cutting alloy?

[ronnien]

hi all,
i am going to put in a glove box up the front of the tinnie.
if i drill a hole to start with, will i be able to do the cut out with a jigsaw?

ron.

[Wahoo]

hi all,
i am going to put in a glove box up the front of the tinnie.
if i drill a hole to start with, will i be able to do the cut out with a jigsaw?

ron.

Ron, is it a painted surface , or bare alloy? jigsaw will cut it , but if its a painted area it will also scratch it if not careful, dont use too fine of a blade and spray a few times as you go with the cooking "spray oil "
i would rather use a tungsen tip cutting wheel on a 4" grinder, do the 4 corners with a small holesaw than cut with grinder,
Daz

[ronnien]

daz,
it's bare alloy, cutting with a grinder sounds good also & how much roughly would a tungsen tip wheel cost?

ron.

[Wahoo]

daz,
it's bare alloy, cutting with a grinder sounds good also & how much roughly would a tungsen tip wheel cost?

ron.

Ron, i think i paid $40 for it, but im sure they are a bit cheaper now

Daz

[finga]

Ron, is it a painted surface , or bare alloy? jigsaw will cut it , but if its a painted area it will also scratch it if not careful, dont use too fine of a blade and spray a few times as you go with the cooking "spray oil "
i would rather use a tungsen tip cutting wheel on a 4" grinder, do the 4 corners with a small holesaw than cut with grinder,
Daz
Yep, that'll do it BUT gee wizz they're dangerous, nasty bits of gear that can do a lot of damage to anything within cooee really fast.
I have one and use it but now have a Fein saw and it's absolutely brilliant for jobs like that. http://www.justtools.com.au/prod5009.htm
A cheaper version is made by Bosch and also highly usable in those situations.
http://www.justtools.com.au/prod2288.htm
They both work on the same principle as the saw they use to cut the cast of your arm or leg when she's broke.
A jigsaw can be used but place numerous layers of masking tape on the surface and around the job site, use a reasonably fine blade and don't rush the matter. A variable speed jigsaw is best and adjust the speed to suit.
Important thing is don't rush.

[Horse]

The jigsaw is fine. Treat alloy like wood rather than steel

[Matt76]

A 1mm grinding wheel will do the job mate, about $2 from the local hardware. Those tungsten blades will bite you pretty bad if you are not careful. I do lots of cutting at work and buy the 1mm blades in lots of 100, I dont use jigsaw for anything but timber.

[FNQCairns]

or drill the hole then use the jigsaw but coat all surfaces it will touch with a couple of layers of masking tape, a jigsaw will mark and scratch bare alum without you even feeling it.

i have used those tungsten blades on f'glass often and a little on Aluminium too, when using it on alum I am at near arms reach as best i can, cutting disks do it real easy.

cheers fnq

[foxx510]

Go the jigsaw, least lethal option. Pretty sure using normal angle grinder cutting discs on aluminium is no good as they fill up. The tungsten tipped ones are fast but after I had tungsten shrapnel flying around my shed I went off them.

[kzrocky]

Why not drill a hole, and cut the remainder with a hacksaw.
Bloody hell, alloy cuts easy, is quick and a good blade costs f all and less chance of a mistake. You dont need electric for a small job.

[fsh00]

Jig saw no prob medium tooth blade.

[finga]

Why not drill a hole, and cut the remainder with a hacksaw.
Bloody hell, alloy cuts easy, is quick and a good blade costs f all and less chance of a mistake. You dont need electric for a small job.
Good point I'll have to say. A one off job like that will not take too long at all compared to driving to the shop and buying something.

[Grand_Marlin]

They are all correct - any of the above methods will work.

When I install accessories in aluminium, I choose what is going to be the easiest tool for the job.

1) Fein Tool (brilliant machine, but are worth over $500)
2) 4" Grinder with 1mm blades
3) Jigsaw - usually with medium grade teeth, sometimes fine teeth if I have a tight radius.

The comment about aluminium clogging cutting wheels doesn't apply to cutting with the 1mm blades. Thicker blades and grinding is a different story.

The main problem with Jigsaws in boats is having enough room to turn them / use them near windows, rolled alloy lips on dashes etc.

If you have a jigsaw and have the room - go for it.

As stated by others - use plenty of masking tape to stop scratching.

Cheers

Pete

[Dan5]

To stop the clogging use bee's wax as a lubricant on the jigsaw blade/cutting wheel or whatever you use.......there is a dedicated aluminium lubricant for the job but bee's wax does the same job.......even household candle wax help's.You'll be impressed how much longer a 1mm cutoff wheel will last if you keep it lubricated...up to 5 time's longer...........

[finga]

1) Fein Tool (brilliant machine, but are worth over $500)
Cheers

Pete
The Bosch tool is just a bit noisier then the Fein but the blades are a lot cheaper then the Fein and at well below $200 for the kit not too bad.
The fein's are right down in price now as they have tool less blade removal and cordless versions out now. The basic machine is around the $300
Queensland Trade Tools or Tools Direct I think they're called now have them both.

[ronnien]

thanks for the reply's guys, all will be takin on board.

ron.

[bigjimg]

Ronnien
Mate from a trade point of view DO NOT USE THAT BLADE IN A GRINDER.If you want to go to hospital with a nasty cut on your body somewhere be my guest.They bite heavily when ally heats up and will be uncontrollable and will leave going WHOA if it doesn't get you that time.Not talking from experience but I've been there to see the outcome on a couple of occassions from other so called experts at previous job.If you use the jigsaw mask up the area with 50mm masking tape then mark cut out on the tape making sure the saw base rides on the taped up area,no scratches then.Spray with WD 40 or similar to wet the area as you cut.Wear ear muffs as it will be noisy and eye protection,ally is a bitch in your eye.These are just my thoughts and are not intended to offend.Jim

[ronnien]

from all the advice given i thank very much, but being only a small job & not being
"lazy"::), i am goin to drill a hole, take the blade off the hacksaw & simply use the blade to do the cutout. should be easy enough.

ron.

[SunnyCoastMark]

Ronnien -
Good call.

To anyone else who thinks that using a tungsten tipped sawblade in a 4" grinder is a good idea - unless you are an experienced tradie who has used this set up professionally - DON'T!!

I spent a few years in Cairns working in a boat building shed and we didn't call it the "meat-axe" for nothing.

They bite, grab, dig in and can make a mess of anything or anyone who is unfortunate enough to be on the recieving end of one.

To those who would advise fellow fishers to use one - please don't. It would be pretty hard for them to remain active members of Ausfish with a few fingers missing!:(

Mark

Ronnien - if you don't have any beeswax - kero works well - as will WD40 or CRC.

[Dan5]

Yeah stay away from the saw blade's........we call em "DEATH WHEELS".....

[FNQCairns]

Ronnien -
Good call.

To anyone else who thinks that using a tungsten tipped sawblade in a 4" grinder is a good idea - unless you are an experienced tradie who has used this set up professionally - DON'T!!

I spent a few years in Cairns working in a boat building shed and we didn't call it the "meat-axe" for nothing.

They bite, grab, dig in and can make a mess of anything or anyone who is unfortunate enough to be on the recieving end of one.

To those who would advise fellow fishers to use one - please don't. It would be pretty hard for them to remain active members of Ausfish with a few fingers missing!:(

Mark



I think you are right, it's one adaption that could be banned for use with any 115 or smaller grinders as that might take the 'home' component out of it's use largely, it's a death grip and white knuckle job from start to finish, it cuts like through butter but if pushed a little too hard or concentration wanes can give a person a fright - there are other options available for every job.

cheers fnq

[dreemon]

I have seen the results from a "death wheel " it kicked back and the thing went for his throat !! missing the main artery by one mm, all up he got about 70 stiches int/ext, he was lucky enough to like the scarring left on his neck ,

[Moonlighter]

A jigsaw can be used but place numerous layers of masking tape on the surface and around the job site, use a reasonably fine blade and don't rush the matter. A variable speed jigsaw is best and adjust the speed to suit.
Important thing is don't rush.

Yep, that's the easiest and safest way to do it, especially if you've already got a jigsaw!

I did exactly that a couple of days ago to cut out a hole to fit a new switch panel - no dramas at all.

ML

[Dantren]

I've never heard of a Fein machine.

Is a Fein machine the same as a dremel?

Thanks.

[oldboot]

I have to add my voice to the DO NOT USE A GRINDER cry. The grinder is one of the most common power tools involved in hospitalised injuries out numbering all others.
Even with an abrasive wheel they are dangerous ....I know a bloke who nearly cut his own foot of with one.

There has been considerable discussion on "woodworkforums" over the years about use of grinders for other purposes than grinding and some of the stories are horifying.

when grinder gets you it does not leave a nice clean cut . the likly hood of joining up blood vesels and nerves is very poor.

If you are experienced and the cut is in a good position a abrasive wheel might be an option.... there are wheels specificly designed for aluminium they are a sort of beige colour.... but there are many safer ways of doing it.

I have a fein.....and they are a wonderfull thing......they look like a grinder but work completly different.
I tried it on some 3mm ally once and was not impressed.... too slow and noisy.

A jigsaw is a realy good option if you can get it in there.......I recon a brand new virgin meduim pitch metal cutting blade...... definitely use some sort of lubricant.....almost anything is better than nothing......wd40 works, dishwashing liquid works, allsorts of waxes and fats work....it will give you a far cleaner and faster cut and you blade will not clog.

even if you are hand cutting use a lubricant.

remember
Things that eat meat have sharp teeth.
Power tools have sharp teeth
People are made of meat:o

cheers

[wakakiwi]

I can send you a photo of my hand if u like after my run in with a so called susicide wheel. Not fun dont recomend it to any one. The only up side is what eva is in that green tube the ambos give u makes u all fuzzy very quickly!!!!

[rhycebullimore]

i just drilled a hole in dorners and used my left and rights snips (helps being a plumber) easy as and very neat and quick.

[Wahoo]

i have used this cutting wheel for many many years, and never once have had even a near scratch, maybe some of you should hand in your car keys, No KFC and NO Maccas, i can see what would happen there too..........i really cant believe some PPL

[GAD]

I rebuilt my dash recently to accomadate another sounder and used the jigsaw mostly as it didn't throw hot alloy onto my clean perspex windscreen , just bought the right blades and took it easy , only used the 4" grinder on the bits off the boat for that reason .

Greg

[ronnien]

i finished putting in the glovebox today & it turned out alright.
i started using the "death wheel" but stopped after the first cut as it was in a prick of a spot, went back cutting with a hacksaw blade.
took a couple of pic's for you's.

ron.

[Tazmaniac]

I'm like you, Wahoo, never had a mishap using a tungsten tipped wheel. However, I won't use one anymore, I've seen what they have done to others when they grab without warning.
Taz