Cutting Aluminium

You can get blades for a drop saw that are specifically ground with a negative rake for cutting non ferrous metals such as aluminium. Ive got one for my sliding compound mitre saw ,works well even on barstock.

You don't say how big or thick the plates or if they're heat treated. Heat treated cuts much more cleanly and doesn't clog the cutter so fast. A bandsaw would probably be quickest but a circular saw will work fine too. You want a very coarse tooth pattern for ally whatever the type of blade. Carbide tipped wood blades are actually pretty handy at cutting ally. Blades for steel have too fine a tooth pattern and will clog very fast. The best lubricant is paraffin (kerosene). Any similar thin fuel oil such as heating oil or diesel should work pretty well. An old spray bottle like you get window cleaner in is a good way of applying it. You'll probably have something suitable knocking about under the kitchen sink. I always keep one with paraffin in by the lathe and mill for ally machining jobs.

If you can cut a bit of steel at the same time this helps to stop the blade clogging

I just slather on some pure pork lard, as used in pastry. It works well with aluminium, and costs the equivalent of 50P a pound here in Canada. There is no smell if it gets rancid. The more rancid it gets, the better it works.

Steve R.