Need Help In Cutting My Aluminum Rods

[markknx]

A 4" grinder and a cut off wheel your machine mart should have them. I think they are some what like HF. The cut off wheels will zip right through that. Clamp the grinder in the vise and go. (By 4" grinder I mean Angle grinder.
MARK

 

[MontanaAardvark]

I've got a 4x6 Horrible Freight bandsaw, but that Evolution Rage is pretty slick. Looks better for cutting off hunks for the lathe or mill than the bandsaw.

If I was starting over, I think I'd grab one of those instead. I still might.


Bob

 

[Frank Ford]

. . . I don't want to use any cutters because the ends might not fit in my collet and I have at least 50 rods I need to do and I can't be concentrating on each rod trying to get them inside the collet chuck.

I do this kind of thing in batches of fifty or so using 1/8 - 3/16 brass. I just snip them off with bolt cutter - one at a time goes VERY quickly since I learned to clamp the cutter handle in the bench vise and do the job one-handed, feeding the rod as I go.

Then, over to the belt sander, holding four at a time, buzz the ends off flat, hold them at an angle and give them a light rough chamfer so they go into collet or whatever with ease.

 

[Bill C.]

I have used cemented carbide teeth to cut aluminum plate before. I have a Harbor Freight miter-saw with this type of blade. If I was only cutting a few pieces of aluminum stock I would use it.

Abrasive cutoff wheels are for steel or iron rods and angle iron. They throw a lot of sparks and grit.

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Forgot to mention that carbide cemented blade I used the first time was on a portable power saw. I hated that project because it kept throwing hot aluminum chips back at me. Used it to cut access holes in aircraft transport fixtures. It was a oversight correction by the engineers. The HF miter saw came with one.

 

[unioncreek]

I'm kind of unorthodox on the way I do some things, mainly if I don't have the appropriate equipment. But, I cut all my aluminum of either my table saw or wood chop saw. I've cut up to 1 inch thick aluminum bar in two passes. The blade is a carbide 40 tooth that was too dull for finish work. You want to make sure that the aluminum is secured firmly to the miter on the table saw and the fence on the chop saw.

Bob

 

[muscleflex]

I was going to go for a cut off saw but I came across a reciprocating saw and it was on sale so I decided to try it first before spending £100 on a cut off Rage 4 saw.
Well so far, the reciprocating saw is perfect for me! It cuts the rods fast. I bought new metal blades and the blades cut the rods even faster!
This is my first try on the saw when I got it:

Excuse the footwear - they're my wife's and I was just using them on that day!

 

[Boswell]

Looks like this is working pretty good for you. I recomend that you experiment with different speeds and remember to let the blade do the cutting, you don't need to apply much down force. Also remember this post from the first page by RJSakowski, by bundling 7 rods, you should be able to speed up your cutting time even more.

I would cut them into shorter lengths, some multiple of your final plus an allowance for saw kerfs. bundle them up and clamp with a hose clamp. Tape will also work. Seven pieces will make a hex shaped bundle as will 19 and 39. Cut with a band saw, power hack saw, etc. I used to use this method for cutting 1/8 X 1" steel strap into 3" lengths. and it made short work of it in my horizontal band saw.
You can also cut aluminum with a carbide tipped table saw or radial arm saw as well; just make sure that they are securely supported and you feed slowly. In that case, I would cut one or two at a time and set a stop for the right length. It would go fairly quickly.

 

[mzayd3]

I should mention that with a previous employer, we would on occasion use a 14" cutoff saw with a carbide toothed blade. We had one blade for steel and one for stainless steel. It spits out a lot of hot chips, but is much more efficient that the cutoff blades. It left a nice clean edge as well.

 

[ch2co]

Getting in on this discussion sort of late. Being a newbie at these things, along with a shortage of tools at hand, I use what I got.
When it comes to cutting down longer pieces of aluminum and brass rod and bar, I have been using my trusty old
radial arm saw. I throw a 10" 100 tooth carbide blade in it, clamp my material down to the table and saw away. For thicker material thicker
than 1/8" or so, I'll take several passes, raising the table between each pass. I've cut 1-1/2" x 2" brass bars this way and the cut
comes out clean and smooth, almost looks like it was milled. If I had a bunch of rods to cut I would just lay them down on the table next to each other, and clamp
the whole shebang down with a chunk of wood across the top held down with c clamps. The carbide blade should be rated
for brass and aluminum cutting. I've even cut Corian counter top material with this setup, with no problem. Couple of warnings
though. Don't stand in the path of the saw blade in order to avoid anything (carbide teeth etc.) from striking your bodily parts and
ALWAYS wear protective face wear. DO NOT try to take too big, i.e. deep, of a cut at one time. Start with just a light cut at first and
then slowly increase the amount of each cut so as not to start to cause the saw to push itself at you. The blade will tend to grab the material
and force the saw forward towards you. Just don't let it become unmanagable and jam the saw towards you, which is NOT A GOOD THING, take your time!

The Grumpy Old Guy

 

[janvanruth]

you want it done quickly or with a machine?
get yourself the cheapest metal shear you can get
drill three holes through the lower jaw, a little over the sizes of the rod you want to cut
set a block with a clamp to form the length stop
insert rod into hole till upto block
shear
repeat
a piece every two seconds
no machine is going to beat that!

and because of the fact the rod is fed through a round hole there will be minimal distortion so the pieces will go through the collet with no problem at all