Cutting 3mm aluminium channel

[big-all]

what happens when you just cut wood

[Job and Knock]

The other thing I forgot to mention (this is big problem) is not being able to do multiple pieces with one cut, the blade pulls to hard on upward cut.

I had envisaged lining up day four channels side by side then making one cut across the batch, currently doing one at a time which leads to inconsistencies.

To make that work you'll really need to hold stuff very securely - and even then things may move. One trick (used with timber products) is to attach false fence plate and bed piece to the saw and to stick fine alox sanding paper on them - certainly reduces any tendency for the workpiece(s) to move about as does setting the workpiece flat side down and feeding slowly

As to the Evo blades - way too coarse for a decent cut on ally. I often enough cut ally profile on a mitre saw (shop counter profiles, etc) and it's fairly easy, but ideally it does require a triple chip (TCG) blade with 80 to 100 teeth on 10/12in saws. Personally I'd avoid the Silverline blades - utter garbage TBH with a short life expectancy - you'd be far better off looking for something like a Bosch, deWalt or Makita TCG saw blade, preferably zero or negative rake (reduces kickback), on eBay or Amazon. You can often pick them up quite cheaply. Other than that, whilst not as good, there's Dart (almost as good) and Saxton (not as good as Saxton - way better than Silverline IMHO). You'll probably pay £15 to £25 if you look hard enough for any of the suggested brands. Don't worry about the bore - most 10in saws are 30mm bore - just get some blade washers to allow it to fit your saw

[Dave54]

I've been reading all this with interest.
I'd guessed that the answer would be to either to accept that a certain amount of extra work will be necessary to get the required result, or to chuck considerably more money than first thought at the problem.
That's the way it usually seems to be in most cases of tools and machines.

[Alloy ally]

what happens when you just cut wood

See the first two photos in this post : Sun Dec 23, 2018 4:57 pm, (sorry not sure how to directly link)

This is where I ran the wood flush with metal edge to offer maximum support, less chatter. Very smooth cut, no problems at all.

These 'all purpose' blades are okay, but may be not as good as dedicated aluminium blade, should know soon enough with new discs.

[Alloy ally]

Update

New blades arrived, look okay - couple of minor reservations, firstly they need reversing due to rotation - this means no printed detail visible, not sure if normal but thought it worth mentioning in case someone is thinking of similar purchase. Second (niggle) relates to adapter rings, tolerance is so tight it's impossible to 'feel' it centering on main spindle, took over an hour to mount but ended up putting machine on its side.

Onto the good stuff, cuts really well with much less swarf, more importantly its a pin straight line with no wavy bit. Did a small batch of 8 or so, no noticeable dulling of blade but obviously very early days .





One last observation for anyone considering these, dia is 250mm as opposed to 255mm for std Rage blade, in practice this means it doesn't always cut right to the edge leaving a spur - this can be easily overcome using packing but worth pointing out.

Cheers

[Alloy ally]

Job and Knock, Dave54 - sorry, only just noticed your posts.

Job and Knock, fully share your skepticism on Silverline, it was the only one I could find dedicated to alloy without a bit of multipurpose being thrown in.

Dave54, once the prototypes are done will get some costings for proper machine shop to run off large batches - it's not really practical noise wise cutting this channel on a regular basis, makes a huge din (using ear muffs)

If I do end up making these myself will try and find a supplier offering 40 x 20 x 2mm as opposed to 3mm, that should help things a bit. These are end caps for a plastic canopy which anchor hooks at each end, not real strength needed - will post a picture when fully assembled.

[Bob225]

Adjust the vertical stop the blade will then cut all the way through

[Alloy ally]

Adjust the vertical stop the blade will then cut all the way through

..ta Bob, checked this - not engaged, the blade unit is at max hitting fixed stops.- I use this feature for cutting slots, is it the same do dah?

[Hitch]

Putting a little lubricat on the blade may well help, a little wax should help without making a mess of your saw.

[Alloy ally]

Cheers, will do - talking of wax, (slightly off topic) has any suggestions for an easy to apply sealant, preferably something like wax without and abrasive. Mother's gets really good write ups but opting for brushed finish as opposed to polished.

I tried mineral oil (Vaseline) but didn't last, still fades back to grey.

btw, ended up using two adapters to get the blade to fit, only had this option by ordering two blades - on the upside cutting plastic today wafer thin un-chipped ends

[big-all]

as an aside
if your blade leaves an uncut bit off say 1.5mm because the depth stop will be perhaps 1/5th away from the pivot point iff you reduce the meeting surfaces on the plunge mechanism by say 0.3mm it should cover it but may off course cause slight channel scoring as a full sized blade may ground on the bottom

[Hitch]

I use basic furniture wax on burnished steel, leaves a good effect. I wouldn't have a clue as to using anything like that on ally though.
I'd have thought a lacquer would offer more protection.

[Alloy ally]

General update

Cheers for all the replies, thought I would update on progress and resolution to wavy line issue.

After getting some nice clean 90 degree cuts this problem suddenly returned making a real hash of things. It couldn't be the table as this had been squared at least three times, checked it again - miles out, the table is moving when the machine is being moved !

This particular machine has a friction lock which binds to the underside of casting, not sure why but not holding firm - when moving I lock the arm/motor in down position and use that to carry, so not even touching base.

You can see the movement on photo below - will examine a bit closer to see what's what but at least I have found the cause.



Alloy finish

Its okay but original finish looks 'whiter' this is described as 'mill finish' by suppliers but looks more like anodized - any thoughts ? (mines the middle one).





Cheapy blades

I can't fault them apart from adapter malarky, still early days of course but super clean cuts wafer thin if needed.

[Alloy ally]

..Heath Robinson time ..

After a bit more head scratching it appears the 'click' locking mechanism is not fully engaged when set true, in other words the base plate (made up name) relies solely on friction of small lever to underside.





Does anyone know if there is a way to reset the whole thing, or zero the base plate?

I'll drop tech folks and email Monday if not, v helpful.

[big-all]

the orange plastic bit should be the positive locating at given points does it not sit in tight ??