Picked up the latest shopnotes and their is an artical about working with aluminum, making a square specificly. According to the artical you can cut aluminum with a carbid blade in your table saw or miter saw, not that I think they would lie to me but would like to know if anyone else has done this.
Richard
Oh, sure, you can cut aluminum with just about anything that will cut wood, unless it's an especially hardened variety of aluminum. A carbide blade would probably be a bit better than high speed steel, but just about anything will do. Even then you probably wouldn't have much trouble except maybe building up some aluminum galling on the blades. Which you can knock off with a sharp scraper with a little trouble.
Tom Dacon
Yes. Aluminum is soft. Brass too, I think, but I haven't tried it. You just can't cut ferrous metals (iron, steel).
I'm considering making one of those aluminum squares too. Sure you can buy them for less money, but...you made it yourself!
Mike
I've cut up to 2" aluminum plate on a cabinet saw. It's just plain dangerous. Of course, now there are going to be a bunch of people jumping in and saying it's no problem. It isn't, unless you have done it on appropriate equipment (not a tablesaw) and know the consequences of screwing up. WARNING: a kickback with aluminum can kill you. Get hit with a piece of it and you will appreciate how soft wood really is. A hand held circular saw also works and is much safer. WD40 is a good cutting fluid.
Didn't see the article. But I can tell you a couple of things about this as we use a miter saw to cut columns, beams, etc., when we put up aluminum room enclosures and patio/deck covers. (As a side note, the aluminum window mullions and many frame pieces on almost all commercial buidings are cut with a miter saw).
First, you will get aluminum shavings all over everything. They are metal shreds, and they are really messy. And once in the saw, after using it for several cuts you will have the little chips around for a while. They have a nasty habit of reappearing embedded in the face of a piece of molding I was cutting face down to keep from spintering the face.
You will probably ruin you blade as the friction will catch the soft aluminum and it will stick to the teeth. It always does on mine and those gummed up blades don't work well as finish cuts after cutting aluminum. It is worse then cutting a pile of wet yellow pine.
Make sure you always wear you goggles as the little shavings can really fly around. Don't trim a piece unless you are completely confident in what you are doing. Cutting off a quarter or so will let the saw grab that little vibrating piece of metal and tear it off and throw it. If your piece is not completely secure and it moves a little when cutting, you will find metal much more unforgiving than wood. I have found that a small piece of aluminum will bounce and ricochet with the greatest gusto.
I now have a saw dedicated to that task (cutting almuminum) since it is too messy to cut with my good saws, and I don't want to lose a good blade in the process.
If you just have one miter saw, I wouldn't do it.
As always, YMMV, and after all, it's only my 0.02.
Robert
_Really_ bad advice.
If you're going to do this, only do it because you're making a habit of it and really need to. In that case buy a new blade, specifically for soft non-ferrous metals. Looks just like a plywood blade, but the rake angle is different. If you're using a chop saw this is a good idea. If you're using a table saw then it's damn near essential for your survival - wood blade angles on aluminium will "work", but you're just asking for a kickback.
Aluminium will also fill your machinery with aluminium shavings. These are nasty scratchy little things that ruin surfaces of planed timber. If they ever get damp, then they're also tiny black pencils that will scrawl on the surface of clean timber.
If you're going to use a miter or table saw remove the dust bag first and blow out all the saw dust, otherwise you may risk a fire or even an explosion. Don't ask me how I know this.
richard wrote: > Picked up the latest shopnotes and their is an artical about working with > aluminum, making a square specificly. According to the artical you can cut > aluminum with a carbid blade in your table saw or miter saw, not that I > think they would lie to me but would like to know if anyone else has done > this.
Urban legend or fact?
If you run a wood cutting blade backwards, you can make clean cuts in aluminum?
Lew
Yes. However it's even better to just get a blade with the right angles.
You can get clean cuts in aluminium if you use a normal wood blade, so long as everything in sight is clamped rigid. The problem is (in bandsaw terms) "excessive hook" and a tendency to grab at the cut. As most woodworking setups are less rigid than metalworking rigs, this leads to chatter and a poor cut.
With my natural German heritage being as tight as it is, I am inclined to save buck where I can. Being a contractor like many here, I have an opportunity to try out as many of these methods as I want in the course of my normal workday. And you can bet if I can save buck without giving away quality, I will do it. So of course, I tried this method, having heard it for the last 30 years. This method was first introduced to me as a way to cut 29 ga. metal used in roofing and in flashings. The job site brain trusts have since expanded this method to cover just about anything that needs to be cut; aluminum, acrylic sheet (soory if it burned dude, you must have gotten the wrong kind), brass, copper pipe, you name it.
Here's my experience: Turning a blade around simply made the blade mash through the aluminum, chewing through using friction only as it cutting method. And of course, the heat generated warped the blade, making the cuts ugly while building debris on the saw blade, making it even harder still for the next cut.
When cutting sheetmetal (29ga steel), it is easier on the saw because the saw just burns through the metal. You will literally have orange hot splinters come off your cuts, and the edges of your metal really rough and burned blue. Actually, in limited use I did have some success with the old 120 tooth plywood blades cutting single thickness pieces, but the blade was installed on the saw correctly. I found it is better to use an old fashioned set of snips.
YMMV.
Robert
I did forget to mention that didn't I? Thanks for filling in.
Unless you can be heard walking from 5 mile away, you're not tight.
OTOH, making prudent use of ones available resources, now that's a different matter.
If it's in a chop saw, why not an abrasive blade?
Makes sense.
Lew
I've seen many references to cutting aluminum on the TS with a carbide tipped blade. There are also special blades made just for this purpose if you expect to do it more than occasionally. Personally, I have never _intentionally_ cut any aluminum on my tablesaw...
You know, I see that recommendation time and time again in the ng, to mount the blade backwards for cutting plastic, aluminum, or what-have-you. Then I think about the posts where someone had a carbide tooth come off, while cutting plain old ordinary wood, and the injury or pain it caused. I think running a carbide tip blade backwards through anything harder than, say, styrofoam, would definitely be on my "DO NOT TRY AT HOME" list
Lew, you're man after my own heart. That is exactly how I look at it, but others have accused me of being so tight you couldn't drive a toothpick in my rear with a sledge hammer. Not true! I just don't spend money unless I have to.
I think of it as being responsible. But I like the phrase "being prudent with one's resources". Puttin' that one in the book.
You cannot cut aluminum with an abrasive blade. It is too soft and will quickly foul your abrasive wheel. You can kind of grind it (which is what an abrasive blade does instead of cutting) but you cannot cut it. Non ferrous blades are only for masonry.
Robert
With a grandfather from Prussia and a grandmother from Hesslot, can relate to your German heritage, and yes I had an uncle you could hear walking from 5 miles away.
Having parents who survived the Great Depression probably has something to do with "prudent use of ones available resources".
SFWIW, my tenant uses a Skill 77 equipped /w/ a 7-1/4 abrasive blade to cut fiberglass laminations.
Works quite well as long as you are patient.
Sure as hell beats a carbide blade since fiberglass laminate is very abrasive.
Lew
The forces on the tip aren't much different whichever way you do it. It's shock loads that break tips off, not just putting the brazed joint in tension.
I did it twice, latest time was a week ago. The threshold on the pre-hung door I bought overhung by about 1/2" so I needed to trim it. This is pretty thin stuff (maybe 1/16) but it still made me uncomfortable. I used a cheapo combination blade (40T) and as others have said it makes a mess. I did it because it was thin and I needed a straight cut I couldn't do with the jigsaw.
It doesn't really cut the Al as much as it smashes through it and sends pieces everywhere. Goggles are a must and you really need to clean up afterward because one little speck of the shavings could easily ruin the next thing you are working on.
Not something I would recommend but can be done in a pinch.
BTW, a backwards plywood blade in a circular saw does a great job on Vynil siding.
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