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Anyone have advice on what to use to cut up some aluminum framed doors? The glass is removed them. That was great fun! I tried using an angle grinder on the welds, but the abrasive wheel was slow-going. Should I use a different type of wheel or use something else altogether?
Thanks!
Non ferous metals tend to fill the gaps in the abrasive disk. NEVER use a grinding wheel on non-ferous metals because the gaps in the surface will fill with the metal and expand until the wheel explodes.
I would wonder why you need to cut it but I would find a saw instead. Mike.
A grinding wheel will just gum up when used on aluminum. A thin metal cutting wheel on your angle grinder is the way to go.
The frame is likely extruded and your yard may have a minimum length, so a call ahead might be wise.
HTH
I use 40 tooth wood blade in a circular saw and it works great (soft non- ferrous metals only!). Some say you should flip the blade but I haven't noticed any difference.
I've been on a number of large commercial projects where we used aluminum trim, and set up using miter saws with regular wood trim blades, the good carbide tipped( iguess carbide, just a good decent blade) turned straight(not backwards) and cut every bit of it like that. The trick is just to cut slow and straight, and as always, wear eye protectionQuote:
Originally Posted by KzScrapper
Good call on the glasses Bear...Stuff screams when you cut it too so bring your ear plugs.
Thank you all so much for your replies. I wouldn't bother with cutting them down, but there is a little steel at the corners inside the channels that I can't reach with a screwdriver. I guess I will try my hand with my miter saw next.
I was using the thin cutting wheels in my grinder, do they make a non-ferrous blade for a 4" grinder? I didn't see any @ the big blue and orange box stores.
For a 'On the street' way to cut up Ali extrusion..
Just put a nick in the ali where you want it to break, then bend it with the nick towards the outside of the bend.
It'll crack there & then its easy to bend it a few times so it breaks in half.
That covers pretty much all the ali extrusion I ever find.
A hacksaws best to make the nick, but most of the time I just scrape it on the edge of some concrete or such.
maybe I am thinking of just the alu frames like ext. alu. like windows if this is alu surrounding wood then it wont work but I am either old fashioned or just work to hard but for me I just lean pieces against something like a wall or tree and just slam down on it with my foot to bend it and then bend it a few more times till it breaks apart for most now for thick ones I use a cut off saw
Thanks for the info on the grinding wheel. I never knew. As far as the circular blade turned around, if you were cutting for looks, not scrap, it usually makes a neater cut. Also, with some materials, blades are too aggressive turned the right way.
First of all he is trying to get the steel pieces out of the corners and bending the aluminum won't help. I have never had a problem cutting aluminum with a thin metal cut off wheel. I get mine from harbor freight.
I love finding doors with extrusion in them. I normally use a reciprocating saw with a blade that says it is for metal in it. That will cut through extrusion quite easily and I think it is a little easier to control for opening up a hollow shape to clean stubborn steel out that is in there.