Thread: How do I....

Originally Posted by 2sheds

One thing I like about this forum is the variety of options I have been offered by a variety of very experienced people.

May try the band saw option first. I would like the blade of brand new Dewalt compound slide mitre saw to be kept sharp for it's intended purpose.
I do have an old Ryobi mitre saw which I use for cutting up kindling but has a very coarse blade and is probably kinda blunt by now.
Many thanks again for all your input.

Be VERY careful using a regular wood cutting blade especially if it has a low TPI as it will tend to grab the Al and make a real mess.
I tried cutting Al with a regular blade and ended up shooting a few CT teeth all over the place including straight through my saw cabinet.
A negative rake blade with high TPI (80+) will give the safest smoothest cut. Don't worry the Al will not blunt the blade as the TC will go through it very easily.

Besides Al a negative rake blade is also very useful for clean cuts in plastic, melamine and MDF (slow).

This is a slightly different thing, but maybe the same solution can work on a roll if its diameter is not too large and you have a large diameter sliding mitre saw.

I use the mitre saw fitted with a negative rake fine tooth blade to cut all my Aluminium venetian blinds to exact length. The finish of the cuts is impeccable. It even works including the top and bottom profiles which are steel. The all important thing is to tightly wrap it all around left and right of the cut in masking tape. Fill all hollows of the top/bottom profiles with scrap wood. And clamp down firmly before cutting through.

I would not hesitate doing the same with an Aluminium roll. Just put something like a scrap wood dowel or plastic core or similar in the center, and clamp down both ends of the roll firmly using scrap wood supports. Holding by hand is IMO not a safe option and could lead to a big mess if the roll was to start rotating whilst cutting. Chris

Originally Posted by rusel

I had to do something similar once and end up making a simple slitter using a Stanley blade and pulling the foil past the blade mounted in a bar and then onto a second drum and then just keep winding. One roll into two. took a bit to set up and only took a few minutes to cut.

R

I think this is the way I would go as well. At least it would pose the least danger. Aluminium slicing into flesh is not nice at all ! Don't ask. Fortunately I've still got my finger.