Best disc for cutting aluminium

[James1979]

Maybe, but we are currently evaluating them for site use which means cost effectiveness as well as durability as generally; we use plasma, certain conditions preclude their use and its back to the cutting discs.

Post our findings so far if you like and I can add to them as we get results and feedback.

Thanks. It may be of use.

so, info from @. as follows:

“
We currently are using different types and evaluating them, heres our findings:

Klingspor 9" - cheap to buy and reasonable, cost effective, better and cheaper than abrasives but a little lacking for site work, not quite durabe enough yet for sustained abuse.

Classic Pro 4.5" - nice size and weight, durable and cost effective when compared to abrasives and good for site work, particularly sheet materials.

DeWalt Extreme Diamond Metal - an excellent all rounder if a little thick, stands site work well and are very cost effective, particularly on dirty materials, great all rounder if you can overcome their thick kerf.

Mexco VBX - an excellent all rounder, a diamond and carbide sintered blade which stands site abuse and is cost effective, particularly on dirty materials, beats the DeWalt because it has a thinner kerf.

For shop machines (not grinders or portable machines) we are using theNeilson 450mm with 26mm bore, aluminium blades for cutting aluminium (mainly profile sections) and while operating at slower speeds it can stand high loadings and cuts wery well with excellent life.

For cutting aluminium on site we have a lubricant and its mainly used on milling machines, spray it onto tooling; its very similar to furniture polish and it dries within a couple of minutes to tooling and helps make them slippery when machining aluminium and you can use it wet, we spray our TCT blades with it and let it dry and then spray whatever we ae cutting with and use it wet as well. Not sure of its name but think its Systol or similar and we get it in 50 litre refillable drums with taps, we fill our hand sprayers with it.

We tried a DeWalt unnamed as yet blade, its currently a prototype with a thin kerf (1.5mm thick) and its nearly a stainless steel blade, looks like the Extreme Diamond with a much tougher and thinner steel section, our supplier is trying to bet a box of 25 or 50 blades for evaluation as we are currently evaluating several TCT and diamond aluminium blades”

 

[daleyd]

What a fantastic coincidence to be evaluating all those types of blades just when someone asked that very question! Hope that helps the OP in choosing a suitable blade.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

What a fantastic coincidence to be evaluating all those types of blades just when someone asked that very question! Hope that helps the OP in choosing a suitable blade.

I bet the coal board do this all the time.

 

[robert-shetland]

Maybe, but we are currently evaluating them for site use which means cost effectiveness as well as durability as generally; we use plasma, certain conditions preclude their use and its back to the cutting discs.

Post our findings so far if you like and I can add to them as we get results and feedback.

Thankyou very much, exactly the type of info i was after, ill have a look at those blades, are you using the tct blades with polish in a grinder then?

 

[robert-shetland]

We are currently using both, with diamond you cannot use the polish, but with tungsten it is much better with it for tip longevity.

What make of TCT blades are you using? the ones ive tried which fit on a normal 4.5" grinder, the teeth end up stripping off. Cant find any decent makes of them, just on Ebay and Amazon etc. Would be interested to know which ones you are using.

 

[James1979]

Couple of pictures would help.

illustrate the difference if nothing else

 

[robert-shetland]

Had to look at the work grinders, the 4.5" are the Dewalt and the 9" are Mexco.

We constantly evaluate new items to the market and eagerly await the new Dewalt thin kerf for testing to see how they perfom and if they are economically viable.

The only Dewalt TCT blade i can find is this one

Dewalt DT20420 TCT Circular Saw Blade for DCS571 115 x 9.5mm x 24T

The Dewalt DT20420 Saw Blade, with anti-kickback shoulder to prevent bind up whilst enhancing user safety. Don’t miss out, shop now and order yours today!

www.toolstop.co.uk

The center hole is only 9.5mm though, so wont fit a grinder, any chance you could send me the name / number of the one you are using?
Thanks
Robert

 

[Ruffian]

Jigsaw with a wood blade.
Great up to about 6mm then starts to struggle

 

[Hood]

The only Dewalt TCT blade i can find is this one

Dewalt DT20420 TCT Circular Saw Blade for DCS571 115 x 9.5mm x 24T

The Dewalt DT20420 Saw Blade, with anti-kickback shoulder to prevent bind up whilst enhancing user safety. Don’t miss out, shop now and order yours today!

www.toolstop.co.uk

The center hole is only 9.5mm though, so wont fit a grinder, any chance you could send me the name / number of the one you are using?
Thanks
Robert

Maybe these?

DeWalt Extreme Diamond Metal Cutting Disc | Cutting Discs

Buy DeWalt Extreme Diamond Metal Cutting Disc and other DeWalt Cutting Discs at Tooled-Up.com. Fast Delivery.

www.tooled-up.com

Edit, sorry I see it was TCT you were meaning.

 

[James1979]

It’s a case of justifying it I suppose but a cheap plasma would be useful

 

[daleyd]

It’s a case of justifying it I suppose but a cheap plasma would be useful

The £70 Lidl one is a great buy, esp with their warranty.

 

[daleyd]

Maybe these?

DeWalt Extreme Diamond Metal Cutting Disc | Cutting Discs

Buy DeWalt Extreme Diamond Metal Cutting Disc and other DeWalt Cutting Discs at Tooled-Up.com. Fast Delivery.

www.tooled-up.com

Edit, sorry I see it was TCT you were meaning.

Really a pic or 2 would speak a thousand words. Not sure if we’ll get one of those top secret experimental dewalt ones mind…

 

[daleyd]

On a related note - has anyone else ever had any “experimental” discs to use from a manufacturer? I couldn’t imagine it would be common practice for them to hand something “under development” out to punters - where would they stand if something were to go wrong with it while in use. Presumably if “under development” it wouldn’t have any ce marking etc?

Sounds almost too good to be true

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Sounds almost too good to be true

There is a saying about that, google it.

 

[James1979]

On a related note - has anyone else ever had any “experimental” discs to use from a manufacturer? I couldn’t imagine it would be common practice for them to hand something “under development” out to punters - where would they stand if something were to go wrong with it while in use. Presumably if “under development” it wouldn’t have any ce marking etc?

Sounds almost too good to be true

I’m not important enough to get given experimental stuff by dewalt.

or anyone for that matter

on a related, related note - how does that affect RAMS etc. Using untested abrasive discs? Especially employees using them.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

I’m not important enough to get given experimental stuff by dewalt.

or anyone for that matter

on a related, related note - how does that affect RAMS etc. Using untested abrasive discs? Especially employees using them.

The only free stuff I got from dewalt was a replacement battery when a new one died.
Then they wanted me to pay for the P&P

 

[daleyd]

I’m not important enough to get given experimental stuff by dewalt.

or anyone for that matter

on a related, related note - how does that affect RAMS etc. Using untested abrasive discs? Especially employees using them.

Mmm exactly what I was thinking, I couldn’t imagine a big manufacturer like dewalt handing stuff out like that, especially being an American company - I know it’s not abrasives (we make things like plcs and process/automation control equipment) but any stuff that we do that’s been used for r and d purposes can’t get passed on to customers at all - we tend to use it for internal demo kit or training purposes or it gets scrapped.

I would imagine dewalt would test it in house to within an inch of its life before anything leaves the factory…

 

[KemppiFrog]

I have cut a lot of ally sections and used a TCT 9" blade in a home made rig, where the blade rises out of a slot in the table. Driven by a timing toothed belt on small cogs to get better depth of cut. rpm at motor speed of 2850.
Recently tried a couple of 125mm thin discs rated for ally and found them quite good.
The TCT blade has back raked teeth and lasts very well, as in years.

Reason for the home made rig, was I was asked to do an ally shutter job. Went to the suppliers for material costs and looked at the kit on sale. Prices were a bit boggling and more than the job, with no idea if I might get another. So I went back to the w/shop and looked in the bits bin. By the end of the day I had a functioning cutter. As it turned out, I got lots of jobs, but it was accurate enough to keep using. Still got it..

 

[James1979]

The only free stuff I got from dewalt was a replacement battery when a new one died.
Then they wanted me to pay for the P&P

And this. Tighter than a ducks butt.

although I suppose if you had the email address of the MD it’s helpful…..

 

[KemppiFrog]

As it happens, I was asked to make some fly and cat proof screens for windows, so picked up some ally sections and dug out the old cutter.

The frame with the motor and blade bearings is hinged on simple pins to the main frame. Put them far apart and a little wear doesn't matter. Originally the motor was about 1hp, as I had it. Down the line it has done other work, like wood and that is a 4kw jetwash motor. It is still tight and cuts very good angles. The bit of red wire is holding the operating handle(out of shot above) down, to raise the blade while I photoed the masterpiece.. The white bits are masking tape to protect the ally from marks.
Like all my kit, once it was functional, it was put to work and things like paint not too important Must slap a bit on..
KF
Not used it for ally in 10 yrs or more, pleased that it cuts so nicely

Perspective makes it look big.. Frame is about 50x70x35 cm.