[Newbie] Make A Slot Without A Slitter

You can use just a plain old hardware store carbide blade on aluminum. Get one of the little ones for use in a cordless saw.
Making an arbor is a simple job, and you will now have tool for doing slitting.

Check out Stephan Gottewinter's channel on YouTube, he just made a set of arbors for various slitting saws, including the hardware store variety.
https://www.youtube.com/user/syyl/videos
 
I've just cut a bunch of slots for an expanding mandrel with a 1mm blade in an angle grinder.
I've also use two blades together for a wider cut some time ago.
The most difficult part is keeping the blade dead straight so use a guide clamped to the part if possible.
 
All great advice from everyone. I appreciate all of your input.

Hey Rob, Thanks for the link for the saw blades, I did check those out, and while I was there I soon discovered how simple it is to look up the mill I would be buying if I was currently in the market for a new mill. :grin:

Unfortunately, at the moment, my bandsaw is in need of some new tires, so until I get that done, she's up on the blocks.

Joshua, you make it sound so simple, I am going to go ahead with making an arbor, and will utilize the little bitty carbide blade, if I can find them locally.
It's just too easy to not try it and see what happens.
I will be working up some sort of a jig, so it can be done on the lathe. Still not the dream setup I would like, but as long as it gets it done, I'm all for it.

Thanks again everyone for all of your responses. Hoping someday I can return the favor!
 
If you go the slitting saw blade route, be cautious if the blade is thin. I feel that is a fairly deep cut in "sticky aluminum" and it may have a tendency to jamb. I had a similar experience when working with aluminum. Now I must admit that I was attempting to cut it dry. Perhaps wd-40 would have helped.

David
 
however you cut it (minus abrasives) WD-40 would be a wise idea. It is one of the few things I like WD-40 for. You don't need to flood the part with it as many like to do just enough to keep a film on the cutting tool. think of it as none-stick cooking spray.

Mark
 
Paul in OKC said:
Depending on how big the piece is to start with, you could use your table saw and take small depths of cuts until there. Lot of pucker in that, but..... You could do the lathe thing with a HSS cut off blade. Don't envy you with that one!
Click to expand...

The old-time machinist would layout the slot then drill a series of holes to depth or deeper the drill's lip. Next they would use a small chisel and hammer to cut out the walls left behind by the drilling and then file out to size.

Good luck with whatever method you choose.
 
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