On Mon, 27 Feb 2006 22:18:42 -0500, "mc"
wrote:

I have a tablesaw with a sliding cutoff box that I often use to cut small
pieces of wood and plastic.

Today I needed to cut some aluminum (about 3/32" thick).

I put in a steel blade that was marked "for aluminum and plastic" and had a
difficult time. The cutting went slowly and the aluminum got very hot. By
the end, the blade was bent.

I then put in a 40-tooth (8-inch dia.) Piranha carbide-tipped wood-cutting
blade that was several years old. It cut the aluminum very happily, with
very little heat.

I know this is putting more wear on the blade than wood would, but how much
more? Am I doing anything harmful to the tools? Seems to me the original
"aluminum and plastic" blade was much worse.


April 2006 Workbench has some information on cutting aluminum on a
tablesaw. They recommend using a regular carbide blade with a zero
clearance insert and also mounting the aluminum with double-sided tape to a
sacrificial piece of hardboard, then usig a pushblock with a heal to push
the aluminum through the blade. Workbench April 2006, pp 34 ff.



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If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough

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