Cutting aluminium plate

[fireballxl5]

As title, options for cutting 15mm thick aluminium plate other than a long slog manually with a hack saw.

CS, Andy

 

 

[Davey-T]

I cut in an ordinary chop saw with a TC blade, clamp it down on top of a piece of timber and go carefully 

Dave

[Anthonyexmouth]

how big is it? what shape do you want to cut?

[johninderby]

An angle grinder with a diamond wheel does a good job.

[Davey-T]

You can buy a suitable chop saw with aluminium cutting blade for around £100.00.

Does nice neat square cuts.

Dave

[Anthonyexmouth]

yeah, +1 for chop/mitre saw. i regularly use mine with a fine blade for cutting aluminium bay poles, not quite 15mm thick but take it slow and it'll make a nice clean cut. if you want a radius cut neatly it might be worth chucking a few quid at a local engineering works for a quick after hours job. 

[JamesF]

13 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

You can buy a suitable chop saw with aluminium cutting blade for around £100.00.

Does nice neat square cuts.

Dave

Indeed so.  Only a couple of weeks ago I bought one from Machine Mart when they were having a "we pay the VAT" type sale.  Just been making space for it in the workshop this morning.

James

[Macavity]

What are the special features of Aluminium cutting blades? I do know, from
personal (scary-ish) experience, "binding" is a real problem... hazardous! ?

There always seem to be solutions that are OK-ish, provided you limit the
speed of cut, thickness of aluminium, use lubricant (WD40?) etc. etc. But! ? 

 

[Davey-T]

4 minutes ago, Macavity said:

What are the special features of Aluminium cutting blades? I do know, from
personal (scary-ish) experience, "binding" is a real problem... hazardous! 

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/rage-3-s-blade-cuts-steel-aluminium-wood/

Don't forget to read the elf & safety leaflet 

Dave

 

[fireballxl5]

29 minutes ago, Anthonyexmouth said:

how big is it? what shape do you want to cut?

Thanks for the prompt suggestions guys?

The plate is 300*300mm square. I wanted to make it circular, 250mm diameter but after discussing with the boss of a  local fabrication place it only seems practical for me to cut the corners off. 

[sloz1664]

The biggest issue with cutting aluminium is heat. Aluminium has a low melting point, so just be careful and use coolant. The best coolant to use is paraffin, but WD40 will be OK. Please wear goggles and a mask when machining.

Steve

[Davey-T]

Easier to pay to have it done then unless you fancy buying a CNC machine

Dave 

[Anthonyexmouth]

5 minutes ago, fireballxl5 said:

Thanks for the prompt suggestions guys?

The plate is 300*300mm square. I wanted to make it circular, 250mm diameter but after discussing with the boss of a  local fabrication place it only seems practical for me to cut the corners off. 

I'd look around, find someone who can chuck it on their CNC bed. 

[johninderby]

Find a local water jet cutter. Would be a simple job for them.

 

[fireballxl5]

11 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Find a local water jet cutter. Would be a simple job for them.

 

Tried 2 local water jet places around Preston but no interest in this kind of work

[johninderby]

Try Forward Metals. Not sure if they can help in this case but have found them very helpfull in the past. Know they do work for Skylight Telescopes. 

https://www.forwardmetals.co.uk/

[fireballxl5]

This is the pier extension I want to modify. I want to make the top plate circular to avoid clashes with my new, side by side scope config.

The middle unpainted plate is not required so I just want to match the top plate of the extension to the base plate (top most black circular plate) of the mount.

 

 

[tigger]

20 years ago I built a 34 foot boat in aluminium. The bottom of the keel was a teardrop shape about 4 ft long and 22mm thick. I used a bandsaw with a fine blade and it worked well.Being a thin blade your not removing as much material as a circular saw .  +1 for using good eye protection.

[Davey-T]

13 minutes ago, fireballxl5 said:

This is the pier extension I want to modify. I want to make the top plate circular to avoid clashes with my new, side by side scope config.

The middle unpainted plate is not required so I just want to match the top plate of the extension to the base plate (top most black circular plate) of the mount.

 

 

If it's got a hole in the centre you could do a good job with a decent jigsaw and a trammel bar then finish with a file.

Dave

[fireballxl5]

4 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

If it's got a hole in the centre you could do a good job with a decent jigsaw and a trammel bar then finish with a file.

Dav

No hole to start with.

Looks like a decent jigsaw is well north of £100, over £200 for a cordless including battery & charger. Is there a model that you'd recommend?

 

[jetstream]

Carbide tipped circular saw.... wood blade is fine.

[Anthonyexmouth]

1 minute ago, fireballxl5 said:

No hole to start with.

Looks like a decent jigsaw is well north of £100, over £200 for a cordless including battery & charger. Is there a model that you'd recommend?

 

i wouldnt bother with a cordless one. if you're able to put a hole dead centre i'd use a router and take .5mm on each pass around. Trend make aluminium cutters

[Davey-T]

7 minutes ago, fireballxl5 said:

No hole to start with.

Looks like a decent jigsaw is well north of £100, over £200 for a cordless including battery & charger. Is there a model that you'd recommend?

 

Any cheap mains powered  jigsaw should last long enough to do the job before it blows up if you keep a sharp blade in it 

As mentioned you could use a router to get a better finish but needs to be one with a bit of guts so probably dearer than a jigsaw and cutter is dearer than jigsaw blades.

Dave

[Anthonyexmouth]

1 minute ago, Davey-T said:

Any cheap mains powered  jigsaw should last long enough to do the job before it blows up if you keep a sharp blade in it 

As mentioned you could use a router to get a better finish but needs to be one with a bit of guts so probably dearer than a jigsaw and cutter is dearer than jigsaw blades.

Dave

cheap router would be fine , removing so little each pass its less strain than a jigsaw. cheapo from lidl would probably do

[Stub Mandrel]

Cheaply? Use a jigsaw with a coarse metal cutting blade. A wooden template will help. Don't force or the blade will bend and you get an angled cut.

Router is OK, put it on a sacrificial sheet of wood and use a template. Go slowly. Use brushed on paraffin to stop the alloy building up on the blade and clogging it.

Any local engineering firm with a big milling machine (a 'Bridgeport') and a rotary table would do a decent job of it. As would a big lathe.