More fun with 80/20...??

[Hud]

What is the best way to cut 80/20 and keep it square and the correct lenght

 

[Slappy]

miter saw with the correct carbide blade & a little WD-40
clamped well on both sides
go just cut slowly & you get a square cut that is smooth  [tongue]

 

[Sean KS]

I've seen a lot of questions on cutting this stuff. There really is not more difficultly in cutting it then there is cutting wood. As people have said clamping is necessary and a slow feed rate. Other than that no one should be afraid of getting good results with cut to length machining. This stuff is surprisingly soft, even handsaws and drill bits cut easily. If you haven't done metal work before don't worry about it, you'll be fine. 80/20 is set up so you don't have to know any real metal work! Jump I'm and go for it!

 

[Slappy]

clamping is just for safety for the person & the saw , saw blade
flying metal even AL is dangerous
slow cutting means a smoother cut surface & lessons the chance of shattering the carbide tips
By the way you should only use carbide tipped blades to cut AL
Yes You can cut with a HSS blade but that blade will dull quickly
I've cut allota AL & 80/20 , even copper pipe with my Dewalt miter saw & carbide blade  with smooth cuts nearly burrless as well
In fact I'll be cutting some 1/2" AL plate today as I make a zero clearance plate for my MiniMax S500P Band Saw (i'm pimping out the MM20)  [big grin]

 

[rst]

Don't expect to cut aluminum exactly the same as wood.  Any thickness over 1/8" and you should cycle the blade in and out of the material.  Any triple chip blade will work but a blade with negative rake is best to avoid self feeding.  I cut anything up to 1" with my Makita 10" chop saw but do not force the blade.  I just cut a 6" wide X 1" thick piece for a mag lock spacer and even cycling I popped the circuit breaker twice.

 

[grbmds]

Would I be able to cut Incra T-Track + the same as 8020 since that is aluminum also? My main concern is dulling my TS55 blade. I would only be making one cut to cut a piece of Incra track in half. I'm assuming the 1 cut would not dull the blade noticeably. Correct?

 

[wow]

I have cut 1/4" 6061 on my table saw with no issue. They sell a 'wax stick' that you can use to help keep the blade slippery and cool, and it helps a lot. Not sure what effect the wax would have on wood, so I either use a different blade for wood or clean it up with lacquer thinner after use.

 

[peter halle]

Would I be able to cut Incra T-Track + the same as 8020 since that is aluminum also? My main concern is dulling my TS55 blade. I would only be making one cut to cut a piece of Incra track in half. I'm assuming the 1 cut would not dull the blade noticeably. Correct?

There are several of us here, myself included- some reluctantly - some not - who can attest to the fact that the Festool blades can accidentally  [eek] or not make an accidental or purposeful cut in aluminum guide rails, MFT extrusions, MFT fences, etc without noticeable harm to the blade on the occasional basis.  If you are going to purposely make the cuts more frequently then there is a non ferrous cutting blade available.

Peter

 

[rmwarren]

Would I be able to cut Incra T-Track + the same as 8020 since that is aluminum also? My main concern is dulling my TS55 blade. I would only be making one cut to cut a piece of Incra track in half. I'm assuming the 1 cut would not dull the blade noticeably. Correct?

There are several of us here, myself included- some reluctantly - some not - who can attest to the fact that the Festool blades can accidentally  [eek] or not make an accidental or purposeful cut in aluminum guide rails, MFT extrusions, MFT fences, etc without noticeable harm to the blade on the occasional basis.  If you are going to purposely make the cuts more frequently then there is a non ferrous cutting blade available.

Peter

+1

RMW

 

[rmwarren]

There is a bunch of 14mm stainless rod left over from our staircase handrail project so I decided to use it to make shop wall brackets to hold clamps, etc. Ideally the rods need to be at a slight angle of a few degrees to prevent stuff from slipping off too easily.

In the past when the need arose to drill holes on the drill press at angles I just cobbled together something with a wedge, etc. Finally tired of that routine so I whomped up a jig from some scraps and hardware I had laying around:

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Love being able to repurpose pieces and parts as the need arises.

RMW

 

[grbmds]

So, from the responses before and after my post, I'm getting the feeling that 1 cut of T-Track with the standard Festool blade wouldn't harm it. Given that I would never cut into my MFT rails (Ha, have cut too deep into the top already; just not the rails) I won't worry. I also have a Bosch jig saw for which I have metal cutting blades and probably could do that. I was just looking for a way to make the cut smoothly so the T-track ends would be "professional" instead like the ends of a steel pipe I've cut with a hack saw.

 

[rst]

In regards to dulling your blade... your cutting aluminum with carbide.  Not a chance of ever dulling.  Aluminum is a "sticky" metal however.  If cutting thin, less than 3/16", and are not making that many cuts, you don't need to lub.  Thick extrusions and lots of cuts will necessitate using a spray lub... we buy WD40 by the gallon and deep it in cheap spray bottle... spray the blade occasionally, no need for a continuous spray unless cutting 3/4"+.  I use a scrap piece of brass to cut and clean galled aluminum off my blades and occasionally remove the blade and clean the body with conditioning belts.  This body cleaning is essential when cutting a lot of acrylics or polycarbonates.

 

[Italia]

Yesterday we did pizza on the egg, which as noted below has a cracked bottom that has widened now to about 1/4". The top also shifted due to the crack & I can no longer regulate temperature via the top/bottom vents.

.....

Spent the next few hours wetting the table until the load of charcoal burned itself out. Next week I will pick up the Kamado Joe as a replacement.

RMW

I thought that the Big Green Egg had a lifetime warranty?

-- Michael

 

[rmwarren]

Yesterday we did pizza on the egg, which as noted below has a cracked bottom that has widened now to about 1/4". The top also shifted due to the crack & I can no longer regulate temperature via the top/bottom vents.

.....

Spent the next few hours wetting the table until the load of charcoal burned itself out. Next week I will pick up the Kamado Joe as a replacement.

RMW

I thought that the Big Green Egg had a lifetime warranty?

-- Michael

Yes - IF you register it when purchased, something I apparently did not do 10-12 years ago.

Also, in truth, the original crack was caused by a modification I installed. Some welded steel brackets that raised the grill, but were inserted between the inner fire box and outer shell, a mistake in hindsight. Over time that apparently created some stress pressing outwards on the shell, and when I loosened the steel band to clean the top/bottom prior to replacing the gasket the stress was released and the bottom shell popped. Since then the re-tightened band and the table have been holding it together, but the crack has widened over time as the lower ends moved apart.

The good news is the boss is feeling generous and has insisted I not only replace it, but get the larger one to boot.  [thumbs up]  Gotta act before the moment passes. I think I have settled on the Kamado Joe, every bit as high quality as the BGE and better equipped for less money.

On the 80/20 front I got to use my angle drilling jig last night, 4 lengths of 45" hard maple with 14mm holes 64mm O.C. @ 2 degrees. Probably an hour of setup and drilling, filled with Peter Mulvey tunes, overall a very nice evening.

These will get mounted to the wall and loaded with clamps, etc:

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RMW

 

[rmwarren]

Yesterday it occurred to me again how doggone handy these 80/20 MFT extension arms are:

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Used the same setup to cut the parts (with parallel guides and a 90 degree cross-cut guide) and then hold them during assembly. Thinking about it I realized that this is the preferred setup for at least half of the work I do on the MFT.

While in central PA a week ago I stopped at Grizzly and spent a couple hours wandering around the showroom in a daze. Amazingly this little vise, and some sanding disks, was all I brought home.

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Even more fun with 80/20...

RMW

 

[Lucky Dave]

RMW,

Keep up these posts, very helpful.

Have built your table extenders and found them most useful.

Then, following on your post showing how 8020 extrusions hang on Festool MFT extrusions, I have built 2 lamp stands, one saw holder, one battery charging station, and one dog house as add ons to my MFT.

Now finalizing design for combination 8020 and Baltic Birch "MFT like" rolling cabinet and router table.  Thanks again for the inspiration and tips.

One small lesson I might share. I don't have/need a chop saw but did need to cut 8020. Saw small, low cost Hitachi 10" chop saw ( C10FCE2 ) at Lowes for $129. Added 80 T Al balce from Tenyru. Cuts 1515 like hot knife thru butter.

Dave

 

[rustym]

I want to see some pics, especially the dog house!

Rusty

 

[rmwarren]

Dave, Rusty beat me to it. Dog House???

Photos?  [popcorn]

I half finished a rolling 80/20 MFT-ish cart, now I am considering tearing it apart and redesigning. Would love to see your ideas. Here are a few random shots, in no particular order.

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Post some photos.

RMW

 

[Scorpion]

Awesome work.  Where did you get this part?  I've not seen something like that before.

 

[Kevin McConville]

The bracket looks like an 80/20 3 way corner bracket part number 14113 on page 309 of their catalogue.

Kevin