RobH

I'm trying to cut a plate of 1/8" 6061 Aluminum. Man is it a pain in the rump. I've used my Dremel for small cuts here and there on things and it work pretty good. If you cut anything over a few inches, it's just brutal. It takes forever and just looks like junk. I've had the best results with a hacksaw. That looks pretty ugly and thankfully, I've only had to make "rough cuts" thus far. I'm building and measuring off the factory edge so I'm good for now.

My question is, what's the best way cut this stuff without shelling out mega bucks for a mill, bandsaw or both?

I tried a little with a jigsaw and that result was even uglier than the hacksaw.

Is there a better way to do this or am I stuck with the methods I have?

Thanks,
RobH

XenX

cut it with a hacksaw to roughly get what ya want but slightly bigger.. then file file and file some more.
file down to exactly what ya want with a pretty viscious file then turn to a fine file to finish the cuts off...
thats how i used to do. could normally get pretty nice results

proptop

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Maybe I just got lucky, but I went to a local sheetmetal place, and described in detail what I wanted to do, and the guy there zipped thru it like buttah...I told him what it was for (r/c airplane retractable landing gear parts) and he thought that was pretty cool, and said, gimme a 5 and that'll be good...

RobH

Thanks for the reply.

A file & a vice isn't a bad idea. What about places where you need a shape (curve or whatever) and a straight line wont do. You can do that with the hacksaw a little bit but the tightest arc you can make is limited by the width of the hacksaw blade and that's not very tight.

What about when the the cut is so deep that the material starts to prevent the hacksaw from going any fruther? Do you bust out those hacksaw blades with a handle? That sure does seem slow going.

I suppose the "right way" and the fastest way is a Mill, but at $400 for cheap, poor quality one is friggen expensive.

Anyone else out there have any ideas?

Sorry, I just saw this. I thought about having asking a machine shop to do it. I could imagine what larbor would cost. I think a little more than $5. hehe

XenX

i used a high tension metal hacksaw from a local hardware shop its basically the same as a hacksaw blade but its only about 2 millimeters across so it can go round corners reall easy, go have a look theres loads of different sorts of hacksaw blades instead of the normal 6-7 mill jobbies

RobH

cool! I suppose if you're careful and leave very little extra material, you wouldn't have much filing to do. Also, if you have an 'inside cut', you can first drill a hole and then take the hacksaw apart, thread the blade through the hole, put it back together and then make the cut.

Thanks XenX. I think I'll give the skinny hacksaw blade a try.

-RobH

Nitroaddict

Doesnt dremel make an attachment for this - checkout this section of the website - would one of these routers work?

http://www.dremel.com/html/home_fr.html

RobH

You would think one of those attachments would help, huh? I've been messing with this since mid December. I've found that the high RPM dremel motor can't deliver the low RPM / high torque needed to mill away the 6061. Sure, I can turn the speed down on my Dremel, but it's absolutly gutless on those settings. At low RPMs, I just touch the spinning wheel on the metal surface and it rubs to hault.

The best dremel attachment for cutting 6061 is the really good cut off wheel (one with the fibers in it). You can crank it up to the highest RPM setting and cut some good-looking, straight slices out of the material. The problem is that it's very very hard on the Dremel. If you want to cut 1-2 inches, no problem. If you want to cut 12 inches, you'll be sitting infront of a dremel that wants to die for a long long long time. Not to mention, you'd go through maybe 3 cutoff wheels in that 12" section. The cut off wheels slowly chip away and get smaller and smaller in diameter until they break. I've done this for a few pieces and my Dremel has paid the price beacuse it now makes an odd squealing noise at high RPMs. I think I got aluminum dust up in the bushings. "Grinding" away aluminum isn't as effective as slowly milling it away with sharp, carbide teeth (hacksaw, bandsaw, mill). Live and learn.

One of these would surely do the job quickly:



http://www.taigtools.com/mmill.html

I refuse to pay $400-$800 for a toy that doesn't burn Nitro. My project right now is just a simple rectangle with rough cuts on two sides. I've been waiting and hoping a solution would present itself before it comes time to make it look good.

I think the hacksaw & file method, all be it slow, will work and is the best I can do without spending mucho $$$.

-RobH

Nitroaddict

you've sparked my curiosity now - what is it you are making?

RobH

If it doesn't work, I'm not making anything.

Nitroaddict

secretive *******, lol.

RobH

1.) It's nothing pretty to look at
2.) I'd rather not listen to the ney sayers
3.) It's one thing to mount stuff on a piece of aluminum (anyone can do that). Making it go fast as hell and having a video to prove is entirely something else. When I have said video, I'll make a full post.

If I fail, I'd rather do it silently. LOL

Nitroaddict

no problem, Rob - post in due time, but dont leave us hanging.

RobH

If it was a butt ugly friggen rectangle right now I might post a pic. I'm going to change the shape the chassis last though cause all of my measurments are off the factory edge. Once I take that away, I'm screwed.