diamond blade for aluminum

Abrasive cutting of aluminum usually results in the clogging of the blade. I would take it off, measure it and get a proper blade made up for your machine. Also, what speed does the machine run at? Can the speed be reduced? Generally you don't want to cut aluminum at more than 1000-1200 fpm. I have a Delta 14" wood bandsaw that I changed out the pulleys on to reduce the speed on, I took it from aprox 3000 down to 1100 fpm. I bought some M42 Bimetal blades for it but find that the wood blade that came with it cuts better in the aluminum. Still way to fast for steel or stainless, I would have to make up a countershaft to add in another set of pulleys to get it down in the 200-400 fpm range. If you can't do any of the above, try a small cut with the coolant going and then check the blade for clogging. You also might try some wax type lube on the blade as well. Good luck.
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Machineman wrote in news:zBsQc.85372$ snipped-for-privacy@fe17.usenetserver.com:
Diamond is perfect for cutting aluminum, because the aluminum will not build-up on diamond. The only question here is gullet size. If the diamond blade has tiny gullets, then I would be concerned with chips not being cleared and eventual packing. Diamond is the material of choice for cutting aluminum in industry. Everything else builds an edge.