cutting sheets of 1/8" aluminum..

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I'm trying to start up a small little side business making fuel cells/tanks and radiator over flow tanks for race cars etc.. (mostly drag racing and street cars) Anyway, I was talking to my father about getting a stomp shear so I can cut the pieces I need vs having the sheet metal place do it. I'm trying to save money cause it seems that the shop is charging me for cutting or they are charging me for a 4ftx4ft sheet, cutting out what I need and not giving me the scraps.. either way I'm looking to save money by being able to do it more efficiently. He says to me that I need to suck it up and do it the way I'm doing it.. Not one to just sit there and take it I started thinking.. I work out of my fathers garage (I don't have a house yet) so I can't just go an buy a shear and tell him to KMA, plus I respect my father.. He has a decent table saw, and I was thinking I could cut down the stuff on that, would this be a good method?  My father thinks because I have only done a couple so far that it would be a waste of money, I'm trying to make stuff that I can stock and sell there for using this shear a lot.. I'm stating to rant now, so can I cut the sheet on the table saw?  if yes, what kind of blade?sorry it's long, had to vent a little also..www.thefusionsolution.com
Reply:You can cut AL with woodworking tools fairly easily if you use a negative rake blade of the proper tpi for your thickness and a little wax for lube. If he'll let you use his table saw you should be in good shape my friend. Buy a good blade and find a local place that can replace/sharpen your teeth.
Reply:Can you cut 1/8" alum with a table saw? Yes, with a fine tooth carbide blade. Denny (Yorkiepap) has posted up this several times here. I've used a straight edge and a wormdrive to do 1/4" dimond plate with a carbide blade. They make specially designed circular saws to cut metal also as well as special blades. Often wax or some other lube will help with cutting.Safety note: Kick back with a table saw and wood is dangerous. Kickback with a chunk of alum is even more so. Pay close attention to what you are doing if you choose this route. Also hearing protection and eye protection is mandatory. It's one of the few processes I wear not only my standard safety glasses and face shield, but goggels as well. The chips are hot, sharp, and fly far and fast.You might just sit down and figure out how to best cut the pieces out of the alum sheets. Remember if you go to someone with a shear, you have to work with cuts that go all the way across the sheet. A couple sheets of paper and you can play with the ideas to get as many parts from one sheet as possible limiting waste. Also work in full sheets 4x8 if possible. It's usually cheaper, and you may be able to limit waste that way. I'd also be sure to either note that you want the scrap, or designate the left over pieces as "parts" (you should have a rough idea just how big the waste is). Another thought might be to find someone with a CNC water jet to cut the parts. By doing so you can have holes, fills and so on cut as well as straights and angles. CNC programs often have a nesting program that will automatically fill a sheet with the maximum number of parts. Talk to the guy about how his program works. It might make more sense to limit your parts to as many standard sizes as possible. Say you only have 3 options for sides, and all the fronts and backs are similar, or all the tops and bottoms are the same. That way you can stock parts, and build whats needed when an order comes in. Plasma would also work, but the cut edges would need to be cleaned to weld, ie more work for you.Also if these tanks are for fuel and racing, be sure that you have checked to make sure they meet what ever specs are called for by the governing body. A non compliant fuel cell can leave you open to all sorts of liability issues in the event of an injury. You do have liability insurance don't you? Working out of your fathers garage will probably drag him into any legal issues as well, whether you intended to or not. The court will probably consider him a silent partner possibly and open him up to liablity issues as well.Last edited by DSW; 11-06-2010 at 11:08 PM..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Absolutely yes.Aluminum is VERY easy to cut with saws.  The advantage of a shear, is that it is quicker to get a straight and square cut.  With a saw, you need to set that all up.You'll want a pretty fine carbide tipped blade.  It'll eat through aluminum pretty nicely.You could also use a circular saw against a clamped straightedge.Just two words of caution.  Cutting aluminum with a carbide circular saw blade is VERY loud, and the chips that come out can be like needles, so be sure to wear ear and eye protection.  Its much worse than cutting wood.BTW, if you don't have a brake, I've seen guys make toolboxes by cutting only partway through the sheet (when cutting wood, this is called a "dado"), bending on the cut, and then welding the corner solid.  Because it stays attached, this can be a big time-saver, both because you don't have to fixture and tack, and because the root of the weld is already filled in so leaks on that joint are less likely.
Reply:Cutting aluminum on a table saw is no big deal, just use common safety procedures (a good set of anti reverse rollers is almost a necessity), and common sense.  However, I find it quicker and easier to cut my aluminum sheets with a circular saw.  A simple guide like in the picture and two short bar clamps or C-clamps, and you're in business.  Just clamp the guide on the keeper piece (if you have to clamp the guide on the drop, allow 1/8" for the saw kerf.  Making it a habit of clamping to the keeper piece allows for the kerf to always be on the drop), and cut away.  Most of my metal comes on pallets, so I just cut right on the pallet.  If I don't have a skid available, I'll just throw 4 or 5 pieces of 4 x 4 cribbing on the ground, and cut on them.  This is just as quick to set up as the table saw fence is, and it eliminates the issue of lifting the sheet up, and feeding it through the saw, as a floppy 5 x 10 piece of aluminum is quite a hassle, even with infeed and outfeed tables.  Also, this allows me to do as DSW mentioned, and cut only partially across the sheet.  Having an L shaped scrap left has saved me numerous times, when I'm not sure which side I'll want long for the next project.  There are a handful of free downloadable programs that will nest parts for you - just plug in a list of piece dimensions, and the dimension of the entire sheet you are working with, and it will find the best possible way to organize them.  The boat I'm currently working on requires over 20 different sized pieces (various hatch lids, deck pieces, etc.), which, after running through the program, have to be cut out of a 4 x 8 and 5 x 10 sheet.  Who knows how long I'd have to manually arrange all those parts, and whether or not I'd be able to arrange them for such efficient use of material as the program did (right around 3 square feet of waste out of both sheets, with no 2 parts having common dimensions).Who is John Galt?
Reply:Hey speed,Cutting alum. on a table saw is quite easy once you get the proper blade w/thin kerf & at least an 80T blade. I would recommend at least a C5 grade Tungsten tip one. I'll post the site where I get mine.....quite inexpensive. For the bending operation I do, I have (2) blades with the tips ground to specific angles of 30* & 45* that allows the thicknesses of materials to bend to 90* very easily. I'll post pics of how it's done & maybe you can search the projects area for my posting of the blade/saw setup & description.For production cutting, I made templates to use with my plasma cutter & it is quite fast & efficient. I use a TD Cutmaster 52, 60A unit. I can clamp & cut a piece in (1) minute or less.As Doug(DSW) responded.....BE SAFE! I wear my leather welding jacket & gloves, safety glasses, & full face shield when cutting. Your eyes are the most precious part of your body.I find simply spraying WD-40 on the cut length, I get a nice, clean cut & no buildup of alum. on the blade teeth. It is the best I've found. I am not concerned with the degreasing of the alum. prior to welding as WD cleans up quickly with acetone. Here's some pics to ponder & maybe get some ideas that would benefit you production-wise.DennySaw blade site: http://www.cripedistributing.com/irw...99-p-5015.html Attached ImagesComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:Thanks for the tips everyone, I'll be looking it to the blades etc more. I knew I could come here and get the answers I need!www.thefusionsolution.com
Reply:Fesstool makes a very good portable saw with a track system. I have cut 1/8 diamond plate very easily and their saw has an excellent dust pickup system to boot. Their saw has no lower guard, and does not need one as it is a plunge saw. Pull the trigger and push the plunge unlock to go to pre set depth and cut. Saw also has a speed control so proper speeds can be set. Also very good at scoring for folding, and I think they even have blades with a V tip too.
Reply:Link?www.thefusionsolution.com
Reply:try googleidealarc 250/250 ac-dc tigidealarc 250/250 ac-dc tig #2 used for sticklincoln sp100hh125dual arbor grinder polisher30 yrs of hand tools52 pitch blocks 6p-26prake gauge -pitch gaugeG&D prop repair 918-207-6938Hulbert,okla 74441
Reply:www.festoolusa.comidealarc 250/250 ac-dc tigidealarc 250/250 ac-dc tig #2 used for sticklincoln sp100hh125dual arbor grinder polisher30 yrs of hand tools52 pitch blocks 6p-26prake gauge -pitch gaugeG&D prop repair 918-207-6938Hulbert,okla 74441
Reply:that advice about wearing gloves concerns me.it cost me half of my left index finger when i swatted at a drill chip on my bridgeport.grabbed my glove and twisted it .i imagine a saw could grab a glove also whereas it would just cut skin.
Reply:Gloves and power tools just don't mix.Drill presses and mills are the worst, but bench grinders and lathes are close behind, along with saws.  Its way better to lose a chunk of skin than the whole finger, and with a big enough machine, who know what could get pulled in.
Reply:I have cut aluminum with a cirular saw quite often. Up to 1/4". I works very well.  They make circular saw blades for cutting aluminum.  As for the gloves.  I always wear mechanix gloves for work when I'm not welding.  You just don't put your hands in the business end of the tool gloves or no gloves.  Oh yea, use WD 40 while cutting.
Reply:Be really careful when cutting aluminum with a table or radial arm saw, cut-offs can become projectiles.We have three Tops radial arm saws at work for cutting aluminum extrusion and they are deadly. Not just for the operator but everyone in the shop, we've had shrapnel avoid both, the metal barriers we mounted on the saws, and the heavy blankets we put up to isolate them from the shop, and end up landing on someone's work bench right in front of them.Not cool. So, be careful! And I personally don't like any liquid lubricant in this application at all, too messy. Stick or wax for me!