Shopsmith Forums

I have some one inch aluminum bar stock in which I need to cut a quarter inch wide slot one half inch deep. Could I use both outside dado blades to a 1/4 inch wide slot one half inch deep in the bar stock? If it's OK then at what speed and depth of cut? Can I do the cut in one pass?

Any other considerations?

The short answer is probably yes. I have cut aluminum with my table saw, chop saw and circular saw with little to no damage to the blade. Make sure that you follow safety procedures and wear good eye protection. Use feather boards to keep the stock from wandering. Use an appropriate push stick. Be careful and take light cuts. Good luck.

I cut sheet aluminum frequently with "an old" carbide saw blade but I have not cut aluminum bar stock either with a saw blade or a dado blade. I am curious and concerned. I do hope you post the results here and I wish you success without incident.

I have given thought to using a carbide router bit but have not done so due to concern that it might not go well.

Jut curious ,, would a round 1/4 in cutter work better for you in the drill press / over head router / mode , clamp stock in a table vice clamped to the table and advance the main table in and out ?

I think I'd use a cheaper blade. I've cut aluminum using a carbide blade, works well enough, but does dull the blade much quicker than wood. Use a regular blade, maybe even go buy a cheap blade to dedicate to aluminum, and take more passes.

Perhaps this is more a could you, should you question. Yes you can cut AL with a regular carbide blade and I have done so. It makes a major mess with bits of AL going in all the nicks and crannies so I like to use my chop saw and then the cuts are through cuts to dimension. Things like bar stock, t-slot bars, extrusions etc.

Now you have not told us the dimensions of the part or how long the cut is. If you were say cutting a notch in some bar stock is quite different then making dado 6" long in a 2" wide part. You also have not told us how close the cut needs to be to the size you need. All of this plays a part in the decision process.

They also sell multi-material blades and even special blades for metal cutting, so far as I know there are no dado blades in this category. So thinking that a couple of cuts to gain the width might be a better solution.

AL is a soft metal but certainly harder then most woods and making sure it doesn't find a way to fly off is a prime concern if something were to go wrong. Safety first then if you feel you have it covered then recheck.

The smaller the part the worse the chance it will not be able to be done safely.

Other options are a machine shop with a milling machine. They could make quick work of it have it accurate and shouldn't cost too much.

Ed

Thanks all. The bar stock is around 1/8" thick maybe a little more. I am only going to put notches in the stock. I can do it with a hack saw or a jig saw. I only have four pieces to cut and I want to put 5 (1/2 inch deep 1/4 wide) notches in the stock. I was only thinking of using the SS to make the cuts a little neater but I think I will just use my jig saw and a file to tidy it up.

I am confused. If the stock is 1/8 thick, how can you cut a notch 1/2 deep? I must have misread..

As long as the material is only 1/8" thick then two or three saw kerfs will work fine assuming the width of the material is say 1". You can clamp it to wood on an extension to the miter gauge and go for it. Make a cut then reposition and make another one or two cuts to achieve the 1/4" width. You could take the time and make a couple of stops so they will all match after cutting if that is important.

Ed

ChrisNeilan wrote:I am confused. If the stock is 1/8 thick, how can you cut a notch 1/2 deep? I must have misread..

It is 3 dimensional. 1/8" x 1" x 6".