Cutting 3" solid aluminum

[JackOfDiamonds]

I have a 4' piece I need to cut into 6" pieces.

How long will it take to cut with a sharp hacksaw? Is it doable? What TPI blade?

I also have a sawzall. But honestly I don't know if that would be any better than a manual hacksaw. But maybe I just never used the right sawzall blades.

 

[dnschmidt]

Ain't happening. Metal cutting bandsaw is the only way to do this squarely. Even a dry cut saw will not be able to clamp a 3" diameter rod. If you've got balls as big as basketballs a 12" woodworking chop saw (I have a DeWalt) with a carbide toothed blade (IF USED WITH WAX) can do this but you might die in the attempt or at least **** your pants if things go sideways. Woodworking tools are commonly use to cut aluminum as the high speed of woodworking tools is actually an advantage with respect to aluminum. The key is making fixtures that SECURLY clamp the stock to the jig (I've used DeStaco clamps for this purpose) so that the stock simply cannot move and the use of a lubricant (as previously mentioned stick wax is the preferred lubricant) to prevent galling.

Take the rod to a metal supply store and pay them to cut it.

 

[loganb]

To the surprise of many, standard table saws and chop saws cut aluminum no problem. Yes you loose more than with a bandsaw because of the kerf, but without a horizontal bandsaw, assuming you have a chopsaw I'd use that. Clamping the material well, cutting fluid and a blade designed for it and you'll be good.

 

[anndel]

Bandsaw +1. I saw our local Home Depot have metal cutting services.

 

[stainlessyyc]

If you have any steel pipe it would fit through you can slide the aluminum bar through and use the steel pipe as a guide and should be okay but it will not be a quick process but could beat running into town or having to cough up $30 for the cuts. Even with a bandsaw the last cuts will be tricky with only 6” to clamp and that thick of material to cut.

 

[steel 35]

Every so often I need a new blade on my miter saw; Im sure its things like this

 

[MWEric]

Sawzall would work just fine if that’s what you have. Just be aware aluminum loves to clog the teeth of the blades. Bandsaw would be the best option

 

[Rinspeed]

I agree metal bandsaw is the only logical choice. You couldn’t pay me to do it with a Sawzall.

 

[The Cobbler]

I would be leery of using a miter saw on such a piece.
a sawzall probably won't give a very straight cut
A band saw would be my first choice

 

[Citation]

A horizontal bandsaw is ideal. I did get an aluminum blade for my miter saw. It worked well on aluminum extrusions but I'm not sure if I would want to go through that much aluminum. Still if you have a miter saw it might be a workable option.

 

[speed bump]

You can cut it with either of those tools, if you need a fairly flat face the hacksaw might be better but you will give up before you get halfway through. Otherwise I would get a couple of short Diablo steel demon or Milwaukee torch carbide blades with a fairly low TPI, something like a Fernco coupler to guide the blade and your favorite pain reliever.

We have cut 1" aluminum plate at work with a circular saw, The guy who did it said it went better than expected even without smearing the blade with bees wax. If you do cut metal with a circular saw cover every part of your body and expect aluminum chips everywhere.

 

[txvwnut]

Alan Millyard cuts aluminum cylinder heads with a hacksaw, so yes you could cut the 3” diameter bar with a hacksaw. But after cutting a 4’ bar into 6” pieces will have covered your bicep and tricep workout for the year.

 

[jmarkwolf]

I cut aluminum with wood cutting blades all the time on my bandsaw.

The small teeth on metal cutting blades will load up badly.

 

[harley jim]

I have some experience with cutting aluminum with a table saw. I was the shop supervisor in a welding/fab shop and for years we cut our aluminum with a portable table saw. Standard fine cut wood blade a shot of wd 40 to help with sticking. Set up and cut as if you are cutting wood. It works really well. Jim

Sent from my SM-A102U using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[LXCam]

You’ll be fine. Just make sure to be liberal with either an aluminum cutting fluid or even WD40

 

[619DioFan]

Back in high school I had a chevy luv p/u and did a 3 inch body lift. got some alum round ( 2-3 inch , can't remember ) cut all 8 pieces with a hack saw. neighbor let me use his drill press to drill the bolt holes. it was a pretty good arm workout.

 

[dutchgray]

Absolutely possible with a manual hacksaw, lowest tpi blade you can get, will take a while.
I would do it with my power hacksaw and stick a 4 or 6 tpi blade in it.

 

[Renegade1LI]

I would recommend using a blade that is meant for non ferrous material, I have a 12" 96 tooth diablo. Clamp the pc in a miter saw & the cuts come out super smooth, if you have a pc of c channel that it fits snuggly in it makes it easier to clamp. The key is using a blade with a zero or negative hook angle. Or you can get the harbor freight 4 x 6 bandsaw, I think they were on sale.

 

[Dustball]

Non-ferrous blade mounted in a miter saw- low tooth count due to the thickness of what you want to cut.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0798BXZSL/?tag=atomicindus08-20


Example of someone cutting what looks to be 4x5 solid aluminum bar on a miter saw but the tooth count is too high-

Just make sure the round stock is very securely clamped while you're making your cuts.

 

[4 FN 27]

Example of someone cutting what looks to be 4x5 solid aluminum bar on a miter saw but the tooth count is too high-

Just make sure the round stock is very securely clamped while you're making your cuts.

I have cut tons of Aluminum using a Miter Saw. Solid Round and Square, Tubing and Extrusion.

The only issue I see with the Video is he should have been giving it a shot of WD-40 about every 10-15 seconds. His cut would have taken less time.

A Table Saw will work as well but can be very dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. Not recommended for the less skilled.

Caution wear long sleeves and button your shirt up all the way. The chips are hot.

 

[rallenc]

Find a small machine shop and pay them to cut it with their horizontal bandsaw. More accurate and square....and safe. Less waste.

 

[exmaxima1]

I would be leery of using a miter saw on such a piece.
a sawzall probably won't give a very straight cut
A band saw would be my first choice

3-inch diameter x 6-inch lengths would be fine on a 12-inch miter saw. It will be the best quality cut. I've done it many times using a non-ferrous blade (essentially a zero or negative rake tooth). Clamp both ends of the piece to ensure it stays put.

 

[PugetDude]

Ain't happening. Metal cutting bandsaw is the only way to do this squarely. Even a dry cut saw will not be able to clamp a 3" diameter rod. If you've got balls as big as basketballs a 12" woodworking chop saw (I have a DeWalt) with a carbide toothed blade (IF USED WITH WAX) can do this but you might die in the attempt or at least **** your pants if things go sideways. Woodworking tools are commonly use to cut aluminum as the high speed of woodworking tools is actually an advantage with respect to aluminum. The key is making fixtures that SECURLY clamp the stock to the jig (I've used DeStaco clamps for this purpose) so that the stock simply cannot move and the use of a lubricant (as previously mentioned stick wax is the preferred lubricant) to prevent galling.

Take the rod to a metal supply store and pay them to cut it.

Here’s what happens when the blade grabs and tries to throw the material across the room..this was cutting 2x2x 3/16 aluminum angle in an old Ryobi miter saw. Snapped the fence casting in half and bent the blade.
Horizontal bandsaw with a good vise a new blade and a can of WD40 for lubricant would be my recommendation.

 

[Bigblockyeti]

A quality 10" or 12" miter saw with a proper high speed non-ferrous blade that is sharp will leave an excellent surface finish and cut as close to perfectly square as a bandsaw. Clamping is a must and an occasionally shot of your favorite aerosol libation will help keep things from getting too warm.

 

[ez-duzit]

"3" solid aluminum" I have a 4' piece I need to cut into 6" pieces.

How long will it take to cut with a sharp hacksaw? Is it doable? What TPI blade?

I also have a sawzall...

Forget about a hacksaw. Use the Sawzall with a coarse blade.

My favorite tool for cutting aluminum of great thickness, like 3", is my wood-cutting bandsaw with 1" x ~3 tpi carbide blade, even though I have a vertical/horizontal metal-cutting bandsaw with fine pitch bi-metal blade.

 

[danski0224]

I have a 4' piece I need to cut into 6" pieces.

How long will it take to cut with a sharp hacksaw? Is it doable? What TPI blade?

I also have a sawzall. But honestly I don't know if that would be any better than a manual hacksaw. But maybe I just never used the right sawzall blades.

I've seen glass installers cut solid aluminum extrusion for a railing system with a standard miter box saw. You do not need a sliding saw if the material fits in the cutting specs. The extrusion was at least 3" square with a receptor for 1" glass. They cut straight and miters.

They used a commonly available non-ferrous carbide tipped blade.

The process is loud as ****. Loud. As. ****.

The particles formerly known as sawdust are now made of hot and sharp aluminum fragments. There is just as much of it.

Hearing and eye protection (goggles/face shield) are strongly recommended.

And yes, you have to go easy on the blade feed rate (pressure) and clamp the material down.

The finished cut is as square as your miter saw is.

More waste than a bandsaw, but a good horizontal bandsaw costs way more than a miter saw.

 

[metlmunchr]

6 tpi is about the most coarse commonly available blade for a sawzall. That would beat a hacksaw by about 100 to 1 and be far safer than a miter saw.

If you can rig up a small trickle of water into the cut it will help keep the chips flushed out and the blade cutting.

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

I have a 12" DeWalt miter saw with the stock blade on it. I bought it to cut 4x4's for homeowner projects. I'm not sure I'm brave enough to try cutting 3" solid round with it.

I need the exercise anyway so I wouldn't mind taking 30 minutes a cut or whatever to cut through it with a hand hacksaw. The problem is just that the resulting cuts are terrible.

I do have a lathe so I thought about chucking it in the lathe using a parting tool to cut grooves in it maybe 1/4 or 1/2 inch deep. Then maybe the hacksaw will follow the grooves. Actually cutting it off with a parting blade would also be an option, but I can't fit the material into the lathe spindle, and it's too long to support with the tailpiece, and it's too big around to fit through my steady rest.

 

[matt_i]

I would hack off pieces with the sawzall.

Place pieces in lathe in a 3 jaw chuck albeit with large stickout.

I'd run around 100 rpm and slowly creep up (light cuts, high positive sharp tool) on facing the ends of the cut pieces. It will take awhile with the interrupted cut but its probably your best bet.

They do make half-centers so you can support the outer end of the workpiece with said center and still face the part, but there's the pesky bit about getting the center hole started concentrically.

I would avoid the parting tool, you'll have it stuck out at minimum 1-1/2" to cut it completely thru. With something like a 2mm insert width I feel like its a near-guaranteed recipe to break something...the parting tool, a chuck jaw, the T slot in the compound slide....