Hobbyists! X-acto knife blades

[Howard]

Which X-acto knife blades are single-bevel (sharpened only on one side) and tough enough to cut through thin aluminum sheet, 0.016"-0.020" thick?

 

[voodoochylde]

Is there a reason you couldn't use scissors or shears? I don't think you'll get accurate cuts in that thickness with an X-Acto but I have been known to be wrong before.

 

[MongGrel]

Get some aircraft snips, thats a lot of Aluminum for an exacto knife.

If you mean on a computer case or something, get a Dremel tool, if doing mods on em.

 

[phucheneh]

I can't exactly picture what .020" of aluminum is like. Seems thick enough to be stiff/brittle, not like a sheet of foil. Ditto tinsnips.

I find X-acto knives kinda useless for most of my own purposes. Too delicate, and I never work with anything intricate enough to need them.

I do, however, like a good woodcarving knife for tasks that need a sharp, precise blade, but would snap an X-acto.

http://www.amazon.com/Flexcut-Tool-K.../dp/B000ZRZQ1G

I have one of those and have never sharpened it. After cutting wood, leather, kydex, and other materials, it still slices through a sheet of paper cleaner than a sharp pocketknife.

 

[UglyCasanova]

I can't exactly picture what .020" of aluminum is like. Seems thick enough to be stiff/brittle, not like a sheet of foil. Ditto tinsnips.

I find X-acto knives kinda useless for most of my own purposes. Too delicate, and I never work with anything intricate enough to need them.

I do, however, like a good woodcarving knife for tasks that need a sharp, precise blade, but would snap an X-acto.

http://www.amazon.com/Flexcut-Tool-K.../dp/B000ZRZQ1G

I have one of those and have never sharpened it. After cutting wood, leather, kydex, and other materials, it still slices through a sheet of paper cleaner than a sharp pocketknife.

X-acto's are very useful with a straight edge for cutting paper, foam board, etc. never tried aluminum though. Maybe the blade could score it enough that the piece would break off along the cut?

 

[waggy]

I have a nice set of x-acto stuff i use for my models. but for what the OP is mentioning it sounds like some good tinsnips would be good enough.

 

[Howard]

I'd be cutting the aluminum sheet around an 1/2" thick MDF template, so in terms of accuracy I'm not too worried. I can also get (almost) zero offset from the template if the blade is sharpened single-bevel because I can keep the blade flush against the template.

 

[phucheneh]

How thick is the material? I know you gave us the technical, but, eh...describe it? If you hold a small piece of it (say, a 12x12" square) by one edge, does it remain flat?

I'm thinking a band saw would be the best thing, unless it's too delicate.

 

[Howard]

Well, worst case would be that I mount the template on the aluminum sheet, using spray tack adhesive, and route around it with straight-cut or down-cut flush trim bit... I can't tell you what it would feel like because I don't have the material yet.

FWIW I'm going to turn it into a speaker cone.

 

[phucheneh]

Ah. I've had speakers with aluminum cones...it's pretty delicate. Not 'dent it with your finger' soft (seen magnesium do that), but very thin stuff.

If your thickness is the same as what I'm familiar with (I would mic a speaker cone if I had one I didn't mind destroying, but I don't), an X-acto knife may work. However, I would probably go back to my recommendation of a carving knife. The edge is very sharp, damn near like a razor, but the back of it is much fatter and can handle the application of pressure. OTOH, I would not recommend pressing on an X-acto for fear of a snapped blade ending up lodged in my face.

 

[Howard]

Ah. I've had speakers with aluminum cones...it's pretty delicate. Not 'dent it with your finger' soft (seen magnesium do that), but very thin stuff.

If your thickness is the same as what I'm familiar with (I would mic a speaker cone if I had one I didn't mind destroying, but I don't), an X-acto knife may work. However, I would probably go back to my recommendation of a carving knife. The edge is very sharp, damn near like a razor, but the back of it is much fatter and can handle the application of pressure. OTOH, I would not recommend pressing on an X-acto for fear of a snapped blade ending up lodged in my face.

Safety glasses should minimize the risk. A small poke on my face doesn't worry me.

 

[lxskllr]

How about a cutoff wheel on a Dremel?

 

[Howard]

How about a cutoff wheel on a Dremel?

Way too much power...

 

[John Connor]

This is what I use. http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_nkw=scalpel&_frs=1

You have to be damn careful though. I use it to cut coax cable, etc. I have high dexterity. I can cut metal with an oxy acetylene torch so well that it requires very little grinding.

I wanna learn how to suture a wound. That could have came in handy when I had no insurance. I never did go back to have my stitches taken out, I removed them myself. There are videos on YouTube that show you how to suture.

 

[phucheneh]

This is what I use. http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_nkw=scalpel&_frs=1

You have to be damn careful though. I use it to cut coax cable, etc. I have high dexterity. I can cut metal with an oxy acetylene torch so well that it requires very little grinding.

Do...do you understand how cutting metal with a torch works? You make the metal molten and whiz fuckin' holes in it with bursts of oxygen. There is no way to make a clean edge.

Feel free to prove me wrong.

 

[John Connor]

You can't make a clean edge, but you can cut as straight as a line as possible. Most people's hand shake, mine don't. That's what I mean by very little grinding needed.

 

[Midwayman]

That's about half a mm. Much easier to visualize than small fractions of an inch. I'd think you'd have a hard time cutting that thickness with an xacto. You might be able to score and then bend and break along the line. If I had to do it with tools at my house I'd use my jigsaw with a metal blade. If you have access to a band saw or something with a gate it'd be better, but you can always clamp a guide 2x4 to the project to get straight lines.