Hello, I have two 500 mm pieces of extrusion that I need to cut ASAP. I have used a wood blade ( Whatever is on the saw) to cut individual pieces of T Track in the past with no issue. In that the 20/80 is a bit beefer I was not sure if I can get away with it here? The cut surfaces are not critical dimensions, has anyone done this or do I absolutely need to invest in a non-ferrous blade. Thanks for sharing your experience! Richard
Thanks for your reply ! It seems like the worst case would be dulling the saw blade and I never noticed any impact once the T- Trac was cut. Think I will go ahead with it, just wanted another view! Cheers
Just enter the cut slowly, lower teeth count woodworking blades catch more easily. And clamp the extrusion to the fence. Don't hold it by hand out of habit - just in case. I have broken two fences a couple months apart on a 185mm mitre saw from being too lazy to swap blades. It caught, and snapped the fence behind it. Lucky to walk away twice without injury, particularly first time where I was holding it by hand.
Thanks for the clarification. Sounds a bit scarier than I would have imagined. If I break the saw it would have been cheaper to go with a dedicated blade. Humm. Thanks for sharing!
The key to aluminum is always clamp it down. I got careless cutting 2x2x1/8 angle and shattered the fence on a 10” cast iron miter saw. It’s such a violent experience you come away thankful you didn’t wind up losing any blood.
Agreed, my mistake wasn't as much the blade as the "i'll just press it up against the fence with my hand" - if it was clamped the blade would have stalled - no damage - but fingers are weak against clamps. Don't worry too much, just, like we both said, Clamp it! (And enter the cut slowly)
I use a DeWalt FlexVolt 12" sliding compound miter saw, still running the stock 60 tooth thin-kerf carbide blade at least three years later. Aluminum doesn't worry it at all, I'm quite sure it dulls the teeth much less than cutting wood. I don't clamp either solid aluminum or extrusion- the cut line is so stable it has nothing to grab on to, and I like to micro-adjust as the cut proceeds. It's always flush up against the fence though, never freehand (I can't imagine cutting anything like that on any circular saw!) and I never enter the cut aggressively (the only time this works is on very thin material, but then you pretzel your workpiece). Obviously, others recommend against this for good reason. But I do wear glasses, because it throws chips like crazy and if there's a small off-cut that gets pushed the wrong way it will happily- and loudly- launch it across the room like an exploding grinding wheel.
Very helpful. Thanks for sharing your experience. I only have a couple of cuts so I am thinking I should be good to go.!
So my cutting is a couple of pieces of 20/80 that I need to trim down from 500 mm. I am trying to up my z height without going all the way up to the size and expense of the High Z kit. I am following a YouTube video where a guy cuts a couple of 500 mm pieces of extrusion to increase the head space on his LEAD 1010. He goes up from the stock 250 mm to 300 mm. I want to go to 350mm. I realize at some point you need the strength of the extra cross member like in the full on High Z Kit. Do you think going to 350 mm from the Stock 250 will work? ()
It will "work" but you will likely have to dial back feedrates to compensate - additional leverage from the longer pivot arm of sideways forces on the Z axis, will ve increased.
I guess I can try it and then step up the the High Z if I get to much deflection. When I look at pictures of the high Z it looks like the first rail is at about 500 mm and then the second rail is what gives the "High Lift". Looks like maybe an extra support bracket to fight the flex? Of course I have the Black scheme and they don't seem to expect the Black High Z until sometime in November. Thanks for helping think it thru!
