precisely because they operate at high speed. The cut is so fast and so slight that little force is directed to the router body.
Well, that's true, although no gum is involved. What happens is that the heat generated welds the shavings to the cut, and to the bit for that matter. To counter this, a cutting fluid is used to better conduct the heat to the metal mass, thus preventing the work from reaching the melting point. Commercial fluids like Tap Magic may be used, but for routing (or sawing) aluminium I use Vaseline. It stays where you put it and doesn't smell.
I make the cut in several passes and wipe the chip laden Vaseline from the work and the router between each. Then I apply more Vaseline make the next pass. I've made through cuts In 1/2" aluminium this way.
Seriously? With a 1/8" bit? The worst that could happen is the bit would snap leaving you wondering why it stopped cutting. However, I do like the image of a router flying around.
You can use a bit with a 1/8" shaft like the Dremel 650. To use it in a router you need a shaft adapter. Here is the Amana RB 102. Or you can use a 1/8" bit with a 1/4" shaft. Here is the Bosch 85213MC. I reccommed the 1/4" shafted bit because it's less flexy and has two flutes rather than the Dremel's one. However the Dremel bit could be used with the Dremel router,
but still, I prefer the heft and rigidity of a traditional router.
Harder alloys like 6061 or 7075 cut the cleanest but softer aluminium also works.
******* CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO *******
I've made a little video of me making a sample slot. Sorry my hand is hiding some of the action. To start the cut I hold the side of the router base shoe against the clamped fence. The back of the shoe rests on the work and the front edge of the shoe is raised above the work and pressed against the end stop block. With a smooth motion the bit is lowered and the router is moved along the fence. The compound motion is important because these router bits will not cut in their centers. Shallow cuts also mitigate this problem.
Thank you so much for the video. Can you give us the brand of router you are using? I've never seen something as small and maneuverable. It looks like a Bosh based on the color, but possibly a Makita?
Thank you, It's a Bosch but It's over 20 years old. The newer ones are much nicer. Most manufacturers make small trim routers, sometimes refereed to as laminate trimmers. The new Boschs look good and have a better depth setting mechanism.
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