# Working With Aluminium



## Kipken (Feb 6, 2012)

What do I need to work with aluminium? I'm mostly interested in thin sheets to use as laminate..
Here are some of the tools I have... Band Saw, Scroll Saw, Dual Saw (with counter rotating blades) Chop saw, Drill Press, Spiral Saw, Dremel tools, and some air tools like die grinders and sanders...
My question is do I need different tools, or different blades, or will what I have to work on wood also work with Aluminium..
Thanks, Kip


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

i have used far less than you have, the only thing you should know is that alum. tends to gum up your tools, so a good thing to have is a wire brush, its very easy to work with.


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## Hrawk (Oct 25, 2010)

Sounds like you have everything covered and then some.

When I'm working on sheet it's usually band saw, belt, drum & disc sander.


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## Kipken (Feb 6, 2012)

Hrawk, and the band saw blades I have for wood will work on aluminium too?? if so up to what thickness?
Kip


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## Hrawk (Oct 25, 2010)

I'm currently using a 6tpi blade for cutting 5mm 6061 plate. (Wood blade)

I find aluminium works pretty much the same as the stronger hard woods.

I would happily cut up to 10-12mm plate on my small bandsaw provided a decent amount of coolant was used.


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## Kipken (Feb 6, 2012)

Wow!!! Thank you guys so much... Everyone on this Forum is so helpful... This news makes me very happy... can't wait to get some plating and start playing...
Thanks again, Kip


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## Danny0663 (Mar 15, 2011)

I absolutely love working with aluminium.
Looks like you have all the tools need to make aluminium sheet laminates.

I normally use alloy cutting blades with my jigsaw, one downside - It can only cut thin gauge aluminium.
But i guess a band saw would work very well indeed.

Good luck.


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## Imperial (Feb 9, 2011)

dont know how this affects you, but i really hate the way aluminum leaves my hands dirty after i work with it for a long time. i like to wear some sort of mechanics gloves while handling aluminum . very easy to sand, so you might want to be a lil easy on it when you start till you get a feeling for it .


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## Danny0663 (Mar 15, 2011)

> but i really hate the way aluminum leaves my hands dirty


I agree, it's really hard to get it off your hands especially when you are wet sanding and it dries up.
Working gloves with another layer of latex gloves would be convenient.


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## Sst der Kleine Steinschlag (Dec 5, 2011)

What kind of glue would you recommend for alu on wood or alu on alu?


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## Setarip (Mar 27, 2012)

Danny0663 said:


> I absolutely love working with aluminium.
> Looks like you have all the tools need to make aluminium sheet laminates.
> 
> I normally use alloy cutting blades with my jigsaw, one downside - It can only cut thin gauge aluminium.
> ...


Why only thin guage with the jigsaw? Im cutting 1/4" like butter with mine, and in the past I have cut 3/8". Recently I am cutting without coolant, but in the past when I was working for a small shop as the TIG welder we would use WD-40 as a coolant on thicker stuff. We even used a table saw with wood blades to cut large pieces (it was scary though!)


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## Danny0663 (Mar 15, 2011)

My bad. I mean my current blade can only cut thin gauge (1.5 - 3mm)
Any thicker, i use the drill-out and chisel method.


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

Danny0663 said:


> My bad. I mean't my current blade can only cut thin gauge (1.5 - 3mm)
> Any thicker, i use the drill-out and chisel method.


so whats your finish grit for sanding? alum is cake to work, but i've never sanded it just holes and shapes


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## jskeen (Feb 7, 2011)

Couple of things to keep in mind. There's aluminum, and then there's ALUMINUM. Some of the specialized alloys intended for aircraft parts and such are much different to work with than your normal generic plate. Not as nasty as titanium, fortunately.

For cutting, you want to try to have at least three teeth in the metal, so for 1/4 inch plate, ideally you would want at least a 12 tpi blade. You can do it with fewer, but it's much more nerve-wracking.

When gluing, remember that aluminum oxidizes pretty quickly, and the oxide layer is not as strong as the bare metal, and will continue to oxidize under an adhesive layer. Try to do a quick sand with 320 or 400 grit sandpaper, then wipe clean with acetone or carbon tet or something like that, right before applying the adhesive. A few through holes will increase the strength of the bond if you are laminating between two layers of wood. Even a few blind pins placed carefully inside the outline is not overkill to ensure the bond stays tight for the long run. Of course through pins peened over on the outside are the strongest of all, but be careful not to split your wood by peening just a little too hard.


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

jskeen said:


> Couple of things to keep in mind. There's aluminum, and then there's ALUMINUM. Some of the specialized alloys intended for aircraft parts and such are much different to work with than your normal generic plate. Not as nasty as titanium, fortunately.
> 
> For cutting, you want to try to have at least three teeth in the metal, so for 1/4 inch plate, ideally you would want at least a 12 tpi blade. You can do it with fewer, but it's much more nerve-wracking.
> 
> When gluing, remember that aluminum oxidizes pretty quickly, and the oxide layer is not as strong as the bare metal, and will continue to oxidize under an adhesive layer. Try to do a quick sand with 320 or 400 grit sandpaper, then wipe clean with acetone or carbon tet or something like that, right before applying the adhesive. A few through holes will increase the strength of the bond if you are laminating between two layers of wood. Even a few blind pins placed carefully inside the outline is not overkill to ensure the bond stays tight for the long run. Of course through pins peened over on the outside are the strongest of all, but be careful not to split your wood by peening just a little too hard.


wow! i never knew!


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## Danny0663 (Mar 15, 2011)

> so whats your finish grit for sanding?


Generally i use 80/120 grit to get rid of the deep scratches.
And work my way up to either 220 grit or 2500 grit for a polish preperation finish. (Take your time sanding when you are preparing for polished surface)

So, 80/120, 220, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500 GRITS and then to the buffer.


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

Danny0663 said:


> > so whats your finish grit for sanding?
> 
> 
> Generally i use 80/120 grit to get rid of the deep scratches.
> ...


**** now i need a buffer?lol


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## jskeen (Feb 7, 2011)

Buffers are easy to make, Any old electrical motor with a shaft you can somehow mount some layers of cloth to will work. I've used drills, old washing machine motors, whatever. Just cut some circles out of old denim or flannel, stack them up and mount them somehow. You can get a bar of Tripoli compound at sears for a buck or two, and you're good to go. Just dress your buff with an old fork a little and then load it with some compound by holding the end of the bar to it while running.

Remember, a buff loaded with compound is an abrasive, just like a grinding wheel, only much finer, if your work piece is not getting warm while you buff, your not accomplishing anything. load with some more compound, or use a little more pressure.

DANGER! A buff will grab your workpiece out of your hands and throw it back at you way faster than you can react if you use it wrong. Always buff with the surface moving DOWN and only touch the workpiece to the buff BELOW THE CENTERLINE. if the buff is a clock face seen from the side, it should be turning backward, and you should buff from 9 to 6 or 7 ONLY! while standing in front of the 9.


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

jskeen said:


> Buffers are easy to make, Any old electrical motor with a shaft you can somehow mount some layers of cloth to will work. I've used drills, old washing machine motors, whatever. Just cut some circles out of old denim or flannel, stack them up and mount them somehow. You can get a bar of Tripoli compound at sears for a buck or two, and you're good to go. Just dress your buff with an old fork a little and then load it with some compound by holding the end of the bar to it while running.
> 
> Remember, a buff loaded with compound is an abrasive, just like a grinding wheel, only much finer, if your work piece is not getting warm while you buff, your not accomplishing anything. load with some more compound, or use a little more pressure.
> 
> DANGER! A buff will grab your workpiece out of your hands and throw it back at you way faster than you can react if you use it wrong. Always buff with the surface moving DOWN and only touch the workpiece to the buff BELOW THE CENTERLINE. if the buff is a clock face seen from the side, it should be turning backward, and you should buff from 9 to 6 or 7 ONLY! while standing in front of the 9.


love your avatar, yes sir, i a either thinking of doing some of the above with my frill or just using the buffing wheels on my dremmel, i have a variety of compounds to try, i am now just wondering how it will come out,my knives i have always gotten the mirror by direct presure for the edges, if this works well it mit work in other applications for my other hobbies? thanks


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## Jaxter (Jan 23, 2012)

jskeen said:


> Buffers are easy to make, Any old electrical motor with a shaft you can somehow mount some layers of cloth to will work. I've used drills, old washing machine motors, whatever. Just cut some circles out of old denim or flannel, stack them up and mount them somehow. You can get a bar of Tripoli compound at sears for a buck or two, and you're good to go. Just dress your buff with an old fork a little and then load it with some compound by holding the end of the bar to it while running.
> 
> Remember, a buff loaded with compound is an abrasive, just like a grinding wheel, only much finer, if your work piece is not getting warm while you buff, your not accomplishing anything. load with some more compound, or use a little more pressure.
> 
> DANGER! A buff will grab your workpiece out of your hands and throw it back at you way faster than you can react if you use it wrong. Always buff with the surface moving DOWN and only touch the workpiece to the buff BELOW THE CENTERLINE. if the buff is a clock face seen from the side, it should be turning backward, and you should buff from 9 to 6 or 7 ONLY! while standing in front of the 9.


this is good to know


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## LBurnett (Feb 21, 2012)

I tried making some aluminium pfs slingshots today, it's very soft and easy to scratch! On the other hand, I loved working with it as it is easy to sand/file and easy to cut.

Cheers Luke


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## Flatband (Dec 18, 2009)

I used a half inch wide band saw blade for this 3/4" slab of Aluminum and some WD-40 as a coolant. Slow and easy and the rest was finished with a Dremel ,files, sandpaper and metal polish. Lot of work! Flatband


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## LBurnett (Feb 21, 2012)

Very nice Flatband, what technique did you use to carve flatband onto it?

Cheers Luke


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

Flatband said:


> I used a half inch wide band saw blade for this 3/4" slab of Aluminum and some WD-40 as a coolant. Slow and easy and the rest was finished with a Dremel ,files, sandpaper and metal polish. Lot of work! Flatband


pretty nice Flatband


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## e~shot (Jun 3, 2010)

That is a cool one Gary!


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## Flatband (Dec 18, 2009)

Hi LB, I used my Dremel with a Diamond point bit. The frame is nice to look at but way too heavy. 3/4" is too thick. you don't need all that with a good Aluminum or any metal for that matter. If I do another one it will be 3/8" thick at the most. Flatband


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