How do you guys accurately cut V-slot. I hate the idea of a hack saw and a table say sounds way to dangerous. I was wondering is a sliding miter saw would work. I have one of those jewels and if it will chop V-slot that will make me happy. Lol
A chop saw is probably what most people are using. Just be sure you have a high tooth-count carbide blade.
And use a new blade that you only use for aluminum (apparently). Probably a case of the ol' cellulose-is-horrible-for-sharp-edges.
OK guess I never thought of cutting aluminum with a table saw. But now that I have I look on youtube and find all kinds of folks cutting upwards of 1" plate with a table saw. So cutting extrusion should be like cutting air. lol
I bought a Harbor Freight saw blade sharpener last week and sharpened all my carbide table saw blades (theoretically ). I then took a 10 inch 60 tooth Freud Diablo blade and successfully cut a piece of quarter inch aluminum plate using my cross cut sled on my table saw. Absolutely wear eye protection. A thick shirt will help, too. Lots of aluminum flying around. That said, I think I may buy the aluminum cutting blade. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00008WQ38/ref=s9_hps_bw_g469_i8
I went to home depot and got a blade from diablo just for non ferrous metals...works great on the chopsaw
I have the Diablo blade and it works great either on a chop saw or a table saw. I prefer the table saw since I can make much finer adjustments when cutting angles.
Hi All, We're cutting down quite a bit of 20 x 20 V-Slot here and I'm curious what you are all experiencing in terms of how long a run time you get before needing to sharpen blades? Thanks! Chris Anderson
I think most of us, generally, only need to cut the amount of ali' for a single CNC machine at a time. Therefore we don't reach that point of blade ware. However, I'm sure Openbuilds Store would have a pretty good idea when it comes to blunting a blade. There are of course so many variables to take into consideration to come up with a qualified answer. So, if you don't hear from them on this thread, then why not give them a shout on their store link. They are very helpful and may be a wealth of information in that area. Gray
@GrayUK I appreciate the response! I plan in reaching out to them as well, as they have been super happy and I'm actually a distributor as well. I'll see what they have to say. Thanks again
If your blade gets dull, I found this 120 Volt Circular Saw Blade Sharpener works great for sharpening. It brought 6 old (expensive) saw blades back to life. In fact I sharpened an old table saw blade just to use for cutting my aluminum plates and extrusion for my CNC. It paid for itself with one session of sharpening blades. I got it on sale so it was a bit cheaper than listed now.
You can use pretty much any relatively fine tooth (40T) carbide blade. They're inexpensive and I doubt you'll wear it out cutting aluminum. And if it starts cutting rough, buy another. Just remember to take it slow when you cut...a "chop" saw is not for chopping! The Diablo non-ferrous blade (or any non-ferrous blade) will last a really long time. Wear protective glasses.
I use a full face shield. The shavings are fairly nasty. Use dust collection if you've got it, otherwise your shop will look like it has been glitter bombed. And if you're really concerned about the blade, use a lube stick or other form of lubricant. You're far more likely to get aluminum glombed/fused onto the blade than you are to wear it out.
I did end up with fused aluminum on a couple teeth. It came off, but I should have used a lube as mentioned by Rick. Eye protection is a must. I was wearing safety glasses and ended up with a big pit in mine right in the center of the left lens when a larger chip flew back at my face. That would have been painful.
We are going to try and track how many cuts we get and see if we can get a feel for our general lifespan. We will be cutting pretty regularly so I will update this thread in the future with the details.
