possible to cut VIM Mag rails?

[cdoublejj]

seems 6" is the smallest they sell and only in green, orange and blue. wonder if i can make my own 4" and 5"? seems id wind up with some extra magnets as the rail gets shorter with each Kerf from each cut.

 

[fatfillup]

I have cut many types of mag rails with a hacksaw. Always had good results

 

[four.cycle]

Just a note regarding this:
I don't know a thing about "VIM" magrails.
I do know that Nelson Bowers is dumping out all of his Mechanics Time Savers magnetic socket and bit rails below cost since the company has gone out of business. You might want to take a look.

 

[scooby074]

MTS is going out of business???

 

[four.cycle]

Yes. That's why he's dumping the inventory. They were not able to compete with the Chinese-made knock-offs.

 

[scooby074]

That might be worthy of its own thread IMHO if you wanted to post it. I have Snapon MTS rails and I like them. If folks are looking for the genuine article or parts they might be interested.

 

[four.cycle]

^ I posted it in the "Hot Deals" forum. I dont think they'll last long at those prices.

 

[alinc100]

seems 6" is the smallest they sell and only in green, orange and blue. wonder if i can make my own 4" and 5"? seems id wind up with some extra magnets as the rail gets shorter with each Kerf from each cut.

Not 100% familiar with Vim Magrails. I'd assume a porta-band would easily cut them . If you bought an 8" rail you could get 2- 4" rails with a clean cut.

 

[Beerhippie]

This being Garage Journal, the correct answer is, if you want clean cuts, buy or fab a waterjet saw.

Here's a nice one, very reasonably priced at $9,999:

WAZER Desktop Waterjet Cutting Machine

WAZER Desktop delivers engineering-grade waterjet cutting for a fraction of the average industrial machine cost. Occupying a small 47"x27" spatial footprint, users achieve fabrication precision on metal, glass, stone, and more from any garage, workshop, or classroom. Accelerate prototype...

www.matterhackers.com

 

[four.cycle]

You sure you don't think he needs one of these?

 

[Beerhippie]

Pshaw! Lasers--so 1980s!

 

[afazz]

I have cut several of them.

Cutting the aluminum is easy, cutting the magnets is a lot more difficult. If you cut them in 2” increments (the length of each magnet segment) you can do it with just about anything. Trying to cut through the magnet itself with a portaband just destroys the blade. If you need a length that isn’t in 2” increments, use an abrasive cutting tool (dremel, cut off wheel, etc).