I have cut aluminum on my table saw using a combination blade with no problems. I now want to do a large amount of aluminum cutting and wonder if a combination blade will hold up for such a purpose, or would it be better to buy a dedicated aluminum cutting blade.
P.S. I have to use a table saw. A band saw won't do what I need done as the cuts to be made are grooving cuts on long lengths of aluminum.
I have a Delta Homecraft 8"table saw Model 34-500 that I have put a steel cutting blade on and also use
it for aluminum. I tend to try to use tools for the purpose they were built for, or adapt them as much as
I possibly can for a different purpose. My thought was that while a wood cutting blade would cut
aluminum, it would tend to dull faster than a metal cutting blade and leave a rougher cut, which I would
have to smooth by hand. While cutting aluminum will probably not create sparks, it will create hot pieces
of metal, so be sure to clean all the sawdust out of your table saw before cutting metal.
Kind of depends on how thick of stuff you are cutting… I've had good success cutting sheet aluminium on the TS with a cheap combo blade, but I also run the motor slower than full (by about 50%) speed which helps.
When you say 'grooving cuts' you mean you're just doing kerfs that don't go all the way through the metal? If it was me and I loved my table saw I would get a cheapie used saw to dedicate to the aluminum. You see $25 - 50 Sears table saws all day long.
I've been cutting metal for 30 years. Buy a good nonferrous blade. That's the way to go. I completely disagree with cheap junk blade practice. I was a professional metalsmith and did cuts you couldn't believe. Brass, zinc, Aluinum. Even routed them.
-Brad in FL - To be old and wise, you must first be young and stupid,
No you dont, first young, and watch your young friends be stupid and learn from THERE stupidity!!
@Rick1955 - but yours was a dedicated metal cutting saw? You didn't switch back and forth to wood, did you? My concern would be metal chips messing with the belt or trunnion. or getting into the motor.
A shop I worked at used to cut thick Aluminum with a standard carbide tipped blade , using wax as a lubricant / cleaner to prevent the aluminum from building up on the teeth. They just touched the blade's teeth between cuts with the block of wax.
I use a freud triple chip grind blade with a negative hook when I want to cut a lot of aluminum but you can do it with any carbide tipped blade as long as you go slow. The negative hook is more for safety I think. Keeps you from feeding too fast.
most any carbide tipped blade will do. On a standard hook the gullets tend to fill up if you cut to fast. aluminum blades are usually ground negative rake. some cms blades are made that way as well. WD49 works great for a lubricant. most quality saw motors are tefc so the chips don't get into the works and the trunion is a close fit so they wont wedge in there either. I have cut aluminum and wood interchangeably for years and where I work we use a job site ridged for both frequently. we also cut aluminum on a beam saw and then go back to mdf regularly.
If people would use the quote feature it would be easier to tell who you're addressing.
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