Routing Aluminum - DIY T-Slot Track

[white_sw]

I've only ever routed aluminum in the past once when making a zero clearance insert for my table saw and it worked fine. Took lots of shallow passes. I was thinking about trying to make my own T-Slot and mitre track for making my new router table and jigs. I have one of these cutters from Wealded Tools.

http://www.wealdentool.com/acatalog/Onl ... im_21.html

Does anyone have more experience of routing aluminum ? I already have plenty of aluminum bar laying around that would be ideal for turning into t-slot. Your thoughts ??

Cheers,
Sam

 

[Jake]

It's very liable to snatch I believe, and a t-slot seems like the worst kind of cut from that perspective. Not something I would try, unlike a straight channel cut.

 

[Benchwayze]

At risk of starting a 'war'..

An overhead router with the right bit is not much different to a milling machine. Stick a cross-slide under it and in effect that's what you have. (Look at the Woodrat!) So, I have no problem with routing aluminium. However, Trend and Titan cutters used to supply special bits for use with ally. Mainly for the window-frame trade.

I had success in the past using Engineers' end-mill cutters (HSS) They aren't shanked and are the same diameter right through, so you need a collet for each size. (Up to your router capacity.)

You also need to pay attention to recommended speeds and take it steady with depth and speed of cuts. Apart from that, it's accepted practice I think.

HTH
John

 

[Jake]

An overhead router rather than handheld would obviously be better (but there was no indication that White-SW has one). You'd still have work-holding issues trying to make t-track of useful length.

 

[TrimTheKing]

Would it be viable to use the T-Track cutter in an inverted router (table) and use feather boards or other guides to force the ali both into the fence and down onto the table?

Then you would just need to concentrate on pushing it through with a push stick.

Please don't take my word for this as I have absolutely no experience of routing ali, and as Jake says it would be potentially hairy, I'm just putting out there as a potential solution to securing the workpiece as it was fed in.

Given the right supports/wedges and guarding, and providing your cutter speed was right, I would think that it should work in principle.

 

[woodbloke]

Casting in my two euros (not that they're worth much now ) I'm going to be in the position of making a new table, or rather inserting one into the rhs extension of my table saw. Up to Tom's excellent YOKB I had been under the impression that a 'T' slot in a router table was essential, but according to the bloke there (forgotten his name but a nice fella) you don't need one.
The reason for this is that the fence has always got to be lined up dead parallel with the slot in order for a feather board to be used, which again I thought was a 'must have' but Tom's blokie said not.
The way round the problem is to make a decent fence (however you do it) and make a series of push boards with an angled tote which applies pressure forward and sideways at the same time:

You can see that there are two that I've made in this pic and having tried them on my existing rt, they work very well - Rob

 

[Racers]

Hi, Sam

I think you will struggle, you won't be able to take shallow passes with that cutter, and I don't think a router table is strong enough to take the forces involved in cuting that profile. I have cut ally with a router and shallow cuts are possible.

Pete

 

[RussianRouter]

It would be cheaper to buy the ally extrusion rail and cut a slot in the table for the rail.

 

[RobertMP]

I wouldn't like to try it and certainly not without it swimming in lubricant. How hard your ali is can make a big difference. Try putting one end in an engineers vice and bending the bar to 90 deg. If it snaps it might be hard enough to machine. If it bends perfectly it is pretty soft and more likely to stick to the cutting tool even with lots of lubricant.

I don't have a T slot on my table and can't really think why I'd need one. I use feather boards but they are just screwed to ply offcuts that I clamp to the table edge. Easy to stack with more offcuts to vary the height too.

 

[RussianRouter]

The reason for this is that the fence has always got to be lined up dead parallel with the slot in order for a feather board to be used

Simple answer to that is 2 metal rulers inserted flush with the table surface and aligned so the the rullers are spot on lined up with eachother.

I'll be putting a slot in my table alo for feather board as its much easier

 

[CNC Paul]

At risk of starting a 'war'..

An overhead router with the right bit is not much different to a milling machine.

HTH
John

They are totally different ...A router is hand fed a milling machine is either fed with a hand or powered rack or ballscrew.

Hand feeding a T slot in ali is Highly dangerous, I would not attempt it with my CNC. By the time you bought the ali and the cutter it would be cheaper to buy the mini-Kreg from Axminster.

 

[RussianRouter]

Cutting the ally the way you want to do it is dangerous,however if we were to buy boxed ally and just route a cutout along the boxed rail in the middle with a fine router cutte then we get the same product you are after without the expense of buying the router bit you shown.

This is the cheapest but also look on ebay for offcuts.
http://www.aluminiumwarehouse.co.uk/Alu ... be_(6063T6)_1/2_in_x_1/2_in_x_16_swg/product_info.html

http://www.metals4u.co.uk/detail.asp?ca ... prd_id=225

 

[CNC Paul]

This comes fully drilled and anodized

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product.asp? ... e=1&jump=0

 

[RussianRouter]

Does not say what material though,Paul

I suspect plastic at their price?

 

[woodbloke]

I'll be putting a slot in my table alo for feather board as its much easier

I thought so too at one time, but it's actually easier to use the rt without a feather board. IMHO, of course - Rob

 

[Chems]

I wouldn't bother with T-track, it just stuff for the work piece to catch on. If you can make a nice flat surface and then clamp feather boards to the edge and have the fence run on the edges like shultyzs I think thats superior.

As for the ally question, the bit will break long before you make anything resembling a T-Track.

 

[RussianRouter]

I wouldn't bother with T-track, it just stuff for the work piece to catch on.

To each their own way of working,Chems.

But a T-track can also be used or other jigs to be held on the table ie Mitre gauge,clamps ect,ect and if its getting in the way then it has not been seated flush with the tables surface.

 

[Chems]

Yes each to his own, and lately ........

My t-track is flush, but just by the pure nature of wood not been clinically flat corners and bits get stuck. I like it for feather boards, but other than that you just don't need it. I've done every operation I can think of on the RT and none of them have benefited from having a T-track. I've had tables both ways and I prefer without. As obviously do some others here.

 

[ByronBlack]

Instead of t-track holding a featherboard, why not sink some strong rare earth magnets into the top - and the featherboard, and attach them that way.

 

[OPJ]

Instead of t-track holding a featherboard, why not sink some strong rare earth magnets into the top - and the featherboard, and attach them that way.

I think they'd have to be pretty large magnets, to have any effect without sliding away as you pass the timber through... :?

Steve M, though, used some (from a pair of speakers, I think?) for one of his table saw guards and, from the videos I've seen, it locks down very well.

My only solution, when I built my current table eighteen-months ago, was to drill a couple of holes with T-nuts undnerneath. Then, by routing a couple of slots in the featherboard, I can secure it to the table with a pair of Bristol levers or knobs fixed to a length of studding (I think I used M8).