YES on the eye protection. No sweaters or stocking caps - or beards - either. Finally got tired of combing alum out of my hair too, or finding it in the lint trap of the dryer. So I said to my self, "Self, you got a 3d printer, fix that". I use a Porter Cable chop saw w/ 80 tooth alum Diablo blade and printed up a shroud that the shop vac plugs into, it catches most of the chaff. But still, a face visor or at least goggles are just as important as the right blade.
Will one of these work? The jig attachment seems like it should make cutting square easy, I'm just not so sure about the saw itself. https://www.amazon.co.uk/VonHaus-Handheld-Circular-Warranty-angled/dp/B00QV8ZE1U
Reviews on Amazon(US) were not very kind. If you already have a circular saw, you could easily set up a similar sled with a couple short lengths of aluminum angle creating a trough across a built up MDF sub-base for a fraction of the cost.
One alternative that I hadn't seen mentioned yet is a horizontal band saw. Advantages: - Less violent - Quieter - Aluminum swarf lands in a pretty small area around the saw instead of being flung everywhere - No aluminum chips hitting your skin at high velocity and stinging. No need for face mask (just safety goggles will do). - Less issue with kickback. If you've adjusted the saw to cut too aggressively, the blade will just stop - Much safer for cutting angles. The blade does not draw the piece into it even at an angle. - More precise when cutting angles because the blade does not draw the piece into it at an angle. - Smaller pieces can be cut more safely Disadvantages: - More expensive than a cut off saw or miter saw - Slower cuts - Finer swarf - Not a benchtop device. Needs more work to set up a good extended fence and support. So far, I am counting the horizontal band saw as a win overall. I am using it mostly for angle cuts and now use the cut off saw only for straight cuts. Even then, I'm a bit tempted to switch to the HBS for straight cuts since it is so much more pleasant and safer to use. -D
They really are expensive, even on EBay! I could understand Mark at the Parts Store using something like this, but for a "once off use" machine, that's a lot of money.
@GrayUK That is true. The cost of a horizontal band saw is way too high for somebody who just needs to make a couple of cuts. I make a lot of cuts myself so it was worthwhile. And I think that this would be a really good purchase for a maker space or other shared facility where members will be working with extrusion. But it is kinda crazy that the expensive saw I bought is a 'low end' horizontal band saw. The high end ones can apparently cut through profiles the size of I-beams or even bigger. -D
I'm looking to purchase a 7 1/4 inch non ferrous blade for my 10 inch table saw. I'm not sure the best way to calculate the chip load. For the veterans, the blade is available in 40 and 60 tooth options. Which would be better for cutting V-slot?
I'm actually working on a traverse system with digital readout using C Beam, stepper driven an encoder spur gear and rack
@Barry Danks I think there is somebody else who made a similar build: Cut To Length Machine I think it will be sturdier using C-Beam like you are planning. This is perfect if you need to cut a different length each time. My current system involves the trick I mentioned in the other thread (cutting off scrap as a template to replicate a length) and gage blocks. The down side is that I have to do a lot of futzing around to make a template for a new length. But it works out for me because I usually need to do a lot of cutting of the same few lengths. And once I have a template, there is not a lot that can go wrong. -D
@Jonathon Duerig Looks like a nice system. I was thinking of it being stand alone no pc to run it though
Harbor freight has a metal cutting band saw for 200 and an excellent return policy. That is my plan, but I probably will just keep the thing tbh. Either way, I would say the proper tool for this would be a bandsaw. Safer, and you lose less metal, since the blade is thinner. Whichever you choose, just make sure to wear eye protection!
@kotagi FYI, there is a fairly large community of people who have worked out the best way to adjust the HF saws in particular and the ways that they are likely need to be fixed or tuned before you even turn it on for the first time. Look on YouTube for a bunch of useful material. Also, if you (or anyone else who is planning on getting a Harbor Freight horizontal bandsaw) PM me your email address, I can forward you a PDF guide which has a tuning/setup procedure for getting HF bandsaws up and running and cutting accurately from start to finish. I've had a crash course in tuning horizontal bandsaws myself over the last six months. So if you run into troubles, just ask me and I can tell you the right tools and techniques that I have found works well. -Jonathon Duerig
I just cut a 1 inch plate with my miter saw, it cut like in butter. Setup: Bosch miter saw, freud 12 inches blade for plastic and non ferrous, multiple passes and my most recent discovery, blade wax!
Way cool! An 8" metal cutting blade that will fit my panel saw! I've been putting off attempting to cut aluminum with circular saws, but now I gotta get my courage up.
Interesting tip. Now, where am I going to get beeswax? Oh, wait, that's right, I'm a beekeeper! And over on Beesource we were just wondering what lower grade beeswax would be good for. I routinely drill and tap aluminum with cutting oil intended for that metal. If I recall my chemistry, something about aluminum and Grignard reagents? Fresh cut aluminum acts very differently from steel, almost like magnesium.
Have no clue about that (-: My father told me about the kero and I discovered the wax on my own. Dad also told me about chicken fat on steels, it is amazing. I have used Tapmatic and it is good, but I now live in a small town in Africa where getting kero and wax is easy, but asking for Tapmatic gets you confused looks at the end of a lot of explaining.
I purchased 9x 1500mm 2060s and 4x 1000mm 4040s and all of the factory cuts were not square. I recommend checking and squaring the factory cut before making your final cut. I had to take my entire build apart and square the edges causing all types of problems. But in all fairness I should have checked the factory cuts and not assumed that they were spot on.
For aerospace and alloy shipyards Boelube is probably the go to cutting lubricant a little dab on your blade works wonders they do a small Solid - 1.6 Oz. Push Tube which is just a few dollars and ideal for hobby use its great for cutting, drilling grinding and tapping aluminium I wouldn't be without a stick.
Same experience here. OpenBuilds cuts are not square. Have to Same experience here. OpenBuilds cuts are not square. Have to trim to get a square. Which means you cannot design for a standard length piece expecting to get that.
I use a Diablo 84 tooth blade for cutting extrusions on a chop saw. Over 300 cuts and it still produces the same quality cut. No lub. The blade was designed just for aluminum extrusion cutting (and 1 cut on plywood ruined my first one). But this stuff is super for tapping M5 threads in extrusion end holes. And fantastic if you use self-tapping screws.
