Cutting Metal on a Router Table - Tips for Making Precision Aluminum Parts with Cheap Tools

[@trajtemberg]

NGL, i was sweating bullets while watching this video lmao.

[@chadomweg5640]

A small parts sled would help your precision a lot.

[@danceswithaardvarks3284]

Interesting method. I have milled a fair bit of aluminium on a router table, mostly dimensioning and making slots and grooves. I haven't milled round stock though. Would it be easier and safer to secure the metal in a hole in a piece of 3 x 2, with an appropriate rebate, so you could use the fence and eliminate the freehand work and extreme bit height? I'm not sure, but its an alternative approach. I'm intrigued about the tool that this is going into, so will be following with interest. Side milling is fine on a router table, using normal router bits, as long as the work is held well, preferably in a jig, and only light cuts are made. It would be nice to have a milling machine though : )

[@mikemcguire1160]

You might want to consider using carbide burrs with a router. They are a lot less grabby than standard router bits. If you are working with aluminum you would want the kind designed for aluminum. However I have successfully milled mild steel with a standard burr. Attention to a sound way to hold the work was important. They are not terribly expensive. I have gotten mine from an outfit called Carbide Depot.

[@misconceptionindustries2968]

Very informative 👏 👌

[@timromano7085]

I need to remove the inside radius from some 3/8 thickness aluminum angle. The inside leg height is 53mm and the outside leg height is 63.5mm. What type of end-mill(s) would you recommend for that? It could be done fairly easily on a table saw with a 10-inch blade making a couple of dado-cuts, but my vintage saw's blade is 8 inch and its depth-of-cut is insufficient, at least with the blade I have.

[@paultrimble9390]

Yes Sir u must be feeling great. U got me. Thumbs 👍🏻 up and a sub. No but really that's great video. Lots of people I believe have wood tool's like that. Matter fact I bought a router bit Lowe's to try cut sight down to fit on my black powder burner. Like u say improvise. Great video again, that my style use what u got. From ur ole hillbilly buddy.

[@carlb401]

I would have clamped a 2nd Vee block to a mitre gauge and clamped the other end of the bar into that and used the mitre gauge to hold everything as you push it over the router.

[@bobcuomo5122]

Very cool !!!

[@MrAdamcarlton]

New sawmill video???

[@danharold3087]

I would be a little concerned about getting aluminum chips in the router. I know air comes out the top but the bit tosses chips down. If you have looked and it’s Ok great.

[@WhatDennisDoes]

That's a good point. I will have to take a look and see if any made it in.

[@williamcastleberry7338]

I think I would use the tablesaw to get it down to 5 to 10 thousands then go to the router table You would set it up in your V block the same as with the router and then nibble away . You can take a bigger bite the the table saw

[@Hammer0117]

That router lift doesn’t help the cause. Look at the lower cost JessEm router lift. It’s amazing for micro adjustments.

[@AuroraColoradoUSA]

please stop brushing the metal sawdust with your hand...

[@swdweeb]

Dopamine, a powerful drug :-D So I have very little milling experience but plenty of router expereince. Doesnt a router turn about a billion times faster than a mill? Do the bits, like that end mill, mind?

[@WhatDennisDoes]

A billion?! You must think mills run VERY slow or maybe your router doubles as a nuclear enrichment centrifuge. Even then I think you might be off by an order of magnitude or two ;) Luckily aluminum doesn't mind fast and the endmill I used is carbide. Helps that I'm taking such shallow cuts too.

[@swdweeb]

@@WhatDennisDoes Well, arithmetic has never been my strong suit, but I got your attention. :-D I expect my router turns at something close to 20,000 RPM. Don't mills run in terms of 100's of RPMs? But, as you say, you were taking pretty small bites.

[@WhatDennisDoes]

@@swdweeb me neither! I don't like numbers, I'd rather do the kind of math that only has letters but you're gonna make me... So looking up aluminum the recommended cutting speed is 400 - 1000 surface feet per minute. A 1/4" endmill has diameter 0.785" or 0.065 feet. 1000 feet per minute / 0.065 feet per revolution = about 15,000 rpm. So maybe turn the router down to half speed and you're right in the ballpark.

[@swdweeb]

@@WhatDennisDoes Ok, don;t block me... I assume you mean circumference and not diameter. That is remarkable, I would never guess that speed.

[@WhatDennisDoes]

@@swdweeb hahaha oops. See? I was even so careful to check my math. Oh well I'm gonna leave it. Yes circumference of course. Yeah it's incredible to watch some of the highly tuned CNC machines cutting Al. So fast.

[@haydukemaryboy305]

Don't do it again... it Don't look safe. Go find a machine shop and get it mill. Fancy angle finder.