How to cut aluminium plates

[hacklordsniper]

As im working mostly with round stock hacksaw is my good friend. However as recently the mill sees more action im having trouble preparing blanks.

I have aluminium plates 30x50 cm, 10 mm or close to it. What is the best way to cut out blanks of 15x15 cm? Milling them out seems too long procedure

 

[canadianhorsepower]

As im working mostly with round stock hacksaw is my good friend. However as recently the mill sees more action im having trouble preparing blanks.

I have aluminium plates 30x50 cm, 10 mm or close to it. What is the best way to cut out blanks of 15x15 cm? Milling them out seems too long procedure

I would get a 15mm flat bar and cut it with a mini grinder using a ZIP cut
othwer wise you'll end out with more wais then material

 

[trumpy81]

hacklordsniper a vertical bandsaw would be the best bet or a plasma cutter. Some of the horizontal bandsaws can be used in a vertical manner but you don't get much of a working envelope with them. You might be able to do it if you made up a dedicated guide though.

You could use a power saw (wood) but that can be quite dangerous so make sure you have everything held down firmly before trying it.

 

[123RWO]

A normal, good quality, woodworker's band saw like a 14" Delta with a 12 or 14TPI blade running at normal speed ( 3000FPM) will do well. You might need to use some stick wax on the blade if tooth clogging is a problem, but this will depend on the alloy and it's heat treat condition. 6061-T6 will cut cleanly.

RWO

 

[kcmillin]

This may seem crazy, but we do it all the time at work.

We use either a worm drive circular saw or a 10 inch chop saw with normal carbide tipped wood blades.

It can get pretty loud so wear ear protection and dont forget the saftey glasses, but it will make a nice cut.

we have cut a 3" thick material with out any problems.

You wont believe it till you try it.

Kel

 

[rodw]

Just use a carpenters drop saw. You can get special aluminium blades for them. If you use the standard blade which usually has a pretty coarse tooth, just make sure you run it up to speed before starting cuts and be careful!

Umm, not sure whether I should confess to this. I once bought a cheap drop saw on special for $35 (Ozito from Bunnings for the Aussies). It lasted an hour cutting aluminium before a guide or something broke, so after I blew all the chips out which took another hour, I returned it before the end of the day and bought a Ryobi for $100 which never missed a beat! The next project saw me splurge $40 on the Aluminium blade! I am sure my Ryobi has cut more ally than timber! Mostly tube and 1" SHS but cutting thicker stuff also works with this saw.

 

[avbates]

RWO - You say you can use a standard 14" Delta wood working band saw wit a 12 or 14 TPI blade !! I thought you had to signifcantly slow down a woodworking band saw to cut metals? Is it just because its Aluminum?
Regards
Tony

 

[gartof]

I have a negative rake blade for my table saw (wood) cuts al like butter perfect but free cuts.
Gary

 

[Dave Sohlstrom]

You can cut your material on a standard table saw with a cross cut blade NOT a rip blade. You will not get 2 15X15cm pieces out of you material because you will have a 3.5mm saw kerf to deal with.
Set you rip fence to 15cm and if you have them set up a feather board to keep the material tight against the fence. Use good pushers and a little WD40.

Wear a face shield and ear plugs, don't feed to fast.

Dave

 

[jack620]

I have a DeWalt carpenter's drop-saw with a 10" aluminium cutting blade. It cuts 1" thick aluminium plate beautifully. I always clamp the plate to the saw fence or the bench where I can.

 

[capin]

The best way I've cut flat stock is with a carbide tipped circular saw blade. I have used Lennox models from "Lowe's"and Freud Diablo from "Home Depot" and recently got a 6.5" Tenyru for my Rigid cordless circular saw and LOVE it. The speed and virtulay burr free cuts make the jobs so much easier. I got the non ferrous model from Diablo and it works great also, just don't force them to much. This is the metal one - Brian
QUICK VIEW


$39.97WAS $39.97
Diablo 7-1/4 in. x 48 Tooth Carbide Circular Saw Blade

 

[Davo J]

Sometimes people mistake a wood blade in a power saw which is really an aluminum blade. A aluminum cutting blade has negative rake teeth on it unlike the wood one that has positive teeth rake.
Just watch the material doesn't heat up or it will jamb.

Dave

 

[MachineTom]

For material 10mm thick a wood carbide tipped fine cut, like a moulding blade work great, reverse the blade if material is thinner than 6mm 1/4". Earmuffs face shield tight neck shirts, gloves. HOT chips

 

[capin]

---Read the blade guys --- it says STEEL DEMON -these are made for cutting steel and non-ferrous materials, I agree there are way to many accidents from using wood blades on this type of work and thats why I copied a picture of the real thing. Brian

 

[capin]

Thanks to new technology on carbide and adhesion there are blades for almost anything you want to cut and it seems like steel and aluminum are on there main lists. I have used Milwaukee and Morse models with great success also, but it seems like having the smaller blades make you more mobile. I just saw the new 8" Evolution saw in the shop yesterday. Will keep you all posted when I get to use it. Be safe and WEAR SAFETY GLASSES when using these as always!!!!! Brian

 

[aarggh]

As some of the others have mentioned, drop saws will cut alu bar of almost any thickness (within reason) no probs, but I can't stress enough how dangerous it can be if it grabs. It can kick it out or rip it off-side faster than you can move. You need to really exercise good control and slow cutting to be safe.

cheers, Ian

 

[123RWO]

RWO - You say you can use a standard 14" Delta wood working band saw wit a 12 or 14 TPI blade !! I thought you had to signifcantly slow down a woodworking band saw to cut metals? Is it just because its Aluminum?
Regards
Tony

Yes. Most non-ferrous metals can be cut at full speed with a blade with HSS teeth. Delta makes a wood/metal version of the same saw with a gear box and cone pulleys that allows reducing the blade speed to about 100 FPM to cut steel.

RWO