Cutting and Bending Aluminum

[antoniohawk]

I have a jigsaw, a dremel, and a hacksaw, which should I use to cut the aluminum? I'm thinking the jigsaw, but then what saw should I get for it? As for bending it, a bending brake might be good, but I'm not sure how often I will use it.

 

[Troney1169]

If it is think aluminum you can always just use a straight edge and a box cutter. like i did but i was using really really thin maybe 1mm. for bending i used a brake
.

 

[Qtip42]

for $20 or whatever a small bending brake costs, i wouldn't worry about how much you use it.

 

[Nivram]

A little more info might make answering your questions a bit easier, but let me give you my opinions anyways!

As to which will cut easier, or better, is going to depend a LOT on the thickness of the aluminum. If you're talking 20gauge or thinner, you could probably get an inexpensive set of tin snips that would do you just fine. Your dremel would be the best bet, tho, of the 3 cutting tools you have now. If your material is 1/8" thick, the jigsaw is going to be the choice, and if you're cutting flat bar or angle, your hacksaw would be the best choice. As far as what blades to get for your jigsaw, definitely go with metal cutting blades (yeah, this seems really obvious, but I've seen guys try to cut metal with wood blades, and wonder why they dulled so quickly!! ).

Concerning whether to buy a bending brake, I'd suggest checking out Harbor Freight (if you don't have a brick & mortar store nearby, check 'em out online). They have some nice inexpensive benchtop models, that clamp onto a bench or table top, but I believe they're limited to ~20gauge thickness. I think if I were you, I'd be looking at how many bends you're going to be making. Shoot, a couple pieces of steel angle iron with the aluminum sheet sandwiched in between, clamped together, a good ball peen hammer, and some elbow grease, is good enough for a few bends, if that's all you have to do. If you have access to a decent vise, you can clamp 'em in there for even easier work.

Hope that helps!