Replies

1. 
   QCInspector | Feb 24, 2006 02:51pm | #1

   I've used a 1/8 round over bit in a trim router to radius the corners on aluminum. But more info on what you want to do is needed to give you workable advise. The alloy is a big factor. Commercial aluminum is quite soft, and 7055-T7451 is almost as hard (and strong) as mild steel because it's got about 8% zinc in the alloy. 6061 cast tooling plate is very stable and doesn't move much when machined. Where the 7055 plate has stresses from the rolling process when made that cause it to move a lot when cut. So tell us in detail what you are trying to accomplish.

1. 
   hitai | Feb 28, 2006 10:23am | #5

   try posting over on the Furniture Society forum... they got a bunch of multi media whacko geniuses over there that do a LOT with aluminum

2. 
   Telemike | Feb 27, 2006 09:05am | #2

   I often cut aluminum on the TS and use cheap skill saw carbide blades. It cuts quite well.

   I've routed only a few times. Two years ago I routed a circular pocket into the new 1/2" aluminum router table insert for a series of inserts with different holes for different diameter bits. It routed well but slower than I'd expect.

   I ended up using the slowest speed I could get out of the router with a 1/2" straight cutting bit and often dribbled some 3 in 1 oil onto the cut. I also cut the inserts with a fly cutter and 3 in 1. At 4" OD, it was a bit hair raising, but went well for four different inserts. Friends have suggested using WD 40 for the cutting oil.

1. 
   CHUMLEY | Feb 28, 2006 07:41am | #4

   Thanks all for your insight, I am still pondering what I will do.

2. 
   user-104711 | Mar 19, 2006 02:17pm | #7

   Just a suggestion for whatever it's worth! I have used corn oil (cooking oil)when cutting metal and it seems to work fairly well. Just be sure to clean up right away, because it will get gummy and hard to remove in a day or two.

   Aluminum will bond to your cutter as it heats up. Use a lubricant to avoid this.

   Also, high speed steel end mills with shank sizes to fit your collet are available in a limited selection of sizes/shapes. They seem to be sharper and cut better than router bits. I've seen SHAVINGS come off of end grain!

3. 
   John_D | Feb 28, 2006 02:22am | #3

   I prefer to use my jointer.

   JUST KIDDING.  Hehe.  I feel good when the wood cuts right, I'm not ready to machine aluminum and brass yet. :)

   My goal is for my work to outlast me.  Expect my joinery to get simpler as time goes by.
1. 
   gb93433 | Mar 30, 2006 12:59am | #8

   Actually I have used my jointer to make a piece of aluminum straight. Aluminum is easier on cutters than wood. Just think of how long a HSS router bit lasts in wood compared to using HSS to drill a hole in aluminum. The only thing is that when you mill aluminum be careful of the shavings of metal.

4. 
   pqken | Mar 16, 2006 10:54am | #6

   I have a friend who is an engineer with a company that makes drill bits. We actually had this conversation last week. He said, when drilling aluminum with high speed bits it creates so much heat the aluminum melts on the bit...something like a weld. Therefore slow speed is best.

5. 
   PeteBradley | Apr 09, 2006 09:18pm | #9

   FWW questions on cutting metal with a router seem to draw more dangerous and speculative advice than just about any topic other than electrical, so take everything you read with a grain of salt.

   Some general guidelines:
   - it's trickier than it looks
   - all cuts must be guided. Don't freehand anything.
   - take very light passes
   - Wear eye protection.
   - Ask yourself if you really need to do this, or if there's another way to accomplish the same goal.

   Pete

6. 
   Routerman | Apr 10, 2006 03:30am | #10

   I cut (rout) a lot of it, up to 3/4" thick max. See 1/2 lap of 1/4 x 1 in pix. What are you talking about here, a few square inches, a square foot?

   Routers

7. 
   mathew | Jul 11, 2006 10:43pm | #11

   Make sure you don't use your dust collector when cutting/milling aluminum. The small pieces can spark when they hit the impeller and ignite the dust.

1. 
   Mumda | Jul 12, 2006 12:31am | #12

   Aluminum doesn't spark.

1. 
   mathew | Jul 12, 2006 12:39am | #13

   I'm not a chemist or a machinist, so I can't speak with authority here, but I did turn this up while googling around.http://www.science.ca/askascientist/viewquestion.php?qID=785Personally, I wouldn't use my DC while working with any metal, but I'm kinda a worry wort.Mat

1. 
   Mumda | Jul 12, 2006 01:45am | #14

   Neat site!, but I've ground, turned, milled, routed, sandblasted, sawed, planed, scratched, melted, filed and welded aluminum and the only time it ever sparked was when welding it. 5083, 3003, 7075, 6061-0, 6061-t4 & -t6, 2024 even the ever elusive 7079!

1. 
   JLMCDANIEL | Jul 12, 2006 08:12am | #16

   I think I would go with Mathew on this one, I knew a guy who for 40 years filled his gas tank with a lite cigerete in his mouth, then one day........

   Jack

2. 
   jazzdogg | Jul 12, 2006 04:18am | #15

   What a terrific website - it deserves a post of its own, both here and on Breaktime!

   Thanks for sharing it with us,

    -Jazzdogg-

   "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie

8. 
   mufti | Jul 12, 2006 12:42pm | #17

              Just make sure you wash your  face, hands, arms etc and vac /brush clothes and hair before removing goggles and wiping sweat from your brow! I did not and spent one day bathing my eye before going to emergency, with another trip later to have the rest of the aluminium dust removed. Now I ask a local engineering shop to risk their sight.