Welding Tips and Tricks

Hey guys , I'm curious about some ways to cut aluminium sheet straight ( approx 1 to 5 mm thick ) I have a Makita compound saw with aluminium blade to cut square and round . Have tried the 40 amp plasma which is a little messy sometimes ( maybe more practise needed ) was thinking of small table saw with ally blade. would like to try and make some custom ally boxes . any advice would be appreciated. Cheers

Have you tried rigging a straightedge that you can slide your plasma torch along?

I like a plain 'ol circular saw with a 40 tooth carbide blade. A fence helps with straightness.

Steve S

I like a CNC plasma - BUT - if you don't have one I agree w/ Otto using a straight edge and saw.

ldbtx wrote:Have you tried rigging a straightedge that you can slide your plasma torch along?

Hey mate i have tried the straight edge and i think i just need to practise more with cutting speed and different amps. when i say messy i meant the bottom of the cut the dross i think you call it. I was lucky enough to score some small off cuts of some 3mm steel plate the other day , i know its not ally but its still practise

Otto Nobedder wrote:I like a plain 'ol circular saw with a 40 tooth carbide blade. A fence helps with straightness.

Steve S

G'day Steve , i like that idea , does it have to be a an ally blade or can it be a wood carbide tipped blade with 40 or more teeth used with some lube . I think i seen something like that on Youtube somewhere ? Cheers

plain ol Bill wrote:I like a CNC plasma - BUT - if you don't have one I agree w/ Otto using a straight edge and saw.

Hey Bill , I can only dream of cnc plasma its awesome to watch isn't it but I'm only a newbie in the back yard shed at the moment i think i try a little harder and use what i have got . cheers

I agree with circular saw and I also use a table saw and jig saw.

Make darn sure your fence is straight on a table saw and wear glasses and face shield - those little shards are sharp!

MinnesotaDave wrote:I agree with circular saw and I also use a table saw and jig saw.

Make darn sure your fence is straight on a table saw and wear glasses and face shield - those little shards are sharp!

...and HOT! Forgot to mention full body armor....

best, cheapest, fastest way is:

Step 1: VERY IMPORTANT - ear plugs, ear muffs, goggles, face shield, fully covered with no skin exposed.

Step 2: Break out the circular saw with a 0 degree rake high tooth count carbide blade.

Troy Boy 72 wrote:

Otto Nobedder wrote:I like a plain 'ol circular saw with a 40 tooth carbide blade. A fence helps with straightness.

Steve S

G'day Steve , i like that idea , does it have to be a an ally blade or can it be a wood carbide tipped blade with 40 or more teeth used with some lube . I think i seen something like that on Youtube somewhere ? Cheers

I just use a good quality carbide-tipped blade for cutting plywood/paneling, around 40 tooth is a good cut quality at a good cut speed.

xryan mentions zero-degree rake; The importance of this increases with material thickness. In 1,5mm and under, almost any configuration will do. It is noisy, and you do need good protection from flying chips.

The last blade I dulled doing this lasted at least 80m of cut in thicknesses varying 2,3mm through 12mm.

Steve S

Heres how I cut aluminum. Draw the cut file, load the material, nest as many parts as I need, push the start button...then go do something else while the parts cut.

Jim Colt

I have done the circular saw route, with a 'sharp' fine tooth plywood blade. I put the blade on backwards, it chips off material rather than cutting, works for me, , , ,

-c-

The main difference of an aluminum cutting blade is that it has a ZERO or Negative rake to keep chips from building up in it. I have also used my Makita 6 1/2" cordless circular saw to cut aluminum using a narrow kerf carbide wood blade. It spins much slower than a plug in saw so it doesn't melt the aluminum but just cuts it.

Sent from mobile. Not responsible for Typos

Aluminium cutting with a saw calls for a negative rake tooth. Wood blades have a positive rake. This is done to keep the blade from grabbing the work piece. A positive rake blade can be used but it is not as safe as a negative rake.

What about a throttles shear? We used to use those in the Airforce (a while back for me) but they did a good job of cutting straight and contoured cuts. Not as fast as a saw but you'll only get straight cuts with a circular saw.

Skil saw all day long.

Diablo metal cutting blade from home depot.

You can cut as fast as you can push....

What thickness of steel can you cut with that diablo blade?

Coldman wrote:What thickness of steel can you cut with that diablo blade?

Depends how much time you have.
1/2" isn't to bad.
Slow is key if you want to make the blades last.

Torch or plaz would be a better choice if your cutting lots of heavier plate