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I am working with thin aluminum sheet .040 - .090. It is very diffifult to cut a piece out of the 4' X 8' sheet when making a smaller part and maintain a square part. When I had access to a shear it was easy. Two questions:1) Does anyone have a technique for cutting this stuff and keeping it square? I have used hand shears and jig saw (.090) with poo results2) Does anyone recommend a hobby sized shear for 24 - 36" wide range up to .090?Thanks everyone!
Reply:used machinery outlets usually have pretty good deals on brakes and shearsall the time...by the way this should have been posted in machines tools and cutting methods..you'll get better results when you post in the proper place ...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:If you live in an area where there are used machinery dealers, you are one lucky dog. There are virtually none of them in my whole state of 6 million people.And used shears around here come up about once every 5 years.But to answer your question- Use a tablesaw, with a carbide blade.Use wax for a lube.Wear a heavy shirt, gloves, a hat, and a full face sheild,as really hot, sharp, aluminum chips will be flying around, but the table saw works great on that thin stuff, and gives a nice square, smooth edge.I have cut sheet up to 1/4" all the time this way.You can even drop it down in the middle of the sheet to make interior corners, if you are careful, and have help.
Reply:A couple of other suggestions that may be useful depending on how much work you have to do.NOTE _*******Think about your safety when working with metal.*******1.A Band saw can get you there and most wood working saws will work in a pinch. Of course bying a better blade helps. The cut quality probably won't be the best but is likely to be better than that done by hand. A tight fitting insert helps also.2.Rough cut your pieces then trap the between two sheets of MDF or similar material. These two sheets are then used as patterns to guide a router with a pattern cutting bit. If you got wood working eauipment this can work nicely if you get close with the rough cut.3.For small parts in small lot quanitities, consider stacking up a bunch of rough cut outs and them squaring them up in a milling machine. This implies a bit of tooling that most shops don't have. 4.A metal blade for a skill saw or better yet get one of the purpose built metal cutting hand saws. 5.If you think about roofers and siding installers you might want to try a trick from that trade. They will score a piece of aluminum with a knife and bend it at the score where it snapps a part. Now I don't know how that will work with the type and temper of Aluminum you are using but it has to be the loowest cost solution here. Further it is likely to be safer. I haven't measured the trim materials siders use but I'd have to think that it is close to the thickness of 0.040. If not you may have to press a bit harder.6.In the nieghbor hood of being unreasonable you might want to buy a laser. Not cheap so I saved it for last.dave
Reply:While I was at a yard sale one day, I found one of those paper cutters the teachers used in gradeschool. I'm not sure how to describe it. Its about 28x30 and has a handle located on the right side to pull down the hatchet(?). I use it for cutting lots of thin aluminum. Hope you know what I'm talking about as it has come in handy. Oh yeah, it was 10 dollars too. |
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发表于 2021-9-1 00:59:44