Has anyone used diamond tipped blades in circular saw for cutting of soft
aluminum extrusions, etc. ?
Any comments from experience are welcomed !
Thanks !

Carbide saw blades work wonderful for this. John
"pogo" wrote in message
...
Has anyone used diamond tipped blades in circular saw for cutting of soft
aluminum extrusions, etc. ?
Any comments from experience are welcomed !
Thanks !

I have never used diamond, and I would be amazed if it would work.
Regular wood cutting carbide is more than adequate. Works well in
table saw, miter saw, router, hand held, etc. Lots of chips,
chips are hot, chips fly further than wood chips. Aluminum can
gum up a good blade, perhaps another poster can explain why. I
use a wax stick to reduce the tendency, but would always
appreciate more ideas.

(top posted for your convenience)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"pogo" wrote in message
...
Has anyone used diamond tipped blades in circular saw for
cutting of soft
aluminum extrusions, etc. ?
Any comments from experience are welcomed !
Thanks !

Carbide blades with about a 5 degree negative hook angle and a triple
chip grind, keep the work solidly clamped and the tooth lubricated to
prevent the chips from packing the gullets. For a 10" sawblade
something in the 60-80t range is appropriate. Teeth of the let in style
are more durable than those just brazed to the surface.

Extrusion material like 6000 alloys gum worse than other aluminums.
Many people waste the saw wax. Expose the blade and give it a short spin
under power. Wax each side of the blade as it coasts down. Make a cut
through a chunk of 2 by 4 to remove the excess.
The idea is that as the blade is used the wax will migrate down to the
carbide tips protecting them from gumming. You don't need a lot of wax but
it must be present all the time.
I periodically check my blade to ensure that there is a wax film on the
sides. I often can go for a couple of hours chopping extrusions before I
need more wax applied. Once the blade gets slightly dull send it out for
sharpening. No amount of wax will protect a dull blade. What happens next
is that the aluminum gums up the gullets then the blade loses a tooth or
gets bent. Use carbide blades manufactured for aluminum cutting.
Randy


"DanG" wrote in message
news:kFQsf.20949$9G.17556@dukeread10...

I have never used diamond, and I would be amazed if it would work.
Regular wood cutting carbide is more than adequate. Works well in
table saw, miter saw, router, hand held, etc. Lots of chips,
chips are hot, chips fly further than wood chips. Aluminum can
gum up a good blade, perhaps another poster can explain why. I
use a wax stick to reduce the tendency, but would always
appreciate more ideas.

(top posted for your convenience)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"pogo" wrote in message
...
Has anyone used diamond tipped blades in circular saw for
cutting of soft
aluminum extrusions, etc. ?
Any comments from experience are welcomed !
Thanks !

"pogo" wrote in message
...
Has anyone used diamond tipped blades in circular saw for cutting of soft
aluminum extrusions, etc. ?
Any comments from experience are welcomed !
Thanks !



Mount a plywood or veneer blade so that it rotates backwards.

Works well, and doesn't dull the blade or "grab" thin stock.

Wow - these are all GREAT tips! Never even heard of some of these ideas !
Thanks again.

WD40 is a good lube for this...

DanG wrote:
I have never used diamond, and I would be amazed if it would work.
Regular wood cutting carbide is more than adequate. Works well in
table saw, miter saw, router, hand held, etc. Lots of chips,
chips are hot, chips fly further than wood chips. Aluminum can
gum up a good blade, perhaps another poster can explain why. I
use a wax stick to reduce the tendency, but would always
appreciate more ideas.

(top posted for your convenience)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"pogo" wrote in message
...

Has anyone used diamond tipped blades in circular saw for
cutting of soft
aluminum extrusions, etc. ?
Any comments from experience are welcomed !
Thanks !

We used regular carbide tipped blades with an air-mist setup to cut
extrusion pcs to finish length (+.010 -.000)in a chop-style miter saw.

JohnF

On Thu, 29 Dec 2005 03:15:13 -0500, "pogo"
wrote:

Has anyone used diamond tipped blades in circular saw for cutting of soft
aluminum extrusions, etc. ?
Any comments from experience are welcomed !
Thanks !

"DanG" wrote in news:kFQsf.20949$9G.17556
@dukeread10:


I have never used diamond, and I would be amazed if it would work.
Regular wood cutting carbide is more than adequate. Works well in
table saw, miter saw, router, hand held, etc. Lots of chips,
chips are hot, chips fly further than wood chips. Aluminum can
gum up a good blade, perhaps another poster can explain why. I
use a wax stick to reduce the tendency, but would always
appreciate more ideas.

Get a blade made for non-ferrous metal. It has a different grind than a
normal wood carbide blade.



--
Anthony

You can't 'idiot proof' anything....every time you try, they just make
better idiots.

Remove sp to reply via email

On Thu, 29 Dec 2005 20:51:58 GMT, Anthony
wrote:

"DanG" wrote in news:kFQsf.20949$9G.17556
@dukeread10:


I have never used diamond, and I would be amazed if it would work.
Regular wood cutting carbide is more than adequate. Works well in
table saw, miter saw, router, hand held, etc. Lots of chips,
chips are hot, chips fly further than wood chips. Aluminum can
gum up a good blade, perhaps another poster can explain why. I
use a wax stick to reduce the tendency, but would always
appreciate more ideas.

Get a blade made for non-ferrous metal. It has a different grind than a
normal wood carbide blade.
When I was putting up the shop the time came for the big roll up door
to be installed. The company who I bought the building from had
negleted to ship the door frame and I needed to make one in a hurry.
The local welder had time to weld, but not fab, the frame. This was
for a 12' by 12' door. He said to buy a carbide blade for my circular
saw and have at it. He was right. The aluminum channel for the frame
was easy to cut this way. Noisy as all getout, lots of hot chips down
the neck, but plenty fast and accurate.
ERS

"pogo" wrote in message
...
Has anyone used diamond tipped blades in circular saw for cutting of soft
aluminum extrusions, etc. ?
Any comments from experience are welcomed !
Thanks !



I have cut a fair amount of aluminum with what ever blade was handy! I have
cut extrusions with a fine tooth, HSS plywood blade. I have cut 1/4 aluminum
plate in my tablesaw with a carbide tipped wood blade.
If you have allot of cutting to do, buy a blade for carbide tipped blade for
cutting metal. If just a few pieces use a carbide tipped wood blade. You
will be pleasantly surprised how well it cuts.
Greg

Has anyone used diamond tipped blades in circular saw for cutting of
soft
aluminum extrusions, etc. ?
Any comments from experience are welcomed !

Mount a plywood or veneer blade so that it rotates backwards.
Works well, and doesn't dull the blade or "grab" thin stock.

I tried this today and was amazed at how clean of a cut and how well it
worked ! It cut 80/20 1" extrusion like a champ. Thanks again for a great
suggestion!

( I'm also posting this to the robotics newsgroup because they are the guys
that suggested I look this one up. )

--Better not to; it will tend to gum up the diamond or any other
abrasive for that matter. What works best is a plain old sawblade, but
ground so that there is no right or left bevel to the teeth.

--
"Steamboat Ed" Haas : Whatever happened
Hacking the Trailing Edge! : to Tom Nelson?
http://www.nmpproducts.com/intro.htm
---Decks a-wash in a sea of words---

"steamer" wrote in message
...
--Better not to; it will tend to gum up the diamond or any other
abrasive for that matter. What works best is a plain old sawblade, but
ground so that there is no right or left bevel to the teeth.

The body of the post discusses using a veneer blade mounted backwards, much
as you suggest. ( Guess I should have changed the subject title of this post
.... )

Thanks again - always good metal working info from you !