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I'm 'tooling up' to begin making some Cam Clamps. I have a bandsaw, and also a small 4" table saw.
I want to cut the metal bars for the clamps, and wonder if I can do it with a bandsaw? What kind of
blade should I use? Or could I use what's called a cutoff wheel in my 4" table saw. I'm thinking of using
aluminum for the bars because it's lighter and probably easier to cut, although steel would probably be
more sturdy. Thanks

CrowDuck

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Chris Nielsen
Soquel, CA.

I know it is low tech... but a hack saw seems to work great in these situations.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

A regular bandsaw and regular woodcutting blade work fine...just keep in mind you'll have little slivers of aluminum around for a while...

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

Crow, see if you can just buy the pieces cut to length. I know most metal places will do this for a small fee if any.Rod True38740.8310416667

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[QUOTE=L. Presnall] A regular bandsaw and regular woodcutting blade work fine...just keep in mind you'll have little slivers of aluminum around for a while...[/QUOTE]

This will also be very very noisy (I just did it the other day) so if you do this make sure you have good hearing protection.

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"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

If you use steel, I recommend a metal disc for your Skilsaw. Three bucks, throws sparks though. First time I saw one of these, my buddy was cutting angle iron I was standing on for him. I had a hole in my jeans. Felt something warm, looked down toward the sparks of the saw, and noticed the fuzz on my pants was on fire.      no joke.

If you cut it with your bandsaw, just go slow. Works better if your have a fine kerfed blade (more teeth per inch) and be careful not to burn your metal as it will create a weak spot.

The bandsaw works fine for aluminum, but i use my sliding chop saw with a carbide blade. Makes a cleaner cut, but WEAR EAR & FACE PROTECTION... big chunks of flying aluminum hazard! I even rip aluminum on my tablesaw... No sweat.

Metal bars for cam clamps? If I was making a WHOLE lot I might go outside and cut it up with the angle grinder, otherwise I would clamp the bar in my machinist vise and go for it with a hack saw. I would be surprised if you spent more than 10 seconds to cut a normal (25 x 5 mm cold rolled?) steel bar. Keep the metal bits away from the woodworking equipment if you can!

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

The band saw is ok for aluminum, but chances are you can't slow down
your band saw made for cutting wood enough to cut steel. And, while an
abraisive wheel in the table saw will work, the sparks will almost surely
start the wood dust inside the saw cabinet on fire. It might smoulder for a
time and burst into flame well after you've left the shop. Not good. The
aluminum is your best bet. It's more than strong enough for cam clamps,
it's easy to cut, and a hack saw will zip through it like butter. Best of all
-- no sparks.
Craig

When I made my cam clamps, using 1/4 x 3/4 steel bar stock I used my 4.5" grinder with a 'zip' disc, outside. Very fast, very clean, inexpensive! I like steel for these better than aluminum just because it is stiffer. You can cut aluminum safely with any of your wood working tools, just go a bit slow.

Shane

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Canada