we just acquired a PILE of 1" to 3" aluminum plate drops from a local
manufacturer. What we really need is a selection of project pieces in
the 1"x 1" to 3" x 3" range. No particular sizes, just stuff than can
stay on the shelf, get cut to length and tossed in the mill as required.

Thought was to rip them using a Skill 77 worm drive. Anyone got some
recommendations for the perfect blade or other thoughts on how to get
them cut down?

OTOH: my local aluminum supplier has this nice 12"x10 FOOT cutoff saw
but I doubt they would be interested in running it on our stuff. Oh well

On Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:02:31 -0500, RoyJ
wrote:

we just acquired a PILE of 1" to 3" aluminum plate drops from a local
manufacturer. What we really need is a selection of project pieces in
the 1"x 1" to 3" x 3" range. No particular sizes, just stuff than can
stay on the shelf, get cut to length and tossed in the mill as required.

Thought was to rip them using a Skill 77 worm drive. Anyone got some
recommendations for the perfect blade or other thoughts on how to get
them cut down?

I have a Freud non-ferrous blade for my table saw that works well and
gives a nice finish if you apply a bit of stick wax between cuts.
There's a Freud 7-1/4" non-ferrous blade with a diamond arbor for your
worm drive at the top of this page.
http://www.toolmarts.com/nonferrous.html

The downside to the triple-chip grind, which all the non-ferrous
blades seem to use, is that they seem to push the work around more
than other grinds, which I think might make it difficult to steer a
skil saw. When running the non-ferrous blade I use a sliding board on
my table saw, or clamp the work securely in a chop saw, if I'm
concerned at all about accuracy.

--
Ned Simmons

I'd use a saw guide clamped to the plate. What kind of stick wax?

Ned Simmons wrote:
On Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:02:31 -0500, RoyJ
wrote:

we just acquired a PILE of 1" to 3" aluminum plate drops from a local
manufacturer. What we really need is a selection of project pieces in
the 1"x 1" to 3" x 3" range. No particular sizes, just stuff than can
stay on the shelf, get cut to length and tossed in the mill as required.

Thought was to rip them using a Skill 77 worm drive. Anyone got some
recommendations for the perfect blade or other thoughts on how to get
them cut down?

I have a Freud non-ferrous blade for my table saw that works well and
gives a nice finish if you apply a bit of stick wax between cuts.
There's a Freud 7-1/4" non-ferrous blade with a diamond arbor for your
worm drive at the top of this page.
http://www.toolmarts.com/nonferrous.html

The downside to the triple-chip grind, which all the non-ferrous
blades seem to use, is that they seem to push the work around more
than other grinds, which I think might make it difficult to steer a
skil saw. When running the non-ferrous blade I use a sliding board on
my table saw, or clamp the work securely in a chop saw, if I'm
concerned at all about accuracy.

On Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:02:31 -0500, RoyJ
wrote:

we just acquired a PILE of 1" to 3" aluminum plate drops from a local
manufacturer. What we really need is a selection of project pieces in
the 1"x 1" to 3" x 3" range. No particular sizes, just stuff than can
stay on the shelf, get cut to length and tossed in the mill as required.

Thought was to rip them using a Skill 77 worm drive. Anyone got some
recommendations for the perfect blade or other thoughts on how to get
them cut down?

OTOH: my local aluminum supplier has this nice 12"x10 FOOT cutoff saw
but I doubt they would be interested in running it on our stuff. Oh well

I made a short video of cutting AL with a skill saw.

http://neme-s.org/Video/

Errol Groff

On Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:39:56 -0500, RoyJ
wrote:

I'd use a saw guide clamped to the plate. What kind of stick wax?


Like McMaster p/n 1311K1 or 1379K63. I have a bar made by (I think)
LPS, another sold by DoAll. They both work.

--
Ned Simmons

"RoyJ" wrote in message
m...
we just acquired a PILE of 1" to 3" aluminum plate drops from a local
manufacturer. What we really need is a selection of project pieces in the
1"x 1" to 3" x 3" range. No particular sizes, just stuff than can stay on
the shelf, get cut to length and tossed in the mill as required.

Thought was to rip them using a Skill 77 worm drive. Anyone got some
recommendations for the perfect blade or other thoughts on how to get them
cut down?

OTOH: my local aluminum supplier has this nice 12"x10 FOOT cutoff saw but
I doubt they would be interested in running it on our stuff. Oh well

One word: RadialArmSaw.

Critical: PUSH INTO the work, don't pull into the work. A good idea for
wood, as well!

Alum bar cuts like hard wood, with any carbide blade I've tried. No wax, no
coolant, nada.

My buddy cuts *tons* of alum with a chop saw, carbide blade, and does use a
bar wax (not sure what it is, but I think he gets it from Traverse Tools in
Queens, NY), but I have not had the need.
It might be that wax gives a mirror cut, while I get alternately shiny and
fuzzy ends, but always smooth, accurate.

H says he will get "weldments" between teeth without the wax, but I have
never had this problem. Proly a coarser blade would help this problem, as
well. These weldments usually pop right off, sometimes are a little
stubborn.

I've used 12" fine tooth blades, 10" medium, all work well.

I don't know about others, but I get a tremendous *kick* out of cutting
aluminum as if it were wood! Who'da thunk?

--

Mr. PV'd

Mae West (yer fav Congressman) to the Gangster (yer fav Lobbyist):
Hey, Big Boy, is that a wad (of cash) in yer pocket, or are you just
glad to see me??

D**M! Glad I have student workers.

Errol Groff wrote:
On Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:02:31 -0500, RoyJ
wrote:

we just acquired a PILE of 1" to 3" aluminum plate drops from a local
manufacturer. What we really need is a selection of project pieces in
the 1"x 1" to 3" x 3" range. No particular sizes, just stuff than can
stay on the shelf, get cut to length and tossed in the mill as required.

Thought was to rip them using a Skill 77 worm drive. Anyone got some
recommendations for the perfect blade or other thoughts on how to get
them cut down?

OTOH: my local aluminum supplier has this nice 12"x10 FOOT cutoff saw
but I doubt they would be interested in running it on our stuff. Oh well

I made a short video of cutting AL with a skill saw.

http://neme-s.org/Video/

Errol Groff

"Errol Groff" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:02:31 -0500, RoyJ
wrote:

we just acquired a PILE of 1" to 3" aluminum plate drops from a local
manufacturer. What we really need is a selection of project pieces in
the 1"x 1" to 3" x 3" range. No particular sizes, just stuff than can
stay on the shelf, get cut to length and tossed in the mill as required.

Thought was to rip them using a Skill 77 worm drive. Anyone got some
recommendations for the perfect blade or other thoughts on how to get
them cut down?

OTOH: my local aluminum supplier has this nice 12"x10 FOOT cutoff saw
but I doubt they would be interested in running it on our stuff. Oh well

I made a short video of cutting AL with a skill saw.

http://neme-s.org/Video/

Goodgawd, that video made my teeth hurt!
Must be a well-endowed school, to get a plate of 7075 like DAT!

I woulda dispensed with the WD40, and just used a fine continuous stream of
water, if I was going to use anything.

Sheeit, DeWalt oughtta use some of that footage in a marketing campaign, eh?

--

Mr. PV'd

Mae West (yer fav Congressman) to the Gangster (yer fav Lobbyist):
Hey, Big Boy, is that a wad (of cash) in yer pocket, or are you just
glad to see me??








Errol Groff

Good shot Errol - reminds me of my Electronics Shop years ago -
when building a dozen projects and having dozens of questions.

Martin

Errol Groff wrote:
On Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:02:31 -0500, RoyJ
wrote:

we just acquired a PILE of 1" to 3" aluminum plate drops from a local
manufacturer. What we really need is a selection of project pieces in
the 1"x 1" to 3" x 3" range. No particular sizes, just stuff than can
stay on the shelf, get cut to length and tossed in the mill as required.

Thought was to rip them using a Skill 77 worm drive. Anyone got some
recommendations for the perfect blade or other thoughts on how to get
them cut down?

OTOH: my local aluminum supplier has this nice 12"x10 FOOT cutoff saw
but I doubt they would be interested in running it on our stuff. Oh well

I made a short video of cutting AL with a skill saw.

http://neme-s.org/Video/

Errol Groff

I noticed you wisely unplugged the saw before tightening the blade so as to
save your digits, yet at about 9:30 in your video, you insert a finger in
the blade housing to unclog the chips. Wasn't that a poor move?

"Ned Simmons" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:39:56 -0500, RoyJ
wrote:

I'd use a saw guide clamped to the plate. What kind of stick wax?


Like McMaster p/n 1311K1 or 1379K63. I have a bar made by (I think)
LPS, another sold by DoAll. They both work.

--
Ned Simmons

I'm buying Formax F-90 locally for $3.95 a stick. Seems to last a little
longer than DoAll and another I have tried.

http://www.formaxmfg.com/grease_stic...ks.html?id=CAB

Update: I dug out the Skill 77, figured I should take a look at the oil
before abusing it on long cuts. Yep, it needed an oil change, turned
around for the oil, it did a 1-1/2 gainer off the bench onto the floor.
Landed on the blade guard, snapped it off nicely. 2 weeks for parts.
Sheesh!!!

RoyJ wrote:
we just acquired a PILE of 1" to 3" aluminum plate drops from a local
manufacturer. What we really need is a selection of project pieces in
the 1"x 1" to 3" x 3" range. No particular sizes, just stuff than can
stay on the shelf, get cut to length and tossed in the mill as required.

Thought was to rip them using a Skill 77 worm drive. Anyone got some
recommendations for the perfect blade or other thoughts on how to get
them cut down?

OTOH: my local aluminum supplier has this nice 12"x10 FOOT cutoff saw
but I doubt they would be interested in running it on our stuff. Oh well

Update II: Found a local supplier for the blade guard, installed same,
tried it out on some 1" plate using a 24 tooth thin kerf blade. Saw just
breezed through the plate at about 16" per minute. Worked fine for the
first minute until all the teeth on the saw blade came off. Freud non
ferrous blade is on order.

RoyJ wrote:
Update: I dug out the Skill 77, figured I should take a look at the oil
before abusing it on long cuts. Yep, it needed an oil change, turned
around for the oil, it did a 1-1/2 gainer off the bench onto the floor.
Landed on the blade guard, snapped it off nicely. 2 weeks for parts.
Sheesh!!!

RoyJ wrote:
we just acquired a PILE of 1" to 3" aluminum plate drops from a local
manufacturer. What we really need is a selection of project pieces in
the 1"x 1" to 3" x 3" range. No particular sizes, just stuff than can
stay on the shelf, get cut to length and tossed in the mill as required.

Thought was to rip them using a Skill 77 worm drive. Anyone got some
recommendations for the perfect blade or other thoughts on how to get
them cut down?

OTOH: my local aluminum supplier has this nice 12"x10 FOOT cutoff saw
but I doubt they would be interested in running it on our stuff. Oh well

"RoyJ" wrote in message
m...
Update II: Found a local supplier for the blade guard, installed same,
tried it out on some 1" plate using a 24 tooth thin kerf blade. Saw just
breezed through the plate at about 16" per minute. Worked fine for the
first minute until all the teeth on the saw blade came off. Freud non
ferrous blade is on order.

No carbide? I've found even cheapie carbide blades work well.

Thinking about the lube problem:

If the plate were shimmed about 1" off the table, and oiled along the cut on
the *bottom* of the plate, so that the blade will drag the oil upwards, into
the cut.
This way, you don't have to keep spraying or waxing the blade.

My buddy says very little lube is needed.

--

Mr. PV'd

Mae West (yer fav Congressman) to the Gangster (yer fav Lobbyist):
Hey, Big Boy, is that a wad (of cash) in yer pocket, or are you just
glad to see me??






RoyJ wrote:
Update: I dug out the Skill 77, figured I should take a look at the oil
before abusing it on long cuts. Yep, it needed an oil change, turned
around for the oil, it did a 1-1/2 gainer off the bench onto the floor.
Landed on the blade guard, snapped it off nicely. 2 weeks for parts.
Sheesh!!!

RoyJ wrote:
we just acquired a PILE of 1" to 3" aluminum plate drops from a local
manufacturer. What we really need is a selection of project pieces in
the 1"x 1" to 3" x 3" range. No particular sizes, just stuff than can
stay on the shelf, get cut to length and tossed in the mill as required.

Thought was to rip them using a Skill 77 worm drive. Anyone got some
recommendations for the perfect blade or other thoughts on how to get
them cut down?

OTOH: my local aluminum supplier has this nice 12"x10 FOOT cutoff saw
but I doubt they would be interested in running it on our stuff. Oh well

In article ,
RoyJ wrote:

Update II: Found a local supplier for the blade guard, installed same,
tried it out on some 1" plate using a 24 tooth thin kerf blade. Saw just
breezed through the plate at about 16" per minute. Worked fine for the
first minute until all the teeth on the saw blade came off. Freud non
ferrous blade is on order.

Did the teeth break, or did the brazing melt? Wax sticks don't provide
much cooling.

Joe Gwinn

I've not ever experienced loss of any teeth. Are you sure they
are not just galled with a blob of aluminum? I'm sure there is a
much more technical term for this phenomenon. The wax stick helps
to prevent the aluminum from sticking to the teeth. Regular
carbide blades ( the fewer teeth the better in my experience) on
chop or table saw work very well. The cuts are prone to burr and
"saw tracks" and will require some clean up.

A Morse, Tenryu, or DML type blade will let you cut steel,
aluminum, wood. Wood is probably the hardest on them. They work
much better than the non ferrous blades in my experience. A
regular wood cutting ATB carbide works better than the non ferrous
that I bought.

http://www.metaldevil.com/
couple this with an Evolution saw if you are planning on a lot of
this.
http://www.medfordtools.com/evolution/index.html

--
______________________________
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"RoyJ" wrote in message
m...
Update II: Found a local supplier for the blade guard, installed
same, tried it out on some 1" plate using a 24 tooth thin kerf
blade. Saw just breezed through the plate at about 16" per
minute. Worked fine for the first minute until all the teeth on
the saw blade came off. Freud non ferrous blade is on order.

RoyJ wrote:
Update: I dug out the Skill 77, figured I should take a look at
the oil before abusing it on long cuts. Yep, it needed an oil
change, turned around for the oil, it did a 1-1/2 gainer off
the bench onto the floor. Landed on the blade guard, snapped it
off nicely. 2 weeks for parts. Sheesh!!!

RoyJ wrote:
we just acquired a PILE of 1" to 3" aluminum plate drops from
a local manufacturer. What we really need is a selection of
project pieces in the 1"x 1" to 3" x 3" range. No particular
sizes, just stuff than can stay on the shelf, get cut to
length and tossed in the mill as required.

Thought was to rip them using a Skill 77 worm drive. Anyone
got some recommendations for the perfect blade or other
thoughts on how to get them cut down?

OTOH: my local aluminum supplier has this nice 12"x10 FOOT
cutoff saw but I doubt they would be interested in running it
on our stuff. Oh well

Thin kerf, 24 tooth carbide import quality blade. Some carbide teeth are
gone, some are completely battered back (~30 negative rake), some ok.
Completely trashed blade.

The only reason I could see to buy an Evolution saw is to get the 9"
blade version. The worm drive Skill I'm using is a heavier duty than the
smaller Evolution saw plus an extra 3/8" cutting depth.

DanG wrote:
I've not ever experienced loss of any teeth. Are you sure they
are not just galled with a blob of aluminum? I'm sure there is a
much more technical term for this phenomenon. The wax stick helps
to prevent the aluminum from sticking to the teeth. Regular
carbide blades ( the fewer teeth the better in my experience) on
chop or table saw work very well. The cuts are prone to burr and
"saw tracks" and will require some clean up.

A Morse, Tenryu, or DML type blade will let you cut steel,
aluminum, wood. Wood is probably the hardest on them. They work
much better than the non ferrous blades in my experience. A
regular wood cutting ATB carbide works better than the non ferrous
that I bought.

http://www.metaldevil.com/
couple this with an Evolution saw if you are planning on a lot of
this.
http://www.medfordtools.com/evolution/index.html

RoyJ wrote:

Update II: Found a local supplier for the blade guard, installed same,
tried it out on some 1" plate using a 24 tooth thin kerf blade. Saw just
breezed through the plate at about 16" per minute. Worked fine for the
first minute until all the teeth on the saw blade came off. Freud non
ferrous blade is on order.


How hot did the teeth get? The biggest cut I've made on aluminum was cutting some 2"
rounds and I gave the blade cooling time between rounds.

Wes

I have the blade sitting here for inspection. I doubt that heat had
anything to do with it. Looks more like the impact of starting the cut
started fracturing the carbide.

I have some closeups if someone wants to inspect.

Wes wrote:
RoyJ wrote:

Update II: Found a local supplier for the blade guard, installed same,
tried it out on some 1" plate using a 24 tooth thin kerf blade. Saw just
breezed through the plate at about 16" per minute. Worked fine for the
first minute until all the teeth on the saw blade came off. Freud non
ferrous blade is on order.


How hot did the teeth get? The biggest cut I've made on aluminum was cutting some 2"
rounds and I gave the blade cooling time between rounds.

Wes

On Sun, 07 Jun 2009 16:06:56 -0500, RoyJ
wrote:

I have the blade sitting here for inspection. I doubt that heat had
anything to do with it. Looks more like the impact of starting the cut
started fracturing the carbide.

I have some closeups if someone wants to inspect.

Did you really "sneak up on the blade" slow and easy with the AL
plate to start the cut?

That's when the shock loads will be worst, and once a few teeth get
broken off the rest get killed in sequence.

I've trimmed a lot of Aluminum extrusions with a woodworking carbide
blade, but you have to be very gentle with it. Or that happens.

-- Bruce --

Cutting a 1" slab with a 7-1/4" blade, there is no "sneaking" up on it.
Every tooth gets a fresh bite of a 1-3/8" long cut. But I strongly
suspect you are correct. The enlarged photos show severely fractured
carbide or clobbered backing material on the teeth that are still attached.

Bruce L. Bergman wrote:
On Sun, 07 Jun 2009 16:06:56 -0500, RoyJ
wrote:

I have the blade sitting here for inspection. I doubt that heat had
anything to do with it. Looks more like the impact of starting the cut
started fracturing the carbide.

I have some closeups if someone wants to inspect.

Did you really "sneak up on the blade" slow and easy with the AL
plate to start the cut?

That's when the shock loads will be worst, and once a few teeth get
broken off the rest get killed in sequence.

I've trimmed a lot of Aluminum extrusions with a woodworking carbide
blade, but you have to be very gentle with it. Or that happens.

-- Bruce --

On Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:18:03 GMT, "Charlie Rowe"
wrote:

I noticed you wisely unplugged the saw before tightening the blade so as to
save your digits, yet at about 9:30 in your video, you insert a finger in
the blade housing to unclog the chips. Wasn't that a poor move?


Yep.. The chip chute has a deflector so there was no certain danger
but it was not one of my better moves for sure!

Errol