[eartaker]

I often find myself needing to cut the center out of a piece of 1/8" - 1/4" aluminum sheet but no need for it to be super accurate. Any one happen to know if a scroll saw would be a good choice to do this?

[chipslinger69]

From my experiences using a scroll saw the blades are very fragile. I have broken plenty just cutting wood. Maybe a jig saw with a metal cutting blade with the speed turned all the way down. Turned up to high and the aluminum melts to the blade and clogs it up.

[gd.marsh]

+1 for the jig saw ..

I've got an old Bosh jig saw that has cut everything from aluminum to mild steel to 7/8" thick cast iron & even a little wood! There's multitudes of choices out there for blades & a little squirt of WD40 really helps the chip welding problem in aluminum.

For blade selection .. try to use one that will keep 3 teeth in the material at all times & it will cut nicely. More than that & clogging becomes a bigger issue, less than that & the blade will want to grab & try to make the saw jump on you. For thin aluminum stock a hollow ground HSS blade will give good results unless you're making tight turns. In that case a blade with some set in the teeth will give better results but will not produce quite as smooth a cut. There are also blades that are not as deep (measuring from the front of the teeth to the back edge) & which cut on both the up & down stroke & allow for much tighter turns. These work fairly well in thin aluminum stock also.

Gary

[pete from TN]

I have a rigid brand scroll saw that I have often used to cut up to about 1/4 inch aluminum sheet before. The only thing that sucks is that if the blade grabs it will bang around up and down until you get it loose. Once you are CNC you will be easily able to do this on a spoilboard with the material screwed or clamped down onto it. MDF is pretty good for this but is kinda hard on the cutters. Good luck and peace....

Pete

[wildwestpat]

Hi Jermie

The scroll saw could be used. Keep the blade well tensioned and use a coarse tooth blade suitable for metal cutting. (Rule is at least three teeth in the thickness being cut at all times!) A lubricant will be required and white spirit or WD40 should be ok applied with a brush. You need to keep a firm grip on the stock to make sure it stays in contact with the table. However the cutting rate will be slow but in my experience is OK. Broken blades often result from both under and over tensioning the blade. The machine instructions should indicate how many turns from just taken up the slack are required - mine requires 2 turns. Cuts straight and tight curves.

A band saw is a better - again requires the correct blade. This is quick but limited to larger radius or straight cuts no tight curves.

A portable jig saw and an angle grinder again with appropriate blades are OK and will be the ceaper solutions. Straight cuts.

Regards Pat

[hoss2006]

How about a holesaw, works for JR on American Chopper.
Hoss