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DIY aluminum milling

redsquirrel

redsquirrel

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Anybody have any ideas on how to mill some slots into some pieces of aluminum without taking it somewhere?
 
Drill and a jig saw? Drill both ends and cut the straight lines. Or use a air grinder with a bit in it.

the one and only "ImThere"
 
ImThere said:
Drill and a jig saw? Drill both ends and cut the straight lines. Or use a air grinder with a bit in it.

the one and only "ImThere"
Click to expand...
I was thinking the drill and jig saw as well as using a dremel. Open to all ideas!
 
That is the trick RS. The wider the slot, the easier it gets. When I did my slots they are 4mm wide and there was no way your going to get a jig saw blade into a hole that small. Personally I would favor a series of holes as close as I could drill them, then connect them with any method that worked that didnt leave sharp edges or undercuts.
 
kenn1320 said:
That is the trick RS. The wider the slot, the easier it gets. When I did my slots they are 4mm wide and there was no way your going to get a jig saw blade into a hole that small. Personally I would favor a series of holes as close as I could drill them, then connect them with any method that worked that didnt leave sharp edges or undercuts.
Click to expand...
Ok cool. I have 1.5 inch wide aluminum so I should be able to use a slot size that I can make work. I'm kinda just rolling some of these ideas around right now to start working on as the days get shorter....
 
dennism said:
Hey what's going on red? It's been a while. Check out this video.
Watch "DIY Slot Cutting Machine" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/sjbamgq8FmE
Click to expand...
Welcome back man! Hope all is well! Thanks for positing that, that is awesome!

You should know that the original over center buckle idea has really panned out! And if you have an update on your sand casting steps project, please share! :D
 
Unfortunately time is still an issue. I did however make a set of steps similar to the one that I posted a while back. The design is no good. They need to have some sort of back plate to keep them from rolling side to side. Similar to the ameristep plastic ones. I do believe that casting them is the way to go and I will get them done sometime.... probably this winter unfortunately. For anybody that is interested in doing this, the topic I posted earlier where I put the foam mold into drywall mud before I put it into the sand and got the air pocket that formed at the base was a mistake. Placing the foam mold directory into the sand is the way to go. The air can escape through the sand.
Check out this video,

https://youtu.be/hHD10DjxM1g

https://youtu.be/tH-PaNugz9w

This guy does an excellent job showing how easy this is and although he's not making tree steps you can see that it's possible to make anything you can think of!

Congratulations on the little one red! I hope everything is going good!
 
Thanks! I hear you on the time! So much to do, so little time! Especially with the little one now!

I'm working on some step ideas too so if they pan out I'll post them up :cool:
 
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