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Cutting aluminum sheet

T

toolz

Well-known Member
I need to cut up a 4x10 sheet of 16 ga aluminum. Will a circular saw with a carbide blade work ok? This happens to be diamond plate, and I need clean cuts. Don"t really want to use the plasma cutter if I don"t have to.
 
A carbide blade works great, but MAKE SURE you wear ear and eye protection. It makes a tremendous amount of noise and sharp stuff flies EVERYWHERE.
 
Use copious amounts of lubricant on the saw blade.
kerosene with some oil added to does a good job of cooling and lubricating the saw blade.

Shearing it will give a cleaner, more accurate cut.
 
A wood router with a carbide bit will make very smooth, straight cuts if you clamp a piece of angle iron to your work as a guide. Rough cut it with whatever you like, then do a finish cut with the router.
 
how much did a sheet of that cost? Im going to have to buy some this week too. Side shields
 
Not with a carbide blade. I've done hundreds of aluminum projects so I am familiar with it. Backward blade is if you use a regular blade, using a carbide that way will tear the teeth off.
 
(quoted from post at 20:55:09 12/01/13) install blade backwards

I have not done this, but have multiple recommendations to the advice.
Click to expand...

That works for pole barn steel, not aluminum. A fine tooth carbide blade installed correctly will give the best cut in aluminum. Make sure the blade is up to speed before starting the cut.
 
Good to know, thank you.

Will 16 ga snap cut if you "score" with a knife. My kids did some that way in industrial arts class, but I am unsure of the thickness.
 
No lube needed with a carbide blade. If you use a steel blade on like a sawzall then lube will keep the aluminum from sticking to the blade, but that is not necessary with a carbide saw blade. I have found that nozzle spray for welding works best for this since it sticks to the blade longer and doesn't interfear with welding later.
 
A skilsaw with carbide blade is the way to go for aluminum, that's how we do it at work. About 8 years ago when we toured the Summit trailer factory they had large shears and all but the majority of cutting was done with regular Dewalt skilsaws and a carbide blade like you would use for framing a house. They were even cutting the I beams that looked to be 3/4 of an inch thick or more with the same saws. Just make sure you wear a full face shield the chips are hot and sharp and go everywhere
 
A fine tooth carbide blade is the way to go. Don't try to run a carbide blade backwards. You will knock the teeth off.

The power tool manufacturers make some of their battery powered saws just for that purpose. I have a Makita that is designed to cut metal, and the blade on it is fairly fine toothed and the teeth are set at a bit of "negative rake". It does a fair job on aluminum and cuts through steel just fine. Not very good on really thin steel, but I have cut the bottom of a steel door that was double thickness 16 ga. metal. Slow, but got-er-done.

Myron
 
I made parts for a step ladder company and they did all the cutting with a compound miter saw with carbide blades mounted in a jig.
 
I don't think they were regular Skil saws. I have a Rage saw it is made for cutting metal. The blade is protected more and it tries to catch the chips. It also runs slower and has a bigger motor. Will cut 1/2 metal plate. Aluminum is a snap!.
 
Don't know what it cost yet- a buddy was supposed to order a regular sheet for me, but forgot. He had this sheet of diamond plate in his shop, so I grabbed it. Didn't really want diamond plate, but Tunica is this weekend, and the shields have to be made. All the bracket are done, and will cut the shields tomorrow.

Sounds like a circular saw is the way to go. Thanks to everybody for the advise!
 
I second this for a saw. I use plasma all the time on aluminum up to .750" (85amp Hypertherm) seems like a fine way to slice it. Jim
 
omahagreg
That looks just about like the metal cutting blade on my Makita, only larger.
Their specs say it won't cut non-ferrous metals, but I guarantee it will do just fine. Apply some stick wax or spray lube to the blade before you start and it will help keep the blade from gumming up with aluminum. Otherwise some of the metal will stick to the teeth.

Myron
 
Like others have said, use a carbide blade. I have cut up to 1/4 inch aluminum. You may want to use a guide of some kind. Be sure to wear a face shield, as the chips will fly. Stan
 
Decades ago when I worked in the aluminum extrusion business, one of the jobs that I had was running the saws to cut the extrusions. Very fine (lots of) teeth carbide, and as you said, plenty of lubrication. On aluminum, we actually mixed oil and water, the pumps mixing it milky white. We added more oil as the iron content in the aluminum increased from 6064 towards 6061 in not just the saws, but other machinings as well. The point was to use plenty of non-stop lubricant to protect the blades as well as not melt the aluminum, which would then gum up and heat the blades. Plenty of lubricant.

Mark
 
If you can buy, borrow or rent a dual saw (skil-type saw with two side-by-side blades turning in opposite directions), that should do it easily.
 
I would second finding a metal shop and have them shear it. You will have nice square corners and won't take long. Hal
 
Easiest would be to find a local shop with a shear.

2nd, use a plasma cutter and switch the gas to argon/helium mix. But I never do, just use the air compressor. Pretty clean cut, not perfect.

Depends on what you are doing.
Ric
 
Toolz. a piece of 1&1/2" angle iron, a utility knife and a couple of clamps is all you need, if you have a bench or tabletop that's long enough to clamp the aluminum to. Clamp the angle iron down to use as a guide, score the metal a couple of times with the utility knife and slowly bend the metal up and down until it parts. You might want to take a file to the cut edge, as it will become sharp using this method. I have a metal brake for bending trim metal and use the above method on the brake to cut coil stock metal to the desired width. Hope this helps...tim
 
Make sure the skill saw has a metal case, not a plastic case as the hot shavings will melt the plastic case.
 
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