Fret Slotting Table Saw Blade Cutting Aluminum?

[wood is good]

Ello!

i was wondering,

would a fret slotting table saw blade (AKA the Stew Mac blade) be destroyed if it was used on some thin aluminum that was inlayed on the fretboard? i thought up a nice inlay that would cover a few frets in length, and i would like to know if it would completly destroy the blade, or if since the aluminum would be so super thin, and its soft anyway, if it would actually work without becoming extremly dull. im sure no one has done it before, so im not sure what the answers will be. thanks if you can help.

[RestorationAD]

I would not risk it. Those blades are hollow ground and not like a carbide tipped like a regular blade. Mark the frets in question and cut them with a hand saw.

[fookgub]

Why not just ask Stewmac directly? If anyone would know, it would be them (hopefully).

[guitar_player]

Why not just ask Stewmac directly? If anyone would know, it would be them (hopefully).

Their customer service is pretty good, I'd email them about it I think they responded next day whenever I had to email them.

[westhemann]

No...Aluminum will melt and fuse to the blade tips,ruining them almost instantly...Aluminum requires a special blade,which you can buy...look around

[Narcissism]

along with the other suggestions, this should come as obvious, but use lubrication... on the blade i mean...

[ihocky2]

Lubrication is always essential.

But I would not try using that blade on aluminum. HSS will cut aluminum, but that is too fine of a blade to trust it. A carbide toothed blade like you would use for general cutting will slice through like butter with no problems. But that is a heavier blade with a wide kerf.

Either use a handsaw or else mark out the slots on the aluminum and use a coping saw. Their blades are thin enough and if you destroy it, your out only a few bucks. Even if the cut ends up being slightly wider than the slots, the fret will cover the difference. A coping saw should have no problem with thin aluminum. Or if you have on, use a scroll saw with a thin blade.

[Woodenspoke]

I cut aluminum all the time. Yes aluminum is sticky at high speeds, but I don't think you want to lube your blade and thus your fret slots. It also depends on how much you have to cut. If it was a solid aluminum neck I would say no. If it is a small section I don't see why it cant be done. Will it dull the blade, probably not. You can even cut it with a hand fret saw with a western tooth pattern, if you think that would be cheaper if it gets screwed up. Or even grind down a very fine hack saw blade.

Generally aluminum is cut using a negative rake triple chip saw blade and no lubrication. But aluminum can be cut with any wood working blade even a band saw blade.

DO YOU RUN SOME RISKS---YES. But given what you have said I cant see why you cant use the blade. Worst case is you have the blade sharpened locally.

Can you find a blade to cut aluminum fret slots ---NO. That is something you would have to have specially made.

Edited November 14, 2008 by Woodenspoke

[Jon]

No. Do not use the stew-mac tablesaw blade to cut anything other than wood. Cutting through inlays has messed up my blade in the past.

[Woodenspoke]

No. Do not use the stew-mac table saw blade to cut anything other than wood. Cutting through inlays has messed up my blade in the past.

I don't own the Sm blade but have a similar 6" blade. I also have a finer blade with 180 teeth which has served me for cutting through inlay. The second blade is made for cutting metal slots, a Jewlers saw. Now I have not cut aluminum using any of these blades, since I don't believe in putting aluminum on a fingerboard for reasons of contamination not for aesthetics. Maybe our poster has a solution ?

I dont know if the slots are already cut and my advise is assuming that they are. Otherwise using a ground down hack saw blade is a bad idea.

I also believe the harder material here is shell.

I think wood is good has to weigh his options and decide what is more important, the project or the saw blade.

I am sure SM will say NO to the idea.

[wood is good]

Hey guys,

Well, thanks for all the opinions and such. I have not done anything at all yet, it was just an idea in my head that bugs me because i wanted to know how to get the slots cut thru the aluminum.

i guess i will have to result to cutting the inlay and then inlaying it, which i dont like the sound of.

[DC Ross]

I use a Japanese pull saw from Rockler that cuts through .060 aluminum with no problem.

Woodenspoke: you spoke of aluminum contamination, could you expound on that a bit?

[westhemann]

Aluminum tends to corrode surrounding materials...I don't know about wood..but it corrodes against steel.

I think epoxy would counter that...

[metalwarrior]

This guy seemed to have no problems cutting through aluminium to make his jig to cut multi-scale fingerboards:

http://www.doolinguitars.com/articles/novax/

[Jon]

That's not a table saw blade, though.

[ihocky2]

When he's cutting the aluminum it is. He uses the table saw the make the template/miter box and then the hand saw to work the fret board. But the blade he is using in the table saw does not look like the Stew Mac fret blade for table saws.

[Jon]

You're right. I must have misread and thought he slotted the plexi-glass templates and then transferred it over to the aluminum templates with a handsaw. Taking off 5/16" of aluminum at one time still sounds very risky to me. I have had trouble slotting the same depth on macassar ebony and cocobolo.