Making angular cuts on aluminum tubing.

[MANTOOL]

For several years I've been making various angle cuts on aluminum/steel tubing with a Milton horizontal/vertical band saw. Unfortunately I've always had to use a stationary belt/disk sander to clean up the cuts to get my (desired) true finished angle. Having said all that, I'm going to ask this....is it possible to use a "slow speed" cold saw with an aluminum cutting blade to cut (just) the aluminum tubing?

 

[vwpieces]

I would do it on my sliding miter saw without a second thought.
But I would never tell someone to do it.

 

[whateg01]

I guess the shirt and is yes you can cut aluminum tube on a cold saw. Why do you think you can't?

 

[Firebrick43]

I have used a Kalamazoo cold saw with excellent results on aluminum tubing and U channel extrusion.

Probably the best option there is if your not notching it to fit to other tubing.

 

[MANTOOL]

I guess the shirt and is yes you can cut aluminum tube on a cold saw. Why do you think you can't?

Since steel is cut with a slow speed cold saw without too many chips on the floor I was (primarily) curious as to the existence of a slow speed saw to cut the aluminum without throwing chips everywhere.

 

[bdbecker]

I can't think of a reason why you couldn't cut aluminum on a slow speed cold saw designed for steel.

 

[MJD1]

I cut loads of aluminum tubing on radial arm saws and woodworking chop saws. A decent 60 tooth carbide blade on a 10" saw is about right. A little wax on the blade helps clear the chips and keeps them from sticking to the blade.

 

[dogdog]

They do sell metal blades retro fit to miter saws these days.

 

[mike93lx]

They do sell metal blades retro fit to miter saws these days.

Regular woodworking blades function fine, but the OP is looking for a way to cut without chips going everywhere

 

[RoninB4]

I've always had to use a stationary belt/disk sander to clean up the cuts to get my (desired) true finished angle.

-Not sure why you'd need to "clean up" the cut. What sort of application requires here. Is it the finish or the angle that need a secondary operation? Is the tubing held by hand or clamped in a vise? How are you feeding the tubing into the blade?

A bandsaw cut will almost always leave a rough finish that displays "plow marks" across the face. Sometimes you can help yourself with more TPI in the blade and a slower controlled feed rate. Are you using any sort of coolant/lubricant while cutting? A dry cutter (end mill, drill, saw blade) can trap small particles/chips that will drag across/through the cut rubbing on the cut face and showing as horizontal marks. A good bandsaw will have a driven rotary brush that dislodges the chips from the blade so they don't carried back into the material. Coolant/lubricant can also help prevent this micro-welding of chips to the cutter/teeth. If this same saw blade cuts steel then there may be steel particles attached to the blade that drag/plow across the aluminum. A dull blade or one that has chips/particles can cause one side of the blade to not cut as well, this will show as the cut not being perpendicular.

If the tubing is hand held during the cut you're getting exactly what one would expect with both the finish and the angle. The tubing needs to held in a vise so there's no wiggling. There should be 2-3 blade teeth always engaged in the material, measure the tubing wall thickness and compare to the distance between 2-3 teeth. Insufficient teeth results in too big a "bite" and allows scarring on the cut face.

Would a cold saw with a circular blade work? Yes it might, provided you generate enough RPM for aluminum and the feed is slow enough. You'll still want to use coolant/lubricant for a cleaner looking cut IMO. A cheap cold saw is still expensive and will produce "plow marks" if it's not a rigid enough design. There are several reasons why you're not getting what you want, you'll need to describe the problem AND your equipment in better terms for a better answer.

 

[dogdog]

Regular woodworking blades function fine, but the OP is looking for a way to cut without chips going everywhere

Make a card board cutting shield ez to do. Regular carbide wood working blade with high tooth count. But I would just get a aluminum specific blade and some WD40.

 

[Lwel9226]

I would do it on my sliding miter saw without a second thought.
But I would never tell someone to do it.

That works well but you do not have a vise to hold the piece so you NEED to clamp it SECURELY or it can get away from you
in a heart beat.... and break something or hurt you.... Don't ask....

LynnW

 

[MANTOOL]

-Not sure why you'd need to "clean up" the cut. What sort of application requires here. Is it the finish or the angle that need a secondary operation? Is the tubing held by hand or clamped in a vise? How are you feeding the tubing into the blade?

A bandsaw cut will almost always leave a rough finish that displays "plow marks" across the face. Sometimes you can help yourself with more TPI in the blade and a slower controlled feed rate. Are you using any sort of coolant/lubricant while cutting? A dry cutter (end mill, drill, saw blade) can trap small particles/chips that will drag across/through the cut rubbing on the cut face and showing as horizontal marks. A good bandsaw will have a driven rotary brush that dislodges the chips from the blade so they don't carried back into the material. Coolant/lubricant can also help prevent this micro-welding of chips to the cutter/teeth. If this same saw blade cuts steel then there may be steel particles attached to the blade that drag/plow across the aluminum. A dull blade or one that has chips/particles can cause one side of the blade to not cut as well, this will show as the cut not being perpendicular.

If the tubing is hand held during the cut you're getting exactly what one would expect with both the finish and the angle. The tubing needs to held in a vise so there's no wiggling. There should be 2-3 blade teeth always engaged in the material, measure the tubing wall thickness and compare to the distance between 2-3 teeth. Insufficient teeth results in too big a "bite" and allows scarring on the cut face.

Would a cold saw with a circular blade work? Yes it might, provided you generate enough RPM for aluminum and the feed is slow enough. You'll still want to use coolant/lubricant for a cleaner looking cut IMO. A cheap cold saw is still expensive and will produce "plow marks" if it's not a rigid enough design. There are several reasons why you're not getting what you want, you'll need to describe the problem AND your equipment in better terms for a better answer.

The blade trueing rollers frame, on the bandsaw that I have, is designed in such a manner that it causes the blade to bow (even on a narrow width 90 degree cut) therefore my curiosity about the existence of a slow cutting speed mitersaw and blade that will reduce the need for the second (trueing of the initial cut) operation on a belt sander. After the initial cut I would then be able to bevel two sides of the cut and begin welding said pieces and reducing my fabrication time. I've been wrestling with this aggravation for a few years and I'm ready to work smarter....T I A.

 

[whateg01]

I'm not going to stop you from buying a different saw. I like evolution.

But it sounds like you don't have a problem with a bandsaw. You have a problem with YOUR bandsaw. Have you tried addressing this perceived issue with the guides? I don't know how the guides are causing the blade to bow between them. If the blade is wandering, that's another issue.

 

[GeoBruin]

I'm not going to stop you from buying a different saw. I like evolution.

But it sounds like you don't have a problem with a bandsaw. You have a problem with YOUR bandsaw. Have you tried addressing this perceived issue with the guides? I don't know how the guides are causing the blade to bow between them. If the blade is wandering, that's another issue.

Agreed. A poorly setup/adjusted bandsaw or one with bent blade guides sounds like the issue. But I've owned a Grizzly bandsaw that literally could not be adjusted to function properly so I feel the frustration. My solution was a better bandsaw but I'll admit that an evo saw with the multipurpose blade (the orange one) is a quick, cheap solution to make nice square cuts in aluminumm.

 

[strength_and_power]

Is this for production ( several hundred units a week, many weeks out of the year) or the “ half dozen times a year” ?
And how much do you want to or are willing to spend?

 

[strength_and_power]

If the head is fixed and you get your miter via fence adjustment, you won’t see much improvement. A saw with a mitering head, a stout fence/ clamp and some weight for rigidity will improve cut quality greatly.
Accuracy costs.

 

[whateg01]

If the head is fixed and you get your miter via fence adjustment, you won’t see much improvement. A saw with a mitering head, a stout fence/ clamp and some weight for rigidity will improve cut quality greatly.
Accuracy costs.

Yes and no. My old hf 4x6 made cuts in 2x2 square tube that took less than 5 thou to "clean up" on the mill. But it took a bit of time and effort to get it tuned up to get there.

 

[bdbecker]

I'd second (or third) the Evolution multi-material saw recommendation. I've had my (now discontinued) Rage 3 since 2016. Every few years I have to true the fence, but I don't fault the saw for my rough handling. It's cut everything I've ever asked it to cut without issue. It was super handy when cutting 3/16" plate for my fire pit project.

 

[Joemctag]

Definitely clamp SECURELY. I’ve cut lots of square and round tube with shop bandsaws. Mostly steel tube. If you’re not cutting 90 degrees , the blade is going to be forced somewhat back towards 90. Especially with round tube. A shop would use a miter saw for your aluminum tube. Loud and chips but good cut. Lower blade slowly.

 

[tool_scrounge]

How big of tubes are you cutting? there are cute small cold saws out there if space is limited. The MEP Willy 225 will cut up to 65mm tubing. Wilton also re-sold them. Made in Italy. I see the MEP Willy 225 on the used market in the $500 or so when available.

https://www.takeco.com/product/willy-225/

 

[RoninB4]

The blade trueing rollers frame, on the bandsaw that I have, is designed in such a manner that it causes the blade to bow (even on a narrow width 90 degree cut) therefore my curiosity about the existence of a slow cutting speed mitersaw and blade that will reduce the need for the second (trueing of the initial cut) operation on a belt sander. After the initial cut I would then be able to bevel two sides of the cut and begin welding said pieces and reducing my fabrication time. I've been wrestling with this aggravation for a few years and I'm ready to work smarter....T I A.

-I'll have to admit that I don't understand how the blade could be "bowed" from the roller guides. I suppose it could be skewed if the guide arms aren't aligned with each other. I've used a lot of different horizontal/vertical bandsaws and I also have one of those crappy HF horizontal bandsaws. I'll have to go look at it again but if you own a mill then my knee jerk reaction is that almost anything can be machined/adjusted to correct the problem. I've taken mine completely apart to mount as a vertical on a rolling carriage to cut logs lengthwise. Yeah it's a bit of trouble to get things corrected on crappy Chinese machinery but the expense of a radial blade saw would have me trying to fix/correct what I already have. You might even look at the used 4x6 market and take a tube with you for a test cut. The price of new bandsaws is ridiculous.

Having said all that, the Evolution mentioned by others is new to me. It does look like it could work well for you but I'd have to use it to determine if it's sturdy at the pivot (critical feature) or a wear point that you can't make a new bushing for. I'd also opt for one with a cast iron table, the substitution of sheet metal for a table in machinery is a decidedly inferior cost cutting design in all metal/wood machinery that I've seen/used. Mass, or the lack of it, allows vibration that either causes the entire machine or the workpiece to "dance" or is just much louder (opinion) than it need be. These type of table top saws will also want a permanent mounting to a table top so it doesn't move around during use. As for chips, a simple guard will prevent scattering/flying of swarf. When using a fly-cutter in a mill the chips go everywhere. It was common practice to use cardboard/plexiglass to construct a containment shield to keep the debris field limited. Hope this was of some help.

 

[tarbellb]

"dont want to throw chips everywhere" OP

avoid all the advice people are giving for any highspeed carbide blade ie miter saws and dry cuts

Go grab yourself one of the nice bench top mitering bandsaws from FEMI

 

[GeoBruin]

"dont want to throw chips everywhere" OP

avoid all the advice people are giving for any highspeed carbide blade ie miter saws and dry cuts

Go grab yourself one of the nice bench top mitering bandsaws from FEMI

I have a Femi and I'll admit it's a bit of a leap in terms of cost. After finally actually seeing one in person earlier this year, I would be tempted to check out the Trajan benchtop bandsaws. They look like a great compromise in price between an Evo saw and a Femi.