Alum Diamond Plate

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I am a hobby welder. I like the look of diamond plate. Please help, how do you cut this easy? Also do welding rods for alum really work? I have cut this with a saber saw. There must be a easier way.
Reply:It cuts several ways. You can get it sheared. You can cut it with a circular saw and carbide blades or in a table saw. Plasma, but you will have to grind the edge to weld...As far as welding, AC tig is usually the best way to get nice looking welds. Mig is uasually the next most popular using a spoolgun. Stick is tough to do on thin alum like 1/8" diamond plate, especially if you want real nice looking beads..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:Diamond plate cuts very well with plasma....if you have a good quality plasma. Here is a pic or two. Attached Images
Reply:Jim not to get OT, but my understanding was that plasma cut edges are not ready to weld like those that are sawn or sheared. Plasma is a great way to cut alum in general, but my understanding was that edges needed to be ground or sanded for prep. Did I miss something?.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:Best methods are as DSW said, but here are a few more...JIGSAW:When I didn't have my Plasma Cutter, I cut quite a bit of Aluminum with a Jigsaw...  Use a good carbide blade and cut with a piece of 1/4" piece of MDF or Pressboard underneath the aluminum.  You can get some pretty decent cuts with this, but take your time so it doesn't jump on you...  Remember to either GLUE it down first, or clamp it down so it stays put...SCROLL SAW:You can also use a SCROLL SAW... as long as the metal isn't 'too' thick.  You'll have no problem with 1/8th and can do some VERY intricate cust with a scroll saw.  Remember though, I wouldn't use it for REALLY long cuts as it would take you quite a while.JEWLERS SAW / COPING SAW:Believe it or not, another way you can cut this stuff is with a LARGE jewelers saw, or REALLY good Coping saw.  Make sure to use a nice thick blade.... About 2 to 3 teeth per width of metal, sometimes more if you can't find the EXACT blade (place the blade against the 'edge' of the metal and count the teeth within the 1/8" space).  I've cut VERY HARD NICKEL metals this way and it goes through very easily.  You can make 0.5 to1.0mm turns in thinner stuff with the proper blade!Cheers,  /Jman....Miller Diversion 165120 amp Buzz BoxVictor Oxy/Ace Oxy/LPGSmith "Little" Oxy/LPGHypertherm Powermax 30Lot's of Misc. tools n' crap....
Reply:It depends on the welding process....and of course, the plasma process.Most on these sites are using air plasma....which (due to the oxygen content in air) puts an oxide layer ...and a porous edge on aluminum. If it is thin aluminum.....and you are yig welding....you may have to push down a little further on the foo pedal to get decent penetration....and you likely will make a mess of the weld! With thicker material, and tig or mig.....just turn up the power and usually the edge will allow for a decent weld.If you are using a Hypertherm HPR (high definition class) plasma......and you are using H35 or Nitrogen as the plasma gas...weld away with any process...the edge is clean and weldable.Jim
Reply:You can easily cut it with a saber saw. A good rough blade like for wood. And bee's wax. You have to hit the blade with bee's wax, every six to ten inches of cut. It is like putting a new blade in. But a shear is neat. A giant nibbler and a guide will work to, especially for rounded cuts. A skill saw and bee's wax is great too, in an eight foot cut, I will add bees wax twice to the blade. Once before I start. A pneumatic router, along a guide, and bee's wax is awesome. You can use an electric router, but if it has an open top, and exposed brushes it probably is not great for someone new to all the things that can go wrong.        Sincerely,             William McCormick
Reply:BTW, once you've cut the Alumium, you have to prep REGARDLESS of the cut.  As Long as your Diamond plate has a 'shiny finish', you're going to have to eliminate that oxide before welding it.  This is especially true if it has a CHROME finish, then you have NO CHOICE but to remove it, as welding that stuff can make you pretty ill, at least in the short term....As stated above, you can sometimes get away without PREP with a GOOD TIG machine and 'Finely Tuned Settings' but it will NEVER work properly if you are using OXY/FUEL in combination with those 3 in 1 or 'Aluminum Alloy Rods'.  A NEW stainless steel brush followed by acetone is my favorite way to get the edges ready to weld....Not everyone does it this way, but I strongly suggest some method similar to above so that your welding is more enjoyable.Cheers,/Jman...Last edited by jman; 03-03-2010 at 11:35 PM.Miller Diversion 165120 amp Buzz BoxVictor Oxy/Ace Oxy/LPGSmith "Little" Oxy/LPGHypertherm Powermax 30Lot's of Misc. tools n' crap....
Reply:OK Thanks......But remember I said HOBY welder. Plasma, shear? HOBY no room for any of this. I dont weld anything over an inch long. Dont weld car frames, bridges or use anything over 10 pounds. Remember HOBY welder.
Reply:Originally Posted by jdod85OK Thanks......But remember I said HOBY welder. Plasma, shear? HOBY no room for any of this. I dont weld anything over an inch long. Dont weld car frames, bridges or use anything over 10 pounds. Remember HOBY welder.
Reply:Originally Posted by jdod85OK Thanks......But remember I said HOBY welder. Plasma, shear? HOBY no room for any of this. I dont weld anything over an inch long. Dont weld car frames, bridges or use anything over 10 pounds. Remember HOBY welder.
Reply:wd-40 works great for cutting and drilling alumDaye
Reply:Originally Posted by wintermuteI Don't expect anyone on here to think that hobby means you only have access to a single old stick welder.--Wintermute
Reply:Originally Posted by Pipeline MechanicWell I am technically a "professional" welder (since I am paid to weld anyway) and all I haveis a couple of stickwelders and a torch or two........
Reply:I've used a good bit of diamond plate on my little forklift project and to cut it I turned it upside down and used my plasma. The cuts were great. The made all the required bends and cut then tig welded it all together.I know you said your a hobby welder but it does take some equipment to do certain things and do them right and if you don't have the required equipment you might have to get someone to cut it or even weld it for you. Attached ImagesMiller 302 Trailblazer/Custom TrailerMillermatic 350P/Spool gunMillermatic 252Miller Spectrum 875Miller Dynasty200DxHypertherm Powermax 85Tracker CNC 4X8 Pro Table (Down Draft)Visit us @ www.specialtyrepairscustommods.com
Reply:I like diamond plate.This is how it turned out. Attached ImagesMiller 302 Trailblazer/Custom TrailerMillermatic 350P/Spool gunMillermatic 252Miller Spectrum 875Miller Dynasty200DxHypertherm Powermax 85Tracker CNC 4X8 Pro Table (Down Draft)Visit us @ www.specialtyrepairscustommods.com
Reply:i still love that forklift.
Reply:Originally Posted by Oldtimeri still love that forklift.
Reply:I have used a router for inside cuts.  either a hss or carbide is fine, just don't get greedy in your feed.  I have plunge cut and cut light holes faster than you can even say light holes.
Reply:I have cut aluminum with a skill saw for many years, using a 'nail cutting blade' with half dozen teeth that have a very close gap between the blade blank and the next tooth.  This blade seems to last the longest and be the least expensive, on 20' long panels of 5086 sheet or even 6061 or 6063 embossed plates.We use cheap-o frying pan spray- "Pam" generic brand as you don't have to stop your saw to apply and it lubes the entire blade in one blast while its turning.If you buy UHMW tape one side plastic and one side adhesive that will slick up the saw table to make cutting control better.  The same for jigsaws.We've found there are jigsaws and there are Bosch jig saws so that's all we use, I think the current Model is a 1590 or so, we started with 1570's or 80's, I don't recall (?) but they've all been better, more powerful and more useful than any other saw for this job.As long as the blade is kept lubed the hot (melted) aluminum won't stick and the cut is clean and weldable.  If the blade is dull or has melt build up then the edge is too poor to weld.  We use a 6-8 tooth per inch wood cutting blade for 90% of all aluminum cuts.We 'clean' 100% of all cuts, skill saw, jigsaw, band saw, except router cuts with a Vixen file to deburr the top and bottom of the panel's edges.  A couple of swipes (pulled only) with a Vixen file and even plasma edges are cleaned and ready for welding.Pan spray, vegetable oil, will vaporize much at lower temp than petroleum lubes so, even though we clean with acetone and prep with SS power brush and follow with a toothbrush before welding, if you miss some pan spray it will not leave very pronounced porosity in MIG and will burn off in TIG.We use this spray on the band saws too, but only spray the outside of the blade or it can come off some rollers and make more work and cost blades.I use a jigsaw on most materials below 0.125"-1/8" and skill saw for most longer cuts on 0.160"- 5/32" and thicker.  Plasma is the way to cut; if you have an NC table or access to that service.  The speed and accuracy helps to reduce costs of the service and if you're doing cutouts of image files that takes much longer with hand power tools.The router is also great as the edge is almost always guided and cut 'dead smooth' so all that has to be done is wipe up the spray lube with acetone-  brush- tack- and weld.Even at the hobby level of tooling, if a project is going to be high quality its worth considering the costs of outsourcing plasma (if the cuts are intricate curves) and bending, do the CAD yourself, and handle the design &  welding- these are the real core of the project.  IF you can cut all the parts because they're all straight edges (?), or if the curves are simple and lend themselves to power tools, then; make good layout, cut with pan spray, clean up well before welding and the work will look fine.Cheers,Kevin Morin
Reply:Skill saw with a carbide is the way to go.. Stud blade works best down to 1/8" and finishing blades for anything less.  No lube for me.  It's just one more thing that might mess with a cosmetic weld.  Cut-off wheels are great, but I cant get all the blade bits out of the weld area and they show their ugly face in the finished product.  I tape paper to the plate that I'm riding along and I have tape on the bottom of the saw to eliminate any vibration marks on the material, especially when the chips are inbetween the saw and metal.  At Beall, we used a semi-sticky, 10 inch wide paper to keep from scratching the polished aluminum while working it into place.  I would like to get my hands on some more someday.    Just about any tool that can work a super hard wood can work aluminum.Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom.