The Steel Guitar Forum

What do y’all use to cut 3/16” to 1/4” aluminum plate…?



Thank y’all for your reply’s



JH

I use a Chinese wood/metal bandsaw that I bought a number of years ago. It has a bi-metal blade for non-ferrous metals. I also sometimes use my table saw with a blade for non-ferrous metal.

Karlis

My band saw is the best investment I made for shop,,,,aluminum or wood! Wore out a Ryobi,,now started on a harbor Freight ,,LOL. Have cut 1 1/2" aluminum,,,,use blades from 18 tpi to 10 tpi. I like to keep it adjusted down to a knats behind,,,,I tell people I trim my fingernails with it,,,LOL!!! Keep a good supply of bimetal blades.
Blades,,like steel guitar strings vary from batch to batch and from brand to brand. I like Power Tech over Bosch and iMachine. Amazon 3 pack.

I have a couple of band saws I use:






Barry

Lennox bi-metal blade on my upright 14" Grizzly for cutting features, I have a 7x12 horizontal too for everything else.
Helps to chalk or wax the blade when cutting aluminum since it can easily chip weld to teeth and cause problems.

The key to cutting aluminum or steel is the thickness of the material and the speed of the blade. I purchased a 14 inch upright band saw. Most of these have a belt change to change the blade speed. I had a friend that run a tool shop and that is where I learned about blade speed. For instance if you were to cut steel lets say 3/16 thick you would want the blade speed about the speed that you would have by using a hack saw by hand, how fast your arm stroke is. This will save how fast your blades wear out... The hotter your blades get the shorter their life. When your blade gets to hot to touch they are getting to hot and they will lose their hardness. Aluminum can be cut at a much higher speed than steel...

I use an old Shopsmith bandsaw for aluminum--the variable speed control lets you slow it down.

I also have a cheap portable Harbor Freight "Bauer" saw that works great for smaller pieces. I have a table attached to it, but sometimes I use it as a handheld.

Dave

If you are into building things, or on a budget this type of saw has a ton advantages. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgRVVZSy1ik

This is a crude version, but seems to work pretty darn good. Many other videos. This could be designed with a larger saw for more substantial cuts in wood or metal. I want to build one at some point. Advantages would be quick, easy and cheap to change blades. Blades could be sharpened easier (less teeth). Many types of blades can be found at any hardware store. Bi metal are affordable, comparable to insanely expensive for most 14" saws. Almost any materiel can be cut. Can cut curves almost as well as a scroll saw. Cheap, works... Sort of like old milling machines comparable to new mills. A bit slower, but the bits are very cheap and easy to make yourself. Accurate if you are careful.

In my shop I have the Harbor Freight 14" saw, but I mostly use that for wood. Had to make a new base for it, but it works well with some tuning up. I have the Harbor freight metal bandsaw that I made a table for so I can use it upright. The table that comes with it is flimsy and worthless.

I Used a Makita jig saw with Aluminium cutting blades and a water spray bottle. cut out all of the neck and machine head carrier out of 3/4" slab. cut dead straight. Dave