I own a glass shop that installs residential shower doors and commercial storefronts (among other products). We have used standard chop and miter saws to cut aluminum extrusions. This results in lots of small aluminum shavings that create a mess on job sites--primarily the residential ones since almost all of the commercial fabrication is done in our shop. We use tarps to try to catch the shavings, but I'm wondering if there are better ways to minimize the problem. Here is what I've looked into so far:
1) Cold saws: Pro is slower speed so shavings don't travel as far. Con is weight (higher cost is tolerable if it cuts down on clean up time and increases safety and customer satisfaction).
2) Standard saws
a) Fabricate a hood to catch shavings flying off the back of the saw and divert into a bucket?
b) Try to hook to a vacuum, most likely in conjunction with a). But is there a risk of still-warm shavings landing in a flammable bag? Are the long-life bags more combustion resistant than standard paper bags? Better to eliminate use of a bag altogether?
3) Kapex? But is the speed of the blade faster than ideal for aluminum and would the aluminum shavings be compatible with the dust collection system? Are the shavings too heavy (compared to wood dust) for effective capture? I mention this because the Festool vacs don't do such a great job on glass particles created in sanding operations (during edgework on glass).
4) Evolution chop saw (e.g. Evolution at Amazon? Material handling clamp looks cheap and I don't see any built-in chip capture mechanism. Positive with some mixed reviews. Made in China.
The standard Makita, DeWalt, and other saws don't last as long as I'd like (metal work seems tough on their arbors), and the blade speed creates safety risks that I'd like to reduce.
Any input, words of advice, and specific recommendations would be sincerely appreciated.
Thanks for reading,
Phred
1) Cold saws: Pro is slower speed so shavings don't travel as far. Con is weight (higher cost is tolerable if it cuts down on clean up time and increases safety and customer satisfaction).
2) Standard saws
a) Fabricate a hood to catch shavings flying off the back of the saw and divert into a bucket?
b) Try to hook to a vacuum, most likely in conjunction with a). But is there a risk of still-warm shavings landing in a flammable bag? Are the long-life bags more combustion resistant than standard paper bags? Better to eliminate use of a bag altogether?
3) Kapex? But is the speed of the blade faster than ideal for aluminum and would the aluminum shavings be compatible with the dust collection system? Are the shavings too heavy (compared to wood dust) for effective capture? I mention this because the Festool vacs don't do such a great job on glass particles created in sanding operations (during edgework on glass).
4) Evolution chop saw (e.g. Evolution at Amazon? Material handling clamp looks cheap and I don't see any built-in chip capture mechanism. Positive with some mixed reviews. Made in China.
The standard Makita, DeWalt, and other saws don't last as long as I'd like (metal work seems tough on their arbors), and the blade speed creates safety risks that I'd like to reduce.
Any input, words of advice, and specific recommendations would be sincerely appreciated.
Thanks for reading,
Phred
