Has anyone used diamond tipped blades in circular saw for cutting of soft aluminum extrusions, etc. ? Any comments from experience are welcomed ! Thanks !
- posted
18 years ago
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) snipped-for-privacy@7cox.net
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$9G.17556@dukeread10...
I have never used diamond, and I would be amazed if it would work. Regular wood cutting carbide is more than adequate. Works well in table saw, miter saw, router, hand held, etc. Lots of chips, chips are hot, chips fly further than wood chips. Aluminum can gum up a good blade, perhaps another poster can explain why. I use a wax stick to reduce the tendency, but would always appreciate more ideas.
(top posted for your convenience) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) snipped-for-privacy@7cox.net
"pogo" wrote in message news:TTMsf.15432$ snipped-for-privacy@bignews2.bellsouth.net...
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.
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
"DanG" wrote in news:kFQsf.20949$9G.17556 @dukeread10:
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
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
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.
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 !
PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.