Anybody here cut 2-3mm aluminum sheet with a circular saw?

[Anonymous]

I know it can be done with a carbide tipped blade and beeswax on the but I've never tried before. I want to chop up some sheet to make a pair of aluminum panniers if I can't find a place to do the cutting for a reasonable price. How good does the cut turn out if you run the saw against a straight edge? It needs to be smooth enough to weld without lots of filling.

Cheers, Steve

[earlfor]

Re: Anybody here cut 2-3mm aluminum sheet with a circular sa

You would want a carbide tipped blade. On a skilsaw turning a 8 inch blade you want at least a 60 tooth blade if you want a smooth cut. Also, be careful about binding the blade as you cut. If it grabs, it can yank the saw out of your hand faster than you can sneeze. Hold on to it, feed the saw slowly into the aluminum and let the blade do the work. Keep the cut straight as you can. I usually put down a line of masking tape and follow that edge rather than a pencil or scribe line. The chips will cover pencil and scribe lines real quickly. :-) Wear safety glasses as the chips fly in every direction. The carbide teeth are wider than the blade base, so beeswax will not be of much use as the sides of the sawblade will not be in contact. Vibration is usually bad, so likely you will need to clamp your straightedge down. It also helps if you have a scrap piece of ply you can use as a backing under the aluminum. Just set your blade depth to the thickness of the aluminum plus about 1/8" and let the blade cut into the wood. It will also help to stabilize the blade and make cutting a straight line a bit easier. Also, put masking tape over the base plate of the skilsaw if you dont want scratches everywhere the saw's base plate slides.

Earl

I know it can be done with a carbide tipped blade and beeswax on the but I've never tried before. I want to chop up some sheet to make a pair of aluminum panniers if I can't find a place to do the cutting for a reasonable price. How good does the cut turn out if you run the saw against a straight edge? It needs to be smooth enough to weld without lots of filling.

Cheers, Steve

[Anonymous]

most excellent reply Earl!!

[dwarf8]

Re: Anybody here cut 2-3mm aluminum sheet with a circular sa

....... It also helps if you have a scrap piece of ply you can use as a backing under the aluminum. Just set your blade depth to the thickness of the aluminum plus about 1/8" and let the blade cut into the wood. It will also help to stabilize the blade and make cutting a straight line a bit easier. .....

Earl

Great advice, Earl!

If you don't clamp it down to a board it could be ripped from your hands, leaving a really great cut across your fingers. Photos of scar available.
Aluminium is very soft but very dense. It clogs cutting tools really easily.
I have gone as far as putting it in a sandwich between 2 layers of Masonite or any scrap wood I had around to guarantee a smooth, straight cut.

[wrench]

This Earl guy just keeps coming up with great solutions,
does'nt he
John.

[Anonymous]

Wear safety glasses as the chips fly in every direction.

Very good advice from Earl. One thing he didn't mention is the chips are HOT, as well. Not fire hazard hot, but enough to sting if you get them in your shoe or down a shirt collar. And they fly EVERYWHERE. Much farther than wood chips. And it is very noisy, so wear earplugs or muffs to avoid that ringing sensation. The advice to clamp it to wood or even better in a sandwich of thin plywood is very good. You can also lightly glue it down to some scrap wood, but then you have to break the bond and clean off the glue afterwards...

All in all, very manageable. I know people who have cut 1" thick aluminum with a radial arm saw and it worked fine, too. If you do it carefully, the cut line is very smooth and even, so welding it is no problem. If you do use beeswax (I wouldn't bother), be sure to be anal about cleaning it off before welding or it will contaminate the weld.

Mark

[Dark Jedi]

Not much to add. Cutting in the middle of the masking tape helps reduce some of the flyout as well, but sandwitching in masonite works better.

[earlfor]

Doggone it, now you went and spoiled Steve's surprise. :-) :-) Can't have any fun around here. :-)

Earl

[quote="mark m"]
One thing he didn't mention is the chips are HOT, as well. Not fire hazard hot, but enough to sting

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice and the thumbs up guys. This will save me a bunch of money. Too bad work won't begin until October but I needed to know now since a set of boxes go for a grand US and I would need to start saving now. And yes, I've had slag down my boot and my EAR so I know about hot flying metal. Learning by experience can have its moments...

Steve

[Anonymous]

safety when cutting metal

You might want to wear a decent pair of gloves if you have a tendency to try and wipe your work surface by hand. Speaking from experience aluminum shavings and chips are very sharp. I'm a metal worker by trade Also a jig-saw with a good metal cutting blade or band saw works fairly well on aluminum depending on the size of the sheet you are working with.

[Anonymous]

And yes, I've had slag down my boot and my EAR so I know about hot flying metal.

There's nothing like the old "hot foot dance" to start the morning out right when you are out in the shop.

Mark