Cutting Aluminum on the Home Shop Table Saw.

I don't have a problem using my table saw. My radial arm saw? Not a chance. And I have an old Craftsman made my Emerson electric with a cast iron arme verry ridge. But hard wood it want's to clime.I actuley have to hold it back insted of pulling it through.
 
chip_slinger said:
Using a table saw to cut thick aluminum plate sounds scary to me. I'm not sure I would try it. I can see using a mitre saw with an appropriate blade to cut extrusions, but I've never done it.

Coincidentally, I was watching a video on youtube by CompEdge X. and he uses a cheap table saw with a not-many tooth blade to cut 3/4" plate. Scary as hell! Confirms I will never try it. Check out the video around the 9:00 mark. Scary!

[video=youtube_share;CX4Ous-DOlQ]http://youtu.be/CX4Ous-DOlQ[/video]
Click to expand...

Hmmm...

Note I am not criticizing the person in the video, he appears to have skills with the machines he operates...

However:

The way he uses a table saw... even if one was cutting wood, one could get hurt badly with those techniques.

I think one could call that the negative side of 'old school'... grin
 
cut some 6061 1.5 X 3 into 4" blocks, one pass, did 6 feet worth. big big mess took about 10 mins, no problems other than the noise and tingling fingers.
 
GA said:
Hmmm...

Note I am not criticizing the person in the video, he appears to have skills with the machines he operates...

However:

The way he uses a table saw... even if one was cutting wood, one could get hurt badly with those techniques.

I think one could call that the negative side of 'old school'... grin
Click to expand...

at least support both sides if going freehand.don't know why he didn't use the fence for the first 2 cuts..oil well..
 
Well I am not a machinist, but I have cut a great deal of aluminum on a table saw and I can tell you that I did not free hand it! Use a blade guard, a fence, finger boards and a push block. Wear PPE (face shield and hearing protection) and use some sort of blade lubricant. Also the blade should be set to only clear the surface of the material by the height of the teeth on the blade. Other than those items, it is a great video.


chip_slinger said:
Using a table saw to cut thick aluminum plate sounds scary to me. I'm not sure I would try it. I can see using a mitre saw with an appropriate blade to cut extrusions, but I've never done it.

Coincidentally, I was watching a video on youtube by CompEdge X. and he uses a cheap table saw with a not-many tooth blade to cut 3/4" plate. Scary as hell! Confirms I will never try it. Check out the video around the 9:00 mark. Scary!

[video=youtube_share;CX4Ous-DOlQ]http://youtu.be/CX4Ous-DOlQ[/video]
Click to expand...
 
TOOLMASTER said:
table saw cuts love wax...clears the blade from accumulating alum as you cut. cutting for 40 years now
Click to expand...

Yes Wax !

Lennox some years back gave a complementary wax-like lube cartridge with the purchase of their blades. In cased in a cardboard tube permited the operator to cut into the end thus lubricating the band. After a strenuous Wisconsin winter I grabbed the cartridge to lube a blade only to find it mysteriously totally empty. The mystery was resolved when mouse manure was discovered where it was stored.
 
That video explains the Forum Position on Cutting Aluminum on the Table Saw perfectly. He did everything without any regard to his safety. There is no way you can guide a plate that big across the table free hand and not lose it a couple of times. If I ever come into a shop and this was being done, that shop would get no work from me.

"Billy G"
 
Then you should never watch me cut out circles..lol
 
I would ask now that people do not just say I did something. Please explain how you do it and what safety precautions you used. let's start adding some reality to what you are saying. Thank you.

"Billy G"
 
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