Tip: Cutting aluminum option

Prior to starting this RV project, I had to "earn" it by installing about 1800 sq. ft. of ceramic tile for my wife. For that project I bought a cheapo Home Depot "Workhorse" tile saw on sale for about $70. I hated laying the tile so much that I planned on throwing the cheapo tile saw away when I was done.
When I started cutting parts for the RV project, I used snips and a bandsaw with both having advantages and disadvantages. One day I thought I would try the cheapo tile saw. It has a nice small footprint like a mini table saw and it has a toothless blade with diamond chips.
Laugh as some may, that stupid little saw cuts through the Aluminum like butter.
It makes a nice clean cut, has a water cooling tray that collects the saw dust bits, takes very little space in the shop, and best of all, it may break the skin but it won't remove a finger if you sneeze at the wrong time.
I've made all kinds of cuts and it works great, even on the thick material for the HS attach brackets.
I don't know that I would go so far as to recommend going out and buying one just for the RV project, but I wouldn't hesitate to use one if you already have one. I put the bandsaw away and love this stupid little cheapo tile saw.
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=100074675&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&cm_mmc=THD_marketing-_-OW_site-_-Digitas-_-Tiling_Shopping_List

woxofswa said:

.....One day I thought I would try the cheapo tile saw. It has a nice small footprint like a mini table saw and it has a toothless blade with diamond chips.......

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Myron,
Thank's for the very interesting tip. I've have a tile saw sitting idle for years.....layed a marble floor down with its (essential) help.....One of these days, I'll just have to give it a try!

I have 4 tile saws and never thought to use any of them. It's a great idea just three years late for me!

Related question

In a similar vein, what is the best technique for starting and cutting a ?blind? hole in a sheet of Al? I plan on removing the top portion of the aft bulkhead of my forward baggage compartment (already riveted in place on the QB8) and creating the popular access door to the rear of the panel. I have been using my bandsaw and a variety of hand tools for fabricating the small parts from angle stock, but have no real experience making nice distortion free cuts in large flat stock. I would like to be able to reuse the portion cut out as the door. Advice appreciated.

Air Nibbler

Skyflyer said:

In a similar vein, what is the best technique for starting and cutting a ?blind? hole in a sheet of Al? I plan on removing the top portion of the aft bulkhead of my forward baggage compartment (already riveted in place on the QB8) and creating the popular access door to the rear of the panel. I have been using my bandsaw and a variety of hand tools for fabricating the small parts from angle stock, but have no real experience making nice distortion free cuts in large flat stock. I would like to be able to reuse the portion cut out as the door. Advice appreciated.

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You would really have to have a steady hand to reuse the cut out piece as the door. I'm sure there are many builders that have done it but wow, you guys should have been surgeons.

An air nibbler is a nice tool to make these kinds of cuts but (see Harbor Freight Link Below) but it probably wouldn't work in this application because you would have to drill an access hole for the head of the nibbler.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=46061

Likewise a jigsaw with a blade that is metal friendly could get the job done but you would still have to drill a hole for the blade and the curf of the saw blade could be too large to reuse the piece for a door. Also, the disadvantage of the jigsaw (and tools like the RotoZip / Dremel, etc.) over the air nibbler is that you have this 4" - 5" blade / drill bit protruding into the skin of your airplane, cutting who knows what. With the air nibbler, there is no blade or bit to worry about and works in areas you know there isn't clearance(See link for picture). You do have to cut a bit long and file / sand down for optimum results. I've found that the nibbler can sort of leave a little bit of a grooved pattern which is not a big deal if you cut long and then smooth it out. As always I would try it out on a practice piece before cutting into your skins.

I totally agree about not trying to re-use the cutout.

The way that has worked for me is to drill a hole at each corner, just far enough inside the finish line so the hole edges will make a nice radius corner on the finish part. I usually use a step drill, take it to about 3/8" or so. Use the good old "TLAR" method.

Then depending on size of cutout, access to the area, ETC, I will use a cut off wheel in a die grinder, or a coping saw or saber saw, or nibbler------in other words, whichever tool will do the best job. Cut close to your finished line, but leave a bit of "OOPS" room, finish with a file or scotch brite wheel, ETC.

A word of caution about air nibblers---------practice on some scrap first. They cut fast, and can be quite difficult to control precisely.



Good luck.

No magic?

Thanks for the quick advice. I will now rethink my plan to reuse the cut out portion and plan instead to fabricate a new door. A bit of practice with the cut off wheel, saber saw and thin scrap stock coming up, and that Harbor Freight nibbler is so cheap I can't resist.

A good old fashion paper cutter makes a good cutter for AL up to .032. Nice straight edges.

Yo, Todd!! If you have a tile saw to spare, drop it off at the hangar next time you are out that way. We'll give it a good check out as an aluminum saw!!

Happy New Year!


Lee...

cutting alum

I used a radial arm saw and a table saw with diamond tooth blades to cutoff 6063T5 and 6061T6 extrusions in building alum doors. The radial arm saw will easily cut mitres. 2024 is a bit harder but if you have a good blade it cuts fine. At the extrusion mill they used the same tools to cut 2024 and 7000 series alloy that was supplied to Lockheed and Boeing. I also used a router and a template with aluminum cutter bit for making cutouts in the doors for locks and hinges. You can easily make templates for a router out of MDF. If you already have a radial arm or table saw all you need is a good diamond tooth blade. Ditto the router. I would not try to rip, just cutoff or mitre. And, you have to securely clamp your work lest it will jump off the table.

A miter saw works great...

I use a 10-inch circular miter saw with a carbide-tipped blade for cutting aluminum bar and angle to length. The carbide teeth leave a clean, flat, square surface that needs only a quick swipe across a Scotch-Brite wheel to finish it up.

Roto-Zip with a metal X-Bit

I bought a Roto-Zip to do some drywall work a while back, and with the bit specially made for cutting metal, it's great for cutting holes. Not so much in tight spaces, because you need room for the base of the roto-zip, but it's nice and clean if your hand is steady. The shop-vac attachment sucks away the chips as you make them.

FWIW, I used the cheapo tile saw (dry) to cut out the foam ribs for the elevators and trim tabs and it worked beautifully.