Thread 2936646

Can I cut aluminum on a table saw?
I would like to remove 1/16" at the red line. It's 8 feet long.

Yes you can do that. Just make sure to use a blade meant for cutting metal. You can probably still use a normal wood blade if you had to since aluminum is fairly soft, but it would probably fuck up the blade.

Cutting aluminum is counterintuitive. You think it's gonna be easy because it's soft, but that's exactly why it's so annoying to cut. It has a low melting point and gums up

>>2936657
I've cut aluminum pipe and extrusions extensively with regular wood blades on my miter saw with no ill effect. I'm sure the blade won't last as long as if I was extensively cutting big box store pine, but the blades are cheap enough that it doesn't matter in the slightest.

>>2936669
I don't understand your post. It's like you're trying to argue against what I said, but then you're just saying the same thing I said. You can cut light aluminum with a wood blade but it will mess the blade up.

>>2936673
>it will mess the blade up.
Except I'm saying demonstrably it hasn't. I've fabricated 4 intercoolers and sets of piping and cut up a bunch of 3D printer style extrusions and my blade is still fine.

>>2936646 (OP)
You can do this, but it will be much safer to do it with a router.

>>2936661
>t and gums up
Slow down, bubba. Use lubricant if necessary.

>>2936646 (OP)
It's fine to cut on a table saw, you don't need a special blade, either.

>>2936676
>do it with a router
OP here. I'm gonna have a look about that. I like this idea.
Also, my U channel thickness is 1/16.

>>2936676
>>2936683
WD-40 is a good lubricant for aluminum, even if you aren't actually displacing any water when you're machining it.

>>2936646 (OP)
Put a fence up.
Optionally but a dummy / spoil thing inside to prevent the top bending. But ideally you should select a blade with a high tooth count, there should never be less than 2 or better 3 teeth in the cut. And that is per section. So in your case 6 or more teeth in the cut. Too coarse of a blade and it will collapse that whole thing.
Set the blade guards right. That way the saw wont wander and be less likely to shudder.
Get the correct speed from the usual tables. No guessing, no old timers advice or anything, consult the table and set the speed.
Regarding the feed ignore it since you're hand feeding. Go slow and whatever i tuitively seems right.
The thing is not too long it'll be an easy and fast job.
Consider setting the fence so that you cut a mm or two over and file that down later. You can get astonishing precision with a few files and a combination square if you work methodically.
Also make sure the blade has no missing teeth and coolant is on.

Less teeth is better for aluminum. Big steady rips

>>2936694
Soapy water is fine too as is official water-based coolant. I keep either in used plastic soda bottles with a hole drilled in their caps which is an old machinist trick.

>>2937323
>used plastic soda bottles with a hole drilled in their caps
>old machinist trick
[x]doubt
you will never be a real machinist ranjeet

>>2937323
theres a difference between a mechanic and a machinist.
The things you see mechanics do to mills and lathes is pure horror. This bottle oiler thing is mild but fits the way mechanics think and operate no less.

>>2936646 (OP)
I've cut aluminum soffit with a skilsaw, the trick there is to use a plywood blade and put it on backwards. This way, the blade doesn't catch the metal, but tries to cut it like a scissors.

so, plywood blade (no carbide tip), installed backwards
set fence for height.
set blade height to just barely cut through one side.
go slow
wear eye and ear protection

>>2936646 (OP)
I've done it all the time. At minimum you need to use a Plywood/OBS blade. At best you can get a blade that is intended for cutting soft metals like aluminum, but it will be pretty similar to the plywood OBS blade, but at a different tip angle that will leave a cleaner finish on the cut edge.
You can do the same with a crosscut, chop, or miter saw.
The only blades you can't use with aluminum are abrasive blades.

But as others have said, you'll get a cleaner result with a router.

>>2938075
C'mon man. It's so funny. OP has not made his cut for a week now. I sometimes feel this is all of /diy/. It's been a week and OP has not made one or two simple cuts and posted results. OP will never. OP is paralyzed.

>>2936675
A cut with a mitre saw is pretty quick but with a rip on a table saw the blade might get pretty hot.

>>2936675
Intercooler piping is fairly thin walled stuff, you can cut that with just about anything. Thicker aluminum, like the extruded C-channel in OP's picture, will 100% cause a wood blade to lose teeth. I can confirm this through personal experience, having used a miter saw with wood blades to cut & install vinyl railings with aluminum c-channel inserts on quite a few jobs over the years.

>>2936646 (OP)
cut this on my table saw just yesterday. ezpz no issues. less fuss than ripping oak. would suggest a face shield thobeit

>>2936669
what tpi