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Cutting aluminum

ProWraps

ProWraps

New Member
well this has nothing to do with signs, but i figure you guys have a ton of experience cutting aluminum.

im building an airplane and will need to cut all 6061T6 aluminum. 2"x2" .125 tubing and .090 aluminum sheet.

i bought a miter saw for the tubing which im going to use a 80 tooth carbide blade with wax to cut.


what would you recommend to cut the gussets out of the sheet aluminum?

anyone have experience cutting thin wall aluminum with woodworking tools

TIA.

-chris
 
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ProWraps

ProWraps

New Member
yeah techman. i would LOVE to aquire a stomp sheer. i have looked online for one that will do small peices at an affordable price but have yet to find something that fit the bill. do you know of one?
 
gnatt66

gnatt66

New Member
i cut .090 with hand held tin shears and/or my kett power shears. i dont have a stomp shear.....yet.

we either us a 14 inch chop saw or lay down band saw to cut tubing.
 
ProWraps

ProWraps

New Member
gnatt, can you achieve a straight line with that method (tin shears)? ive seen that method online and im interested. just wondering if i could get the accuracy out of it.
 
threads1

threads1

New Member
Hey Pro.....I used a band saw with a thin plywood backer. What are you building? I built a ChallengerII from Quad City. It was a blast to fly. Have fun.
 
J

John L

New Member
Cut the tube with a miter saw sporting a non-ferous metal cutting blade of at least 100 carbide teeth. Slow and smooth with each slice makes the blade last longer.

For shearing .090... it takes a lot of shearing to make the equipment worth purchasing, even harbor freight. I suggest you make a drawing of your gussets and find a local sheet metal shop to do it for a few bucks. Another option is a quality made bench mounted beverly shear which would cut your gussets and also cut some of the funky profiles you will have for the plane's outter skin. This is like a big pair of snips that leaves your one hand free to steer the material, more control, more capacity, more leverage than hand snips. But DONT buy the harbor freight beverly shear for $100.. 'tis crap.
 
astro8

astro8

New Member
.090...you'll have forearms like Popeye after you cut an airplane full of that out with hand shears.
 
Patrick46

Patrick46

New Member
Believe it or not, but I'm building a Peterbilt Hot-Rod, and the cab is all aluminum.

I got a free piece of 1/4" think aluminum to use for the firewall, and couldn't figure out how to cut this stuff, so I went to my local semi truck repair shop for help. The head mechanic told me to use a good old Skill saw (circular saw) with just a regular blade in it, but to be sure and spray the blade with WD40 while cutting. So I drew out my cut lines on my panels, and before I cut 'em I spayed the lines down with WD40...and it worked AWESOME!!! Hot knife through warm butter! Ya gotta go carefully & slowly so that the teeth don't load up on ya.
I did the same thing while cutting the thinner body panels too. I used a plywood type blade, and hosed it down just like before...worked great!
I'm not sure how much thinner your .090 sheets are, but I'm sure that you could do something similiar...especially if you clamped everything down nicely, and used a fence to cut against.
BTW...wear your eye & ear protection. This makes a horrible noise and throws aluminum shavings everywhere!!!
Let us know what ya do! good luck
 
G

ggsigns

New Member
.090 cuts easily with a jig saw and metal cutting blade. Just spray the blade frequently with something like WD-40. We lay the metal on a 3" thick piece of foam insulation for good support that doesn't interfere with the blade. WEAR EYE PROTECTION.
 
BobM

BobM

New Member
Table saw, nibbler, kett shears, or band saw. For the table saw cut square pieces and then make a jig to cut them into triangles. Be especially sure to wear good eye protection.
 
J

JimJenson

New Member
BobM said:
. For the table saw cut square pieces and then make a jig to cut them into triangles. Be especially sure to wear good eye protection.
Click to expand...

With a circular saw ot table saw, I will add that you should have a full face shield, and cover any exposed skin. With the surface speed feet per minute of each tooth on a table blade, those chips will be more like bumble-bees if (when) they land on you.
 
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