Can Miter Saw Cut Thick Aluminum? | DeWalt Miter Saw Change Blade + Setup For Precision Performance

[@jbateham]

Very comprehensive video, brother! Good job and thanks for the help.

[@terrycindyian]

A very informative and educational video. Thank you for your effort and time.

Excellent video.

[@TigerCarpenter]

Thank you!

[@Saw-IT]

Nice clean cut. I was surprised at the result. But you did cover all bases to make sure the saw was set up perfectly.

[@TigerCarpenter]

yes I made an effort to setup the saw because this precision aluminum cube was very important for one my projects. I was even considering sending it to the machinist shop, should I have failed this attempt. every time I swap the miter saw blade, I do adjust 90 deg table+blade. that's why (in case of DeWalt miter saw) that blue "gasket" threaded bolt is probably the most important adjustment piece of the whole machine. however the stainless steel miter plate, for the 90 deg fence+blade, I did only once, when I purchased the saw. it is very unlikely that this setting ever goes off. PS what I learned is, I should have made this cut in one go. every time I stopped and retracted the blade, there is some micro blade mark on the cut face (easy to polish). it was my 1st time to try this, so I was sort of overdoing it. PS2: off camera I made several cuts on wooden blank, to adjust the stop block position perfectly to 2 inches.

[@mycocoa998]

I never realised the mitre saw can be set up for precision cutting like you have demonstrated. I though the mitre saw was more of the job site rough cutting tool. I am surprised it can perform at that level of the accuracy

[@JBWorx]

I am also amazed how well this works however I would suggest you allow the cutoff piece to slide off freely. In other words remove your stop block as it pinches the part in and that can lead to unwanted surprises. So one side clamped one side free to move.

[@TigerCarpenter]

you are right, the right stop block could grab the right side of the stock, that's why it is lubricated with the car engine oil. you need to cut really slowly, and because both parts (the target piece and the remaining piece) are clamped vertically to the table, that prevents vibrations and any unwanted material shift, so the blade just ploughs downwards VERY SLOWLY. as you end the cut, the teeth are wider than the blade body, so once the teeth are below the last cut line, there is actually a gap between a blade and the material, so it won't be thrown towards the back of the machine (and possibly bounce towards you). that's why you need to stop the motor entirely before raising the blade back up. the table saw kicks back the material towards you, the miter saw kicks the pinched material away from you, but surely it could bounce from something to your head. if the part being cut off wasn't clamped vertically, then the stop block would be indeed much more dangerous, and could cause the pinching and kick back. I've experienced many near miss accidents when I was discovering and self learning how to use the machines. I had pieces of aluminum flying near my head on the miter saw too. so far having cut few hundred thick pieces of aluminum stock with this setup, I never had any unexpected / unwanted travel of the projectiles. you can check out my miter saw fence upgrade where I also show my mini clamps, which I think are the key to safely hold the material. Here is the cool miter saw fence upgrade + mini clamps + stop block : kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXuampKKjruNoac the original clamps are far away from the blade, and the lubricated aluminum tends to move / slip around.

[@TigerCarpenter]

one more thing: to cut small pieces (which I most often do) , you have to use zero clearance platform, to prevent the small pieces from falling into the slot or even worse: from becoming a projectile and flying near your head / eyes. I designed a mini clamp + miter saw fence upgrade, to accommodate just that you can check it out here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXuampKKjruNoac

[@drfouda]

Thanks

[@user-cr6ki4qs4y]

Hi which blade would you use to LVP and also baseboards with the DeWalt 780?

[@deanbalouris330]

Is it possible to cut solid aluminum rod with a miter saw? If so, how would you secure the rod, in my case 1/2”, to the fence, so it doesn’t spin while being cut?

[@TigerCarpenter]

yes of course, just place the rod in the V groove wooden support, or simply metal angle and clamp it down

[@immanueljohnsamuelpaul8970]

Excellent! kindly inform me which make & model machine used and specify the blade also.

[@TigerCarpenter]

I used 305 mm 120T blade specialized for the aluminum, and now I can no longer find it on Amazon. but 60T or even 30T blades can cut the aluminum successfully. you might get slightly less clean cut face. please remember that the aluminum likes a lot of lubrication. I used the synthetic car engine oil, because that's what I had on hand.. my miter saw is DeWalt DWS780 XPS, but I believe all DeWalt miter saws have the same adjustments components. on other makes you might need to look it up, which bolt you need to rotate to adjust the blade+table angle.

[@mth469]

Sir, 2 questions : 1) Will i be able to use a smaller (and thus cheaper) mitre saw to cut 6061 solid aluminum billet into small blocks? e.g. DEWALT DWS713 2) If i purchased a smaller DEWALT DWS713, what type of metal cutting blade would i need to use with it? Thank you very much!

[@TigerCarpenter]

yes absolutely, you can cut 6061 aluminum with any size miter saw, just remember that 6061 contains magnesium, which is a very hard alloy mix, so you must buy a top quality carbide teeth blade. if you cheap out on the blade, it might struggle, and introduce stalling = risk of the material pinch. you need to generously lubricate 6061, and cut VERY SLOWLY. well, you must not cut any metals harder than aluminum or copper. bear in mind that bronze is NOT COPPER. bronze is harder than iron. so I hope you know how to differentiate the metals before you throw them on your carbide blade.

[@mth469]

@@TigerCarpenter Thank you sir. You are a wealth of knowledge. I shall let you know how it goes with my purchase and cutting. I will stay away from bronze and stick with aluminum and copper. Sorry I'm a newbie so I'm learning - entirely on my own as there is nobody to teach me. Thus far in my research, I am looking at Dewalt DCS361B with its smaller 7.25" blade. I'll look for a good carbide blade with carbide teeth for cutting aluminum/copper. I'll cut very, very slow as you advised. I need to cut these small rectangular or square aluminum / copper pieces to use for machining on my Taig CNC mill.

[@shashangkipgen6065]

sir can i use mitre saw (changing to metal cutting blade)to cut iron?? Will it damage its accuracy?? Please reply!

[@TigerCarpenter]

Use grinder to cut iron. Or plasma cutter.

[@spin5vinyl809]

Hi can You please provide Whats speed - dial number ? used while cutting aluminium ? And what you use for cutting wood ?

[@TigerCarpenter]

my miter saw doesn't have speed adjustment, but if yours does, you can slow the RPM down for cutting soft metals like aluminum. it's important that aluminum being cut, as well as the blade carbide teeth are lubricated. it makes the cut much cleaner, even with a standard construction grade 60T blade. and you do want to clamp your material well, because you don;t want sharp pieces of aluminum flying in a close proximity to your temples.

[@spin5vinyl809]

@@TigerCarpenter thanks for fast replying 😀 and for all informations

[@damedesmontagnes]

What do you use to lubricate it?

[@TigerCarpenter]

Any oil that you have on hand. For example I had synthetic oil for the diesel engines and it works great. You can spray WD-40. You can use chainsaw lubricant oil. Anything that you have is fine.

[@Tricyklist]

Try wax or lamp oil as a cutting lubricant. Oil seems not to do anything useful on aluminium.

[@TigerCarpenter]

I use car engine synthetic oil in this case, because I had it handy. it did a proper job, as the 2 inch thick aluminum piece was only 41 C = 105.8F I will compare it with the wax next time I cut the aluminum. Thanks!

[@TheMisterNebo]

Did anyone spot the mouse gripping to his t-shirt?

[@TigerCarpenter]

Hehe. That's actually a real rabbit skin wrapping the wireless microphone = wind breaker = noise reduction while recording in the outdoors busy environment. Good catch!

[@CaptainRScott]

😆

[@NestorPalconan]

How much this one

[@TigerCarpenter]

Please check the link in the description

[@vernsawall2730]

Excellent video.

[@TigerCarpenter]

thank you!