How to cut aluminum plate?

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mopowers

mopowers

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I need to make some motor mount shims out of 1/8", 1/4", and 3/8" aluminum plate. I don't have a band saw or any other fancy tools. I made one cut with a sawzall, but it took forever. I imagine a jig saw would to. I've heard a skillsaw works, but I'm leery of using one because the parts I'm cutting are so small. Do you guys have any ideas??? Thanks.
 
In your specific situation a cuttoff wheel on a 4" grinder may be your best bet.

Got a 4" grinder?
 
x2 cutoff wheel with a 4in disc or angle grinder. Clamp/vice grip a piece of steel or angle iron on it for a fence to run down.
 
Negative on the cut off disk, aluminum gums up the disk.
Sawzall and beer, maybe try a different blade.
How many TPI were you using?
 
Cut-off wheel on a grinder. Wear a particle mask, and cut outside, that s*it goes everywhere.
 
Use grinders grease. It is a wax like stuff that keeps saw blades or grinding burrs from clogging up with aluminum filings. I imagine it would work on a cut off disc also. I had some I got at Eastwood.
 
Use to cut aluminum siding with a circular saw and plywood blade.

Check this guy out...............
[ame]http://youtu.be/jl2sWJl35C8[/ame]
 
4.5" grinder and cut off wheel.

Get a white candle and hit the sides of your cut off disc. Doesn't allow the aluminum to gum up your disc.
 
table saw or chop saw will cut pieces but not well on inside cuts.
I just made a 5/8" thick motor plate out of 6061 aluminum.
broke to single flute bits with my router--quit
Jig saw way to slow -- quit
saw zaw worked great but not to accurate--- used some
table saw worked awesome except on the inside cuts
a metal cutting band saw would be your best option
Cut off wheels work good to on thinner stuff.
 
Who cares about the Gum up. I just cut through a 1" Aluminum Dowel with a chop saw. Like butter...... Cleaned up the edges on the side of the chop saw wheel. Done!
 
Ive cut up 1/8" with circular saw. Makes a LOT of noise. If the sawsall is slow , you probably have too fine a blade. 10-14 TPI should do OK. Lube with wax or oil can help keep teeth from clogging. What shape are you cutting? If doing a 'U' to slide over bolt drill the hole and then just cut the straights into it. Spade bits and hole saws work good in Al also if you need round cuts.
 
Mad Dart said:
Who cares about the Gum up. I just cut through a 1" Aluminum Dowel with a chop saw. Like butter...... Cleaned up the edges on the side of the chop saw wheel. Done!
Click to expand...

Exactly.
I use mine on aluminum all the time, because it's one of the easiest, fastest ways.
 
Thanks for the input guys. I didn't really consider a cut-off wheel in an angle grinder because I figured it would just gum up the disc. I'll have to give it a try with some wax.

MiradaMegaCab said:
Sawzall and beer, maybe try a different blade.
How many TPI were you using?
Click to expand...


The blade I was using was a metal blade. Not sure about the TPI, but it was pretty fine. I'll try a coarser blade next time.

Daves69 said:
Use to cut aluminum siding with a circular saw and plywood blade.

Check this guy out...............
http://youtu.be/jl2sWJl35C8
Click to expand...

Damn, that looked like it cut pretty easy! Thanks for the link.
 
The hillbillys that cut out my 1/2 alum. front motor plate I think used a chainsaw, looked horrible, I had to clamp it down in a Bridgeport mill to smooth out the top where it showed. Not only that but it has to be the hardest aluminum on the planet.
 
Motor mount shims are going to be fairly small. If you have limited tools you can put it in a vice and use a regular ol' hack saw. If it was me, I'd use a jig saw with the right blade.
 
Wow! The guy in the video must be one of Santa's elves! I'd hire I'm in a second.
 
Mostly I use a 4 1/2" grinder with cutoff blade and I have the luxury of a plasma cutter in my shop. In the past I have used a circular saw with a metal blade available from most hardware stores.
 
jefflock said:
Mostly I use a 4 1/2" grinder with cutoff blade and I have the luxury of a plasma cutter in my shop. In the past I have used a circular saw with a metal blade available from most hardware stores.
Click to expand...

like to ave him help my old *** finish the fish !~ lol
 
I made my tuff wheel adapter with a jigsaw. used a water spray bottle to keep the blade cool and filings flushed.////Used 3/8 aluminum plate.
 
have done this many times. don't know how it works, but lay your aluminum plate on a piece of thin plywood such as luan. cut through both at the same time with a jig saw and a blade for fine wood. go slow. seems the wood keeps the blade from clogging. good luck.
 
Use a nail cutting blade in a circular saw.
Quick and easy.
 
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