anyone used diamond tipped blades in circular saw for cutting of soft aluminum extrusions ?

Mount a plywood or veneer blade so that it rotates backwards.

Works well, and doesn't dull the blade or "grab" thin stock.

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 !