Cutting aluminum on a table saw

[Black Forest]

I have read about cutting aluminum on a table saw for years. Yesterday I needed to work on my power drawbar rig. The original design had four linear slides mounted to rectangular alu plates. After looking at so many designs all using only two slides I decided to refine mine. The top plate of my mill is 170mm in diameter so I decided to mill the plates to that diameter. Instead of milling a 2D contour slot which would be 15 and 20mm deep on the two plates I decided to cut off all but 3 to 4 mm around the drawn circle of 170mm. Recently I bought a new table saw and it was starring at me begging me to cut the alu. I put on my hearing protectors and had at it. I was shocked at how well and easy it cut the plates. I just kept cutting straight cuts until I had roughed out the circle. Then I center clamped the rough cut circles to the mill and did a 2D contour around the edge and it worked great and no chip welding as I had experienced when doing the center bores. I was really shocked at how well it cut.

[Rich Carlstedt]

Been doing that for years But
Hearing Protection AND Eye Protection needed.. Goggles preferred as the chips get around face shields
Rich

[ed_h]

And the chips can be HOT.

Ed

[Toolguy]

Agreed to all the above.

[Bob La Londe]

I used to cut a bit of aluminum on the table saw. You can get chip welding to the carbide teeth. I found minimal light cutting oil seemed to prevent/reduce this. Be aware to setup to reduce the likelihood of kickback. A large piece of aluminum that kicks back will hit you with a lot more energy than a piece of wood the same size. Of course bits and pieces can more likely jam up the saw instead of give if the throat plate has enough clearance to allow them to get between it and the blade.

[polaraligned]

The potential for kickback tells me not to cut on my tablesaw, and I have been at woodworking for 50 years. I have seen how bad kickback can be from wood and not willing to risk it with aluminum.

[garyhlucas]

I made a special guide that can clamp the part down at any angle to a slide so I can safely cut aluminum on the table saw. Reducing vibration gives a cleaner cut too.

[Bob La Londe]

The potential for kickback tells me not to cut on my tablesaw, and I have been at woodworking for 50 years. I have seen how bad kickback can be from wood and not willing to risk it with aluminum.

Using a stop to set length so the stock is not cut against the fence nearly eliminates kickback. If there is nothing to build pressure against even if it does catch the energy imparted from the blade will be minimal. Table saws are inherently dangerous as I am sure you are aware. The best defense is knowing how accidents happen.

[goose]

I would never cut aluminum on a table saw, no matter how many jigs, hold downs or whatever.
Different alloys, gummy alloys. Aluminum can stress relieve itself while being cut. And it can weld onto carbide. And then there's this thing called heat that builds up.
Wood kickback is bad enough, metal kickback is terrifying to think of.

I'm surprised on a machinists forum anyone would consider hand feeding metal into a spinning blade. This isn't woodpeckers forum. We're the type who's supposed to know never drill without a vise, or workpiece clamped to the drill press table.

And the "I've done it for years and haven't been killed yet" is solid logic at its best.

[Mike Amick]

I find kickback is reduced with the blade at full height. And I NEVER stand directly in back of it.

[Paul Alciatore]

Just a thought, but wouldn't a sled with a rear rail be a good idea? The rail at the edge of the sled between you and the saw blade would prevent the aluminum from flying backwards.

Another thing I would do is make sure the blade is as high as it will go. That way the forces of the cut are directed in a more downward direction, forcing the aluminum against the table or sled. Less of that force would be aimed horizontally, AT YOU.

I would coat the top of the aluminum, along the line of the cut, with a cutting lubricant. Not just a coolant, but a lubricant. I have one of those stick style ones that just rubs on. That way each tooth of the saw blade gets coated with fresh lubricant just before it enters the cut. Exactly where it is needed and less cutting force is needed. Wax or even bar soap would also work. This also lessens the possibility of kick-back.

Yes I have cut aluminum on my table saw. And I stand off to one side.

The potential for kickback tells me not to cut on my tablesaw, and I have been at woodworking for 50 years. I have seen how bad kickback can be from wood and not willing to risk it with aluminum.

[RB140]

I also have cut alum. On a table saw and also on a 16 " redial arm saw using a carbide tipped blade on each machine
I have cut everything from angle iron to flat plate solid square stock to schedule 80 pipe I even cut grating and decking
Have used kerosene as a lube and a wax stick the kero seemed to work the best always clamped when possible and yes hearing and eye protection is a must just keep the feed rate slow and try not to build up to much heat

[Tim Clarke]

Yes to everything in Paul's post. I have a sled for my saw that Dad made maybe 65 or 70 years ago. works great. I've mostly used wd40 for lubricant, spraying the line of cut before starting. Running the blade as high as it will go seems to slightly reduce the amount of chips thrown at me. I wear earmuffs, a hat, face shield in addition to my street glasses, and don't forget the long sleeve shirt!

[john b]

Woodworking bandsaw does a great job on aluminum.

[darryl]

Start by using a blade meant for aluminum. They work well. Using a sled is a great idea, as you don't have to drag the bottom edge of the cut across the table. If there's some burring, it will catch and not want to slide across the table smoothly. As far as the height of the blade, you only want to go as high as needed to smooth out the cutting action. If you want to use the blade high, then you need to feed very smoothly also. It's not rocket science though, as aluminum tends to cut well with the right blade. Soft alloys I would avoid- but you'd probably only have that if you had a specific purpose for it, and you may have already kept it out of your mainstream stock.

You can use regular wood working blades if they are sharp, but as they degrade slightly, they tend to catch chips- then you end up with aluminum getting hot as you're cutting- which is bad news all around. I just use a 7 inch blade as it was only about $25. I've used it a lot, and it still cuts aluminum well, and still does a decent job on plexiglass too.