advice on cutting aluminum extrusion

I would just use a non-ferrous metals (carbide) blade in a chop saw with no lube. Greg Sefton

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com (kenny) wrote in news:d88812b.0404060208.2d231067 @posting.google.com:

We use a Dewalt Compound Miter saw with metal cutting carbide blades. Make sure you have the clamps for the saw.

Same as the others said. Carbide metal cutting blade in a chopsaw would be the easiest. High RPM gives you better burrless cutting so use a saw with plenty of power and don't let it bog down too much. If you are going to jig up a machine for production runs (dedicated machine which you will be willing to spend some money on) you might look into a high speed jump saw. With these, the blade is usually raised quickly out of a table slot straight up into the work. Generally they jump via foot pedal operation. Fast way to go when you need high speed production.

The carbide blades for metals are generally triple chip grind. One tooth has a true square top and the next has a flat top with the corners beveled. Oh yea...the blade generally has a negative rake of about 5 degrees rather than a positive rake like wood blades.

Get the best blade you can afford. Don't skimp on quality. One commercial brand is Systi-Matic. A google search should give you links to retailers.

Koz

kenny wrote:

You should consider getting the extrusion producer to cut these for you. We've supplied stuff to Indalex, for example, so I've seen their local plant a few times. Huge extrusion machines with travelling saws that match the speed of the aluminum coming out of the die and cut the extrusion to length as it is being extruded. If you have enough lbs for a run, they probably wouldn't charge you any extra for those cuts and it might be less overall than going through a distributor.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

A recent woodworking magazine author posted a hint for cutting aluminum. He happened to cut through the 2 1/2" long UPC sticker and noticed there was almost no burr. After that he applied masking tape along the cut line.

You might query in the rec.woodworking group, I can't find the issue off-hand.

Joel. phx

Triple-chip grind carbide blade intended for non-ferrous metals. I like Matsushita blades, Tenryu are also nice. Systi-matic used to be good, but have gone downhill recently.

Hitachi makes the best chopsaws. They cost a little more than others, but are very well built.

For a cutting lube, ZEP BIG ORANGE. ZEP is an industrial fluids company who have distributors in most major cities.

BIG ORANGE is a high concentration citus based cleaner that is 97% D-Limonene. D-Limonene is the active ingredient in all citrus based cleaners.

This stuff is the best cutting fluid I have ever used on non-ferrous metals. I keeps a spray bottle of it near the saw, and just spritz the blade after every 4 or 5 cuts. You end up with no clogging of the blade, and mirror smooth cuts. The BIG ORANGE has no water in it so it won't rust your tooling. It does react with some plastics. It is non-toxic, biodegradeable, smells of oranges, you can weld right through a puddle of it with no contamination, and it rinses off with water. Great stuff.

Costs about $26 per Gallon.

Another option is a wax stick , but I never have liked them. The wax does interfere with welding is does not come off easily.

add a 20' linear positioner while you are at it

I recently cut quite a bit of Al. extrusions (I-Beam and Angle) for a set of home-made ATV ramps on a Ridgid chop saw. I used an 80 tooth carbide Dewalt "Fine Crosscut" blade and and a shot of 711 (same as WD-40) for lube. Excellent quality cuts & no problems at all...(except for the clean-up of very fine chips)

Wintergreen oil is an excellent saw lubricant. It's also the secret ingredient in Marvelous Mystery Oil.

Unfortunately, quite a few of us are either allergic to orange-based products or simply can't stand the smell. Are there any alternatives?

-- --Pete "Peter W. Meek"

There are commercial aluminum cutting fluids. Unfortunately none work as well as BIG ORANGE. I don't know why.

I simply use a shot of WD-40 every now and again. Kingfish