[R-390] cutting aluminum

Fri Oct 28 15:00:32 EDT 2016

Life's too short for this kind of hassle. Just get a plasma cutter. You'll never go back to any other method.
At IBM we had EDM and water jet machines. Plus, a Tool and Die Maker who was my pal. ha ha

ron
N4UE

-----Original Message-----
From: r-390-request <r-390-request at mailman.qth.net>
To: r-390 <r-390 at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Fri, Oct 28, 2016 2:34 pm
Subject: R-390 Digest, Vol 150, Issue 31

Send R-390 mailing list submissions to
	r-390 at mailman.qth.net

To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
	http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/r-390
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
	r-390-request at mailman.qth.net

You can reach the person managing the list at
	r-390-owner at mailman.qth.net

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of R-390 digest..."

Today's Topics:

   1. Re: aluminum (Frank Hughes)
   2. Re: Cutting aluminum sheet (Bill Guyger)
   3. Re: Cutting aluminum sheet (Charles Steinmetz)
   4. Re: Cutting Aluminum sheet for your R390 (Mike Bracey)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2016 14:02:04 -0400
From: Frank Hughes <fsh396ss at gmail.com>
To: r-390 at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [R-390] aluminum
Message-ID:
	<CAKLfjCnreFFdY9mCyWJxwVcTmcGjZdZ7q=uv06LqQ0FQTZDSEA at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

I cut up to 1/2" aluminum plate routinely with a 60 tooth, 10", carbide
fine crosscut. Radial arm saw. I use WD40 to keep the blade from sticking.
I use eye and ear protection, it is loud!
73
Frank
KJ4OLL

On Oct 28, 2016 10:56, <r-390-request at mailman.qth.net> wrote:

Send R-390 mailing list submissions to
        r-390 at mailman.qth.net

To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
        http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/r-390
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
        r-390-request at mailman.qth.net

You can reach the person managing the list at
 r-390-owner at mailman.qth.net

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of R-390 digest..."

Today's Topics:

   1. Re: Cutting Aluminium Plate (Charles Steinmetz)
   2. Re: Cutting Aluminium Plate (Alan Victor)
   3. Re: Cutting Aluminium Plate (jbrannig)
   4. Re: Cutting Aluminum sheet for your R390 (Doug Hensley)
   5. Re: Cutting Aluminum sheet for your R390 (Robert Nickels)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2016 03:49:48 -0400
From: Charles Steinmetz <csteinmetz at yandex.com>
To: r-390 at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [R-390] Cutting Aluminium Plate
Message-ID: <5813031C.8040104 at yandex.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed

Perry wrote:

> Some of my A's are missing the Utah plate.
> I have some very nice sheeting of about the same thickness.
> I'd like to cut them on my table saw that has a new 10 inch 40 tooth
carbide blade.
> Good idea? Bad idea?  Pitfalls to avoid?

40 teeth is WAY, WAY too coarse to cut aluminum of any kind, and most
especially thin sheets.  You need a 100-tooth "non-ferrous metal" blade.
  And unless you have a very good table saw, you won't have enough power
to cut aluminum with a 10" blade.  Most folks use 7-1/4" or 8" blades
for this (even if they DO have a very good saw).

Aluminum tends to catch the saw teeth and buck, so you need very good
blade guards that hold the workpiece firmly down on the table, and
anti-kickback prevention.

Cutting aluminum makes LOTS of noise. Neighbors-may-call-the-police
loud.  It sounds like a thousand angry monkeys screaming.

A metal-cutting bandsaw is a much better tool for this job.

Best regards,

Charles

------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2016 02:08:51 -0700
From: Alan Victor <amvictor at ncsu.edu>
To: Charles Steinmetz <csteinmetz at yandex.com>
Cc: 390 list <r-390 at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: Re: [R-390] Cutting Aluminium Plate
Message-ID:
        <CAO-B_TcVc0VZg=L=z-sLvz7+DZSZtV5T2psyjLmbFTCeYX80Kg at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Cut mine out with a hacksaw. Took about 15 minutes. Laminated a photo
image of the LC xmfr networks and the alignment blocks into plastic and
attached that to the plate. Images came from the Y2K manual. Looks FB. Alan

On Fri, Oct 28, 2016 at 12:49 AM, Charles Steinmetz <csteinmetz at yandex.com>
wrote:

> Perry wrote:
>
> Some of my A's are missing the Utah plate.
>> I have some very nice sheeting of about the same thickness.
>> I'd like to cut them on my table saw that has a new 10 inch 40 tooth
>> carbide blade.
>> Good idea? Bad idea?  Pitfalls to avoid?
>>
>
> 40 teeth is WAY, WAY too coarse to cut aluminum of any kind, and most
> especially thin sheets.  You need a 100-tooth "non-ferrous metal" blade.
> And unless you have a very good table saw, you won't have enough power to
> cut aluminum with a 10" blade.  Most folks use 7-1/4" or 8" blades for
this
> (even if they DO have a very good saw).
>
> Aluminum tends to catch the saw teeth and buck, so you need very good
> blade guards that hold the workpiece firmly down on the table, and
> anti-kickback prevention.
>
> Cutting aluminum makes LOTS of noise. Neighbors-may-call-the-police loud.
> It sounds like a thousand angry monkeys screaming.
>
> A metal-cutting bandsaw is a much better tool for this job.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Charles
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> R-390 mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/r-390
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:R-390 at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>

------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2016 05:30:04 -0400
From: jbrannig <jbrannig at verizon.net>
To: Charles Steinmetz <csteinmetz at yandex.com>, r-390 at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [R-390] Cutting Aluminium Plate
Message-ID: <jxsswrv62ukvcl3t1h1roikb.1477647004505 at email.android.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

I have used a fine panel cutting blade to cut aluminum on a radial arm saw.
The trick is to cut BACKWARDS.....
This works with chassis and rack panel thickness.
Jim

Sent from my Galaxy Tab? A
-------- Original message --------From: Charles Steinmetz <
csteinmetz at yandex.com> Date: 10/28/16  3:49 AM  (GMT-05:00) To:
r-390 at mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [R-390] Cutting Aluminium Plate
Perry wrote:

> Some of my A's are missing the Utah plate.
> I have some very nice sheeting of about the same thickness.
> I'd like to cut them on my table saw that has a new 10 inch 40 tooth
carbide blade.
> Good idea? Bad idea?? Pitfalls to avoid?

40 teeth is WAY, WAY too coarse to cut aluminum of any kind, and most
especially thin sheets.? You need a 100-tooth "non-ferrous metal" blade.
? And unless you have a very good table saw, you won't have enough power
to cut aluminum with a 10" blade.? Most folks use 7-1/4" or 8" blades
for this (even if they DO have a very good saw).

Aluminum tends to catch the saw teeth and buck, so you need very good
blade guards that hold the workpiece firmly down on the table, and
anti-kickback prevention.

Cutting aluminum makes LOTS of noise. Neighbors-may-call-the-police
loud.? It sounds like a thousand angry monkeys screaming.

A metal-cutting bandsaw is a much better tool for this job.

Best regards,

Charles

______________________________________________________________
R-390 mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/r-390
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:R-390 at mailman.qth.net

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2016 14:29:19 +0000
From: Doug Hensley <w5jv at hotmail.com>
To: "r-390 at mailman.qth.net" <r-390 at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: Re: [R-390] Cutting Aluminum sheet for your R390
Message-ID:
        <CY1PR15MB0615CE233B721728B91537ED91AD0 at CY1PR15MB0615.
namprd15.prod.outlook.com>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Perry, the right way to do that is to have a shop chop it on their cutting
shear.  If that is prohibitive for you, laying it out with clear marked
lines that you can see and using a double cut saw would be easiest.

http://www.harborfreight.com/5-in-75-amp-heavy-duty-double-
cut-saw-62448.html

or an electric hand shear:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200641785_
200641785?cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_
medium=Power%20Tools%20%3E%20Cutters,%20Shears%20%2B%
20Nibblers&utm_campaign=Ironton&utm_content=46257&gclid=CLzhlP3Z_
c8CFUUbaQodXH0G_A

On a table saw, the blade is going to want to pull on the sheeting if your
feed pressure or clamping jig is not right.  Then  it will try to kick the
sheet metal up over itself.  Not a good thing to do.  To control the sheet,
you could sandwich sheeting between two pieces of plywood or pine wood and
that will dampen the vibration enough so that you can cut through.  But
then, accuracy is tough to get that way.

The problem is not the cutting of the aluminum, its preparing the sheet
metal so that the saw passes through it without moving it.  I went to NASA
on the Gulf Coast one time for a university I was working for and cut off a
twelve foot by eight foot piece of 1 1/8" T6061 with a skillsaw and bottle
of spray lubricant.  Taking my time, it cut like butter but you see the
plate did not move and so the saw just took its sweet time and enjoyed the
ride !  The magic is all in the planning.

Good luck,

Doug W5JV

------------------------------

Message: 6
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2016 05:47:35 +0000 (UTC)
From: Perry Sandeen <sandeenpa at yahoo.com>
To: "r-390 at mailman.qth.net" <r-390 at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: [R-390] Cutting Aluminium Plate

List,
Some of my A's are missing the Utah plate.
I have some very nice sheeting of about the same thickness.
I'd like to cut them on my table saw that has a new 10 inch 40 tooth
carbide blade.
Good idea? Bad idea? ?Pitfalls to avoid?
Regards,
Perrier

------------------------------

________________________________

------------------------------

Message: 5
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2016 09:56:43 -0500
From: Robert Nickels <ranickel at comcast.net>
To: r-390 at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [R-390] Cutting Aluminum sheet for your R390
Message-ID: <12874bec-d0e2-cd09-743e-7949a77c881a at comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed

Some of you may have seen the excellent work my friend Mike KG7TR has
done in his ER articles on his homebrewed SSB gear as seen here:

http://www.kg7tr.com/

Mike gave a presentation at the Jonesborough TN Central
Electronics-Vintage SSB gathering this year on his construction methods
and tools.   He stresses that he doesn't own a brake or shear and makes
the panels and cabinets for all this beautiful gear using a square,
sabre saw, and "lots of filing".    If you're in production, you want to
use the right and best tool for the job but if you're a hobbyist making
a one-off project,  patience and elbow grease are acceptable substitutes.

73, Bob W9RAN

------------------------------

Subject: Digest Footer

_______________________________________________
R-390 mailing list
R-390 at mailman.qth.net
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/r-390

------------------------------

End of R-390 Digest, Vol 150, Issue 29
**************************************

------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2016 13:11:41 -0500
From: Bill Guyger <bguyger at yahoo.com>
To: Tisha Hayes <tisha.hayes at gmail.com>
Cc: R390A <r-390 at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: Re: [R-390] Cutting aluminum sheet
Message-ID: <2B3B7DB3-47BF-4111-8F4F-C5594EE50DD2 at yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset=us-ascii

As I mentioned earlier I use a saber saw but I do use a fairly course blade IIRC 14 teeth/inch. Fine toothed Blades gaul quickly because aluminum is so soft (this is of course ignoring the hard alloys that are intended for milling). In other words fine tooth blades get clogged rapidly and cease cutting.

Bill AD5OL

Sent from my iPhone

> On Oct 28, 2016, at 12:40 PM, Tisha Hayes <tisha.hayes at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Right out of college I was working for a company that also fabricated their
> own custom control cabinets out of aluminum. They used a table saw with a
> pretty coarse blade. No guards, no shields, they were dragging these big 4'
> x 4' sheets of 1/4" aluminum and one guy would wrestle this through the saw.
> 
> The entire process horrified me; I was picturing just about every way it
> could go bad. Sometimes the metal sheet would ride up and the blade would
> cut a nasty gouge on the bottom the sheet as it tried to launch this big
> piece of aluminum back in to the belly of the guy who was feeding the
> monster. My imagination for how bad it could get would be perfect for movie
> making or nightmares.
> 
> When I was making prototypes or test jigs out of a bed of nails with POGO
> contacts I had to be in the same room. I made every effort to not be there
> on aluminum cutting day.
> 
> From what I recall, the blade had to be riding pretty high off of the deck
> to minimize the bucking.
> 
> It also did make a horrendous noise. Even a half-a-building away I could
> hear it when they were cutting aluminum.
> 
> *Ms. Tisha Hayes, AA4HA*
> *"*There are many who live in the mountains and behave as if they were in **the
> town; they are wasting their time.*
> * It is possible to be a solitary in one's mind while living in a crowd;
> and it is possible for those who are **solitary to live in the crowd of
> their own thoughts.*"*
> **-Amma Syncletica of Alexandria**
> ______________________________________________________________
> R-390 mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/r-390
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:R-390 at mailman.qth.net
> 
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2016 14:30:15 -0400
From: Charles Steinmetz <csteinmetz at yandex.com>
To: r-390 at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [R-390] Cutting aluminum sheet
Message-ID: <58139937.8090101 at yandex.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed

Bill wrote:

> As I mentioned earlier I use a saber saw but I do use a fairly course blade IIRC 14 teeth/inch.

That is extremely fine compared to the OP's blade.  Your blade has over 
300 teeth (assuming it is a standard 7-1/4" blade), while his has only 
40 (about 1.25 teeth/inch).

Best regards,

Charles

------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2016 18:32:49 +0000 (UTC)
From: Mike Bracey <mikebracey at att.net>
To: John Saxon <johnbsaxon at yahoo.com>, 	"W9RAN at oneradio.net"
	<W9RAN at oneradio.net>, 	"r-390 at mailman.qth.net" <r-390 at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: Re: [R-390] Cutting Aluminum sheet for your R390
Message-ID: <858284706.763874.1477679569850 at mail.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

The quality of his work is amazing! I wish I could come close to his level of craftsmanship.
73, Mike/KE5YTV

      From: John Saxon via R-390 <r-390 at mailman.qth.net>
 To: "W9RAN at oneradio.net" <W9RAN at oneradio.net>; "r-390 at mailman.qth.net" <r-390 at mailman.qth.net> 
 Sent: Friday, October 28, 2016 10:34 AM
 Subject: Re: [R-390] Cutting Aluminum sheet for your R390

Just wanted to say...I think Mike, KG7TR, is a homebrew genius. ?I have admired his work for a long time, and I have a folder filled with the info from his website. ?I find it inspirational that he uses tools that are readily available to most of us, and not that expensive.
73,JohnK5ENQ

? ? ? From: Robert Nickels <ranickel at comcast.net>
 To: r-390 at mailman.qth.net 
 Sent: Friday, October 28, 2016 9:56 AM
 Subject: Re: [R-390] Cutting Aluminum sheet for your R390
? 
Some of you may have seen the excellent work my friend Mike KG7TR has 
done in his ER articles on his homebrewed SSB gear as seen here:

http://www.kg7tr.com/

Mike gave a presentation at the Jonesborough TN Central 
Electronics-Vintage SSB gathering this year on his construction methods 
and tools.? He stresses that he doesn't own a brake or shear and makes 
the panels and cabinets for all this beautiful gear using a square, 
sabre saw, and "lots of filing".? ? If you're in production, you want to 
use the right and best tool for the job but if you're a hobbyist making 
a one-off project,? patience and elbow grease are acceptable substitutes.

73, Bob W9RAN
______________________________________________________________
R-390 mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/r-390
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:R-390 at mailman.qth.net

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

? 
______________________________________________________________
R-390 mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/r-390
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:R-390 at mailman.qth.net

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

------------------------------

Subject: Digest Footer

_______________________________________________
R-390 mailing list
R-390 at mailman.qth.net
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/r-390

------------------------------

End of R-390 Digest, Vol 150, Issue 31
**************************************