On Sat, 16 Jan 2016 17:07:12 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

On Saturday, January 16, 2016 at 2:22:00 PM UTC-5, Clare wrote:

A "cold cut" saw would work - it turns a bit slower than the average
table saw, and the blade is made for cutting metal - but I don't have
one and the quality of the finish of the cut would likely leave
something to be desired.

You have a solution with your friend doing it. But do not knock using a table saw with carbide tipped teeth for cutting aluminium until you have tried it. It is noisy, but quick. And the finish is not bad. Try searching on " cutting aluminium table saw ". You will get a couple of pages of links to that topic.

Dan
I've done it several times. I had a 10 inch "Beaver" table saw and
used it to cut 2 inch blocks of aluminum for the engine mounts.(sold
the table saw almost 10 years ago - did I mention we are 16 years into
this build???) The whole garage was full of sharp shiny chips of
aluminum.

I also cut some 3/16" aluminum plate for an engine cover - and that
cost me over $100 for a new armature for my favorite circular saw -and
spread chips all over the back yard. THAT cut was extremely noizy-.

The cuts were smoother than chopping with an axe, but would require a
lot of sanding or grinding to make the surface quality I want for
these parts - which would make any kind of accuracy very difficult.