?'s about cutting .060 aluminum with utility knife...

[iSign]

I've read several times where Techman and others have mentioned this technique, so I finally want to try it.

I have a 58" x 68" laminated print to mount & the aluminum sheet is 60 x 120.

I am aware that I can do this with my router, but as techman mentioned, the hand cutting technique could possibly have the job complete much faster then even getting my router set up. Besides I would want to do a test cut first since I would need a little practice. I'm using over half the sheet & I only have one, so a mistake would be quite expensive.

OP has also written on the subject & besides "scoring" the aluminum, I was unsure of the procedure after that, so I hunted down some threads & found this post:

http://signs101.com/forums/showpost.php?p=610970&postcount=28

Anyway, I got the sheet scored on both sides & clamped some 2x4's on there (didn't have 2x6's) ...and when I try to bend up the 54" x 48" remainder, it seems to behave just as if there were no scoring done at all. I suppose I must need to score it some more... and also, my attempt to get the 2 sides lined up perfectly didn't end up so perfect, maybe that caused some of the problem.... anyway, I wondered if anyone wants to help me figure this out..

 

[Techman]

The clamp boards must have a sharp edge.
The board edge is right on the cut line.
The cut line must be deep. Several strikes are necessary. They must be straight
.060 is the upper limit of this.

Also,, sometimes there needs to be a board clamped to the wiggle piece too to use as a grabber to get the metal moving.

 

[OldPaint]

.050 would be the most i would try this way. .40 and below it works great. .050, .060 & .080 much better to cut with a metal bladed jig saw. then just run a file on the edge to kill sharp edges.

 

[iSign]

ok, thanks guys... I'll revisit it tomorrow. The 2x4's were clamped right at the score line, but like most 2x4's, the edges are not sharp, so I will look for something harder with a fresh ripped edge. The scoring was pretty well defined, but nowhere near halfway or anything... I'll score it a little more when I have it unclamped.

I had one of those acrylic scoring tools somewhere, but I couldn't find it so I just used a utility knife. Should I get an acrylic scoring tool?

 

[Dave Drane]

Great post Isign.. This stuff is still pretty new in Australia and I have been exploring ways of cutting it. Thanx for the info.

 

[Jillbeans]

Doug next time if possible just get them cut from your supplier.
Mine charges less than $10 and it's well worth it.
I have tried the utility knife method but never on that thick of an aluminum.
I know I would butcher it beyond repair.
Mainframe suggested a neat tool when I posted a question about cutting aluminum last year. I can't remember what it was called but maybe he will see this.
Love....Jill

 

[Mainframe]

http://eurekazone.com/products/detail/sgs.html

Doug,
Here is a tool you MUST have, if you get the 100 inch set up you will be able to cut any 8 foot panel as square & as neat as you want, grab 3 sections & you can go up to 12 feet long, PERFECTLY square & any substrate you can imagine, I use a cheap craftsman saw that I bolted the guide on about 7 years ago, I have a bucket truck stocked with Snap on air & hand tools, I know a good tool when I see it & this is one I am sure will like.

 

[SignManiac]

Doug you would have been better off using the router table. It's all of three minutes to set up, including the cutting.

I've scored a lot of aluminum over the years and that was fine when there was no other way but when you have the tool that you have sitting there, I'd be using it to grind coffee and every other thing I could think of for what it cost.

 

[John L]

With good hold-down... I use Onsrud 63-025, 12,200 RPM, X&Y @ 1 IPS, Z @ .40 IPS, stepdown of .125 or less (.060" is single pass material).

I have a straight cut file set up on the router computer (one for X, one for Y) for straight cuts of the table width or length right on the fly without requiring CAD work of any kind. Toss the sheet on, turn on vac, jog the spindle to start of cut and 2 keystrokes shears it along the axis (either X or Y).

 

[iSign]

Bob and John, I know you guys are right & I sorta knew when I thought to try this instead.
I had thrown the 5x10 aluminum on the 5x10 router table yesterday afternoon & about 10 pm last night, as i was preparing to leave the shop, I thought of how convenient it would be to have that substrate ready for mounting this morning.

I also thought that if I turned on the air dryer, & then the router, compressor & dedicated router workstation, gave it the required 15 minute spindle warm-up and then went through my notes looking for the correct tool I learned to use the only other time I,ve cut aluminum (after fouling up a cut by guessing with a less suitable tool) that I would then still have to screw around with the keypad figuring out how to set feeds & speeds for this "simple cut-off" directly from the keypad instead of the software.. even though I've never done that, I'm sure i can do it, & then I'd just break out the calipers, measure my aluminum, set surface & max depth, find orgin & let her rip.. but as said above, a mistake would destroy my only piece of material on this island, and cost me hundreds as well as days...

...so, I just had to see if this utility knife idea worked first

 

[J Hill Designs]

Use scrap mdo for the clamp board - nice hard straight clean edge

 

[cptcorn]

If you have some money to spend, -and- you do enough of this. Look for an Alluminum Siding Bander/Brake ... they range from $800 to $2000 depending upon what you get, but it literally takes no time at all to measure, square, score, bend/brake .... It's used a lot with companies that do metal siding. Invaluable if you do enough of this type of work if you dont have to make anything deeper than a 20-24" cut.

Good brand.
http://www.van-mark.com/

 

[GypsyGraphics]

Can't offer advice on how best to cut your aluminum iSign, but here's a favorite clamp of mine. I'm sure I originally saw it on the New Yankee Workshop, at least 8 years ago, and just had to have it. Use it all the time and love it... still a sharp straight edge after all these years.
Tru-Grip Clamp & Guide

good luck with your cut!

 

[Gino]

.063 is about the heaviest I would attempt also. You're gonna be doing some serious scoring for that stuff. It can be done and like mentioned if you're in a pinch... like on the job site or your machine is broken down.
It always pays to do the job the correct way and with the proper tools... especially if you already have them.... then to cut corners and take a chance of going off your line and ruining a piece of expensive material.


Heck, just plugging your circular saw in would've been better and easier than scoring it.

 

[luggnut]

would a panel saw with the right blade in it do this? i just purchased a sawtrax but haven't tried it, has anyone else?

 

[Baz]

I use a plexiglass cutting blade to score aluminum. Works well. And i also clamp a scrap piece of MDO when i am ready to bend my piece.

 

[Techman]

The only problem with using a saw blade is it leaves a ragged edge that will be all burrs. Then you have to file it somehow to remove the burrs.

The util knife method works so well that this technique is all we used for years at a metal shop years ago.

The initial bend is the most difficult part of the technique. Once you get the metal to move its over. The .060 is the upper limit but it does work just as well. The secret is to clamp it good just before the score line. Then clamp a gripper to the wiggle end and away you go. Three or four movements and it snaps off clean and ready for use.

 

[Mainframe]

It takes me 30 seconds per side to knock the burr off the edge after I saw cut it, also I read posts on here before you get no burrs with a fine tooth blade, but I cut my pieces so fast with the eurekazone guide I can't imagine wrestling with a utility knife.

 

[wes70]

I agree with OP, I use a jigsaw for anything over .054. Use the correct blade and it will go thru aluminum like butter.

 

[Mosh]

We cut long stuff that does not fit in our 52" shear on our 10' brake. Put it in and score it around 10-15 times then bend it up at a 30 degree angle and flex it back. I would not try this without a brake, you are just gong to bend the metal.