I have a few light fab jobs to do in my garage/home. I have an air compressor and a few air tools. I need to cut some 1/8" aluminum sheet. Will an air saw be able to do this reasonably well?

I don't need to cut metal on a regular basis and its ok if it is a little slow. I've even used a dremel to cut 1/4" aluminum before, but that was a straight line cut. I just don't want to spend $$ on an air saw if it won't do what I need.

Also, is an air saw also up to the job of cutting 1/4" aluminum?

I've been looking at the ingersoll rand 4429.

Input appreciated.

 

For aluminum you can use carbide tipped wood tools. For big straight cuts on aluminum sheet I use a table saw. Make sure you wear goggles and not just glasses under your face shield.

For steel I'd use a jigsaw with a metal blade, it will be SLOW but will work.

 

Thanks for the info.

Part of my challenge is that I need to be able to cut basic shapes like circles/curves/etc. I don't do much wood working, so aside from a table saw, I don't have any wood tools that I could repurpose. So I'm most likely going to have to buy somethign to do the work.

 

a jigsaw will cut a sheet of alum pretty easily. vertical bandsaw would be best for curves and stuff, but I think you're SOL on that one.

 

Use a jigsaw. If your blade gets gummed up you can use wax lubricate the blade. AL will have a tendency to gum up any blade moving through it at a high rate of speed. You you can get ahold of a jigsaw with adjustable speed you should be golden.

 

forget an air saw for anything more then some small projects. If you need a bunch of straight cuts then just get a circular saw 7 1/2 with 60 tooth carbide. If you need to do circles then I would invest in a good sabre/jig saw. The bosch is one of if not the best on the market. The bosch will need the bosch style blade though. It also ariable speed. The other option is to use a sawzall with a wood blade in it. You kinda needed to describe the jobs you have in minde to get the best reccomendation. Air saw thru 1/4you'll get old and grey before you get very far. to short of a stroke and the blades are just to fine.

 

Medium-sized band saw. Use a blade with a fairly high tooth count and low kerf.

 

Thanks for the feedback. The types of jobs I'm looking at are fabbing plates/brackets, etc. So cutting circles, curves, etc. My first project is to cut ducts/plates for spindle ducts.

I'm not at all opposed to buying a bandsaw. My only issue with that was that is one more thing to store in my garage and one that was beefy enough to cut up to 1/4" metal... 8" bandsaw, 10" bandsaw? etc.?

But thanks for steering me away from the airsaw... $100 saved.

 

Jig saw!! it's not fast, but it gets the job done and fits all of your needs; cut straight lines, circles, holes etc

 

I'm looking at the 6.4amp bosch jigsaw.

Can anyone provide any suggestions on barrel grip vs. traditional handle grip. I think that I would actually prefer the barrel.