Shop Techniques and Helpful Tricks

Wait, this ought to be easy, right? Aluminum is soft and easy to drill and bend. Why is this a topic?

Now consider slicing an intake manifold in half. This is a 2” thick chunk of cast aluminum with the occasional steel freeze plug thrown in just to make things interesting. Or consider what I went through to mount my starter: I had to shift the starter and bolt holes 5mm to the side… in a piece of 1/2” thick solid aluminum.

It turns out that, once you start working with any actual quantity of aluminum, cutting or grinding it is a little tricky. BECAUSE it is soft and malleable, it melts almost instantly onto a grinding or cutoff wheel, and can clog a die grinder bit in a few seconds. Still, there are a few tricks you can use to make matters easier.

1. When cutting removable pieces, a bandsaw is helpful but not a necessity. I actually had much better luck with a Sawzall (or my Dewalt equivalent). Its high torque combined with demolition blades that easily cut steel make a great combination. And, if you firmly clamp the piece you're cutting, its wide, stiff blade makes it easier to make a clean, straight cut.
2. For grinding, the bigger the cutter the better. A 1/4” die grinder bit clogged within seconds for me. A 1/2” bit cut much longer before clogging and made a smoother cut. Lubrication is very important. Just a few drops of oil on the cutter every now and then makes a huge difference.