Is it safe to cut 3/64" Aluminum square tubing on a bandsaw with carbide blade?

[Wade Lippman]

I sure don't want to lose any teeth on a $150 blade foolishly.
Alternatives would be a jigsaw or angle grinder, but a BS would be most accurate and easiest.

The tubing is 1.25" I want to cut a quarter inch from one wall for about a foot and then complete the cut at a 45*.
Perhaps being able to do the jigsaw or angle grinder outside is a vote in their favor.

[Paul F Franklin]

Chop saw with a non-ferrous metal blade would be my choice; a regular carbide tipped blade will work fine for a few cuts. That won't work if you mean you want to cut it lengthwise for a foot. You could do it on a bandsaw, but should use a much finer blade pitch than is usually used for wood. Table saw would also work just fine. Don't run a dust collector with any of those while cutting metal; hot chips and wood dust not a good combo.

[Richard Coers]

Cutting aluminum has it's issues. Most commonly it's all about the speed and heat. Get it too hot (angle grinder) and it basically welds the aluminum to the cutter. Same can happen on the bandsaw and you will be picking bits of aluminum off your carbides when you get done. A little bit of kerosene or penetrating oil helps tremendously. No way would I put a $150 blade into aluminum. You only have one blade? Then use the jigsaw.

[Mike Cutler]

Short answer is, yes. So can a table saw, and a miter saw.
The Marvel bandsaw at work uses a 3 t”TPI, Lennox carbide tooth blade, it’s used to cut steel. Of course it also lubricated with a cutting fluid.
The downside is that those aluminum filings are going to get everywhere, and you will need to eventually clean them up.
If precision is required, get an older, cheaper, table saw blade and do it on the table saw. It’s going to be very, unnervingly,noisy. A standard chopsaw works also, again, you’ll need to factor in cleaning everything up, after you get done.
My vote would be the angle grinder, with a non ferrous cutoff blade, or a one time use ferrous blade. You don’t want to start cutting steel, with a blade that’s been loaded up with aluminum. It can get exciting pretty quick.��

[Michael Drew]

We have a bandsaw that is specifically used for aluminum in our machine shop. It did not start out as a dedicated aluminum saw, till after a large amount of drama and pissed off machinists delivering ass-chewings to the other millwrights who would cut aluminum on this saw. The blade would load up and have to replaced before it would cut well again. The machinists were usually the ones stuck swapping out blades. After a few close calls (angry machinists hollering at young apprentices), we bought another bandsaw and kept the older one for aluminum use only. Now all other band saws have large signs on them "NO ALUMINUM".

[Mike Cutler]

Mike

I think machinists are the same everywhere.��
Same story here. One is for them. The other for general use. Usually to cut galvanized coated scaffolding poles.
About 20 years ago, someone used a stationary grinder on aluminum material. Next guy up to bat had some steel, and apparently, there were quite the fireworks coming off that grinding wheel.
To this day, if you walk into the machine shops with aluminum, they eyeball you like a hawk does a mouse.

[Wade Lippman]

I used a jig saw. It was a pain because I had to tape a piece of wood to each side to avoid hammering the blade on the other side. It wore out two Bosch metal cutting blades. Either Bosch is junk, or maybe I had the speed set too high. I had it on 3 out of 6.

I also had to make a straight cut. For that I just used a hacksaw. It went fine. I preferred not to have metal bits floating around the shop and I did it all outside.

[John K Jordan]

I’ve cut all a lot of aluminum off many shapes and sizes on a variety of saws: metal-cutting bandsaws, wood-cutting bandsaws, reciprocating saws, table saws/SCMS/Skil saws, and hand-held hack saws. Never a problem. I will not grind aluminum or cut it with an abrasive cutoff saw.

One important safety thing to keep in mind when cutting rounds of ANY material on a bandsaw: if not properly constrained/supported the teeth can catch and rotate the material in the cut, to possible disastrous results. I’m sure you know this but I mention it since some readers may not know. I prefer everyone keep all their fingers…

JKJ


I sure don't want to lose any teeth on a $150 blade foolishly.
Alternatives would be a jigsaw or angle grinder, but a BS would be most accurate and easiest.

The tubing is 1.25" I want to cut a quarter inch from one wall for about a foot and then complete the cut at a 45*.
Perhaps being able to do the jigsaw or angle grinder outside is a vote in their favor.

[Tom M King]

I keep one of these on a $50 Ryobi miter saw off craigslist to cut aluminum with. It does a pretty job, but needs to be used out in front of the shop because little aluminum shavings will be all over everything.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M1V757H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

[johnny means]

Aluminum can be cut with any carbide tooling. Wax and a slow steady feed rate are your friend. I never think twice about cutting aluminum with any tool or machine in the shop. The maintains is to watch that you don't surpass a feed rate that the cutters hook will allow. A more aggressive hook will be more brittle.

[Mel Fulks]

We have a bandsaw that is specifically used for aluminum in our machine shop. It did not start out as a dedicated aluminum saw, till after a large amount of drama and pissed off machinists delivering ass-chewings to the other millwrights who would cut aluminum on this saw. The blade would load up and have to replaced before it would cut well again. The machinists were usually the ones stuck swapping out blades. After a few close calls (angry machinists hollering at young apprentices), we bought another bandsaw and kept the older one for aluminum use only. Now all other band saws have large signs on them "NO ALUMINUM".

Best way to avoid problems with cutting aluminum is to keep spraying it with denatured alcohol while you saw. Works better than the stuff
sold for that purpose. Got that from an excellent German pattern maker.
Mel Fulks

[Mike Wilkins]

Go to your nearest big box store and get one of those non-ferrous blades for your table saw or chop saw. I don't use it much but its better than risking good/pricey blade.

[Jack Frederick]

I won’t use a grinder on AL. To much drama. I have all the other types of saws for it, but my go to these days for your size material is this Portaband mounted in this plate which is available from Swag Off-Road. I rarely used the PB prior to having this set up. Now I find uses for it all the time.

[Ole Anderson]

Having cut aluminum in my shop for years on a semi-production basis, all you need is a triple chip negative rake blade for your table saw or chop saw lubed with wax or WD40, just make sure the gullets are large enough to avoid plugging. For occasional use, any fine tooth carbide blade works fine. I have a 3hp 10" Kalamazoo cut off saw, but for a quick once off cut I just step to my Dewalt 12" MS with a fine tooth blade. As mentioned, don't try to cut aluminum with an abrasive blade. On occasion I have used my BS with a standard blade, but it tends to dull fairly quickly.

[Mel Fulks]

Having cut aluminum in my shop for years on a semi-production basis, all you need is a triple chip negative rake blade for your table saw or chop saw lubed with wax or WD40, just make sure the gullets are large enough to avoid plugging. For occasional use, any fine tooth carbide blade works fine. I have a 3hp 10" Kalamazoo cut off saw, but for a quick once off cut I just step to my Dewalt 12" MS with a fine tooth blade. As mentioned, don't try to cut aluminum with an abrasive blade. On occasion I have used my BS with a standard blade, but it tends to dull fairly quickly.

I guess an old tube of Butch Wax ( it was stuff to make short hair stand up straight) would work too. Even more messy than
oil ! Denatured alcohol makes for crisp and clean cutting , let the mess dry and it’s easy to brush off sparkling aluminum
dust and flakes …that can be used to make your home-made Christmas card ‘glitter’.

[mark mcfarlane]

...and of course wear eye protection, full goggles preferred by me.