Saw

[Mike 1017]

I have been struggling with cutting aluminum tubing. I find saws for cutting everything but metal.

Can anyone point me in the right direction ?

Mike

[Plowboy]

I use a razor saw with fine teeth. Something I want to try sometime is one of the small plumber's pipe cutter. I think it would work better.

 

[espo]

I have used two different methods to cut aluminum tubing. The first is the aluminum miter  box with the fine toothed saw. The saw is really designed for plastic but has lasted for years with no operant  damage to the saw. The second works well if you're not cutting anything smaller than some exhaust  tips. The tool is a very small tubing cutter. as Plowboy mentioned. The only drawback with the cutter is that it usually closes the cut end of the tube. The aluminum can usually be opened back up with a #11 blade leaving it very dull, of a construction nail is what I use since you can also use the nail to flare the end to make a very realistic exhaust tip. 

[stitchdup]

If its thin wall tube you can cut it by rolling it with an exacto blad. It takes a wee while but can be done with old blades as you're using the less used parts of the blade

[NOBLNG]

3 hours ago, Mike 1017 said:

I have been struggling with cutting aluminum tubing. I find saws for cutting everything but metal.

Can anyone point me in the right direction ?

Mike

This is what I use too. There are two things you can do to keep the teeth from snagging on the thin tubing. First, you can draw the saw backwards...it will still cut the soft aluminum. Two, you can put a piece of solid styrene rod that fits nicely inside the aluminum and cut through both.

[bisc63]

4 hours ago, stitchdup said:

If its thin wall tube you can cut it by rolling it with an exacto blad. It takes a wee while but can be done with old blades as you're using the less used parts of the blade

Me too. I like to insert a piece of styrene rod into the tubing to support it a bit, but you can do it without, just work a little slower. Use a good blade, square it up to the tubing, and just slowly roll the tubing with the blade, as if you were sawing it. Using nearly the full length of the blade (long strokes) seems to work better for me. This tends to taper the end inward, as others have noted, so after you cut, you'll want to ream out the end to open the diameter to what you want. I usually just use another Exacto with a worn blade, this actually shaves a little of the aluminum along with the "burr" from the cut, leaving a nice scale thickness. you can use any number of pointed objects to flare the end if you want; I've tried pencils, nails, bamboo skewers, and more with satisfactory results. Use what you have!

[Straightliner59]

Old school shop advice: Get a piece of beeswax from a fabric/sewing shop. It's excellent lubricant for the blade.

[TransAmMike]

Get this, HL has them. Works great.

[64SS350]

There's also these, metal cutting blade available or may come with some. The harbor freight one does. I have used mine even for brass for the slot car chassis.

 

[crazyjim]

For straight cuts I use an X-Acto blade and for angled cuts I use the miter box.

Edited February 16, 2021 by crazyjim

[peteski]

The fine-toothed Zona or X-acto razor saws (as pictured earlier in the thread) are made form hard steel. They are not just for plastic - the easily cut brass, copper and aluminum.

[Deuces ll]

On 2/15/2021 at 7:57 PM, TransAmMike said:

Get this, HL has them. Works great.

I have 2 of these....

[Mike 1017]

Thank you for all the advice. The rod placed in the tube is the first one I am gonna try.

Mike