Cutting Aluminium - Without Losing Body Parts
Cutting aluminium checker plate or aluminium sheet when you do not have access to a professional sheet metal cutting service can be quite tricky, and dangerous.
In this article I list some tips to getting the job done and still having a full compliment of body parts when you are finished.
One method would be to use a jig saw and file combination, you would use the file to clean up the cut edge when complete.
A wood saw that accepts a hack saw blade on its leading edge is another option that should work well too.
Just be sure to get the 18 teeth per inch blade and not the 32 teeth per inch.
A fine saw blade for a drop saw could do quite nicely as well.
For something faster choose a fast rotary saw which could be used with a tungsten carbide tipped blade, this will be very effective indeed.
A word of warning: Be careful to use an angle grinder they tend to roughen the edges and may even tear the aluminium.
Wear gloves and eye protection because the shards can be very sharp; it is probably a better idea to use the carbide tipped blades in a saw rather than in a grinder.
Never use a grinding disc on non-ferrous metals because the disc becomes clogged and there is always the danger of the disc exploding and will cause serious harm.
Stick to the jig saw, it's cheap, effective and quite loud, so be sure to wear ear protection.
The carpenters saw is also effective when cutting aluminium checker plate or sheet.
Fitted with a tungsten carbide tipped blade it will make a clean and straight cut.
You must always clamp a straight edge to your material to guide the saw.
If you are using the large 9.
5 inch blade, ask a friend to spray some oil onto it as you cut as it tends to get quite hot.
Failing this, the aluminium shards will start to stick to the blade which makes the blade wider.
This will cause the blade to "kick-back".
You may be lucky enough that it misses you as it flies back, however if you are leaning over the aluminium while cutting then your right leg is directly in the path of the blade, so please take extra care with this.
An important tip from many years of working with these tools, is to always adjust the blade of a rotary saw so that it just protrudes through the material being cut.
This will reduce the chance of a bad "kick-back" and give you more control over it.
Be honest with yourself as far as your ability with power tools is concerned.
If you don't have much experience with using them, then it might pay you to seek professional help in cutting aluminium checker plate.
In this article I list some tips to getting the job done and still having a full compliment of body parts when you are finished.
One method would be to use a jig saw and file combination, you would use the file to clean up the cut edge when complete.
A wood saw that accepts a hack saw blade on its leading edge is another option that should work well too.
Just be sure to get the 18 teeth per inch blade and not the 32 teeth per inch.
A fine saw blade for a drop saw could do quite nicely as well.
For something faster choose a fast rotary saw which could be used with a tungsten carbide tipped blade, this will be very effective indeed.
A word of warning: Be careful to use an angle grinder they tend to roughen the edges and may even tear the aluminium.
Wear gloves and eye protection because the shards can be very sharp; it is probably a better idea to use the carbide tipped blades in a saw rather than in a grinder.
Never use a grinding disc on non-ferrous metals because the disc becomes clogged and there is always the danger of the disc exploding and will cause serious harm.
Stick to the jig saw, it's cheap, effective and quite loud, so be sure to wear ear protection.
The carpenters saw is also effective when cutting aluminium checker plate or sheet.
Fitted with a tungsten carbide tipped blade it will make a clean and straight cut.
You must always clamp a straight edge to your material to guide the saw.
If you are using the large 9.
5 inch blade, ask a friend to spray some oil onto it as you cut as it tends to get quite hot.
Failing this, the aluminium shards will start to stick to the blade which makes the blade wider.
This will cause the blade to "kick-back".
You may be lucky enough that it misses you as it flies back, however if you are leaning over the aluminium while cutting then your right leg is directly in the path of the blade, so please take extra care with this.
An important tip from many years of working with these tools, is to always adjust the blade of a rotary saw so that it just protrudes through the material being cut.
This will reduce the chance of a bad "kick-back" and give you more control over it.
Be honest with yourself as far as your ability with power tools is concerned.
If you don't have much experience with using them, then it might pay you to seek professional help in cutting aluminium checker plate.
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