Bandsaw wax for cutting aluminum--what kind?

When cutting aluminum, what kind of wax is used on the blade to keep it from loading up with chips? I went to McMaster Carr, and they sell a few different kinds of wax, but nothing specifically for this application. I've seen it in shops I've visited, and it's usually either a small block or a round chunk in a cardboard tube.

-Brad

 

I use that stuff everyday. It is a must when cuttin aluminum with anything. I just looked at the cardboard tube in my garage and it was from DoAll. Didnt show any part number. But was named tool saver. Hope this helps a little.

 

I've used beeswax and also had good luck with WD-40.

 

The stick I have is in a aluminum tube, says on the outside it's bee's wax.

 

The stuff we use is beeswax in a round cardboard tube. It is from McMaster Carr also...

 

Beeswax works great, as does Door Ease from Napa.
Tim D.

 

http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMPXNO=1745024&PMT4NO=27926617

Castrol stick wax. Check it! It also works good for tappin holes

Brick

 

I use either beeswax or vasoline. who'da thunk vasoline works good in the shop, too...

 

Before they had fancy stuff you had to buy, we used kerosene. Now I just use diesel fuel. put it on with a brush, just like cutting oil.

Frank

 

if you have a bee keeper near you they will give you the wax they can't use or sell, it has little bits of stuff in it and it's not worth taking out so they tell me, i have about 3lbs now, i must be cheep or something.

 

I do aluminum fabrication as a day job and we use DoAll wax sticks, and Olson Saw Blade Lubricant (smaller sticks) on everything. It really keeps us from changing the bandsaw and chop saw blades so often, and makes grinding wheels last forever. Matter of fact, I've been using the same little 3" 36-grit wheel since last week, and I use the thing atleast 4 hours a day. You can get them at any woodworking supply shop, or hardware store that sells bandsaw blades. Parrafin or Beeswax is usually what they are made of.

 

just use cheap old candles , have them sittin' around the bandsaw , engineers supplies out here wanted $49.00 for a 8 inch tube , $2.00 candles work for me , I do a lot of alum work

 

Yeah I use candles too.

 

A wax toilet seal will last you forever. Works just fine and is cheap too!

 

Hey just use urinal cakes!

 

We use 'AGS Cut-Ease' everyday where I work, it works great for cutting and grinding.

 

Beeswax for me.

You can get it at a market, but I think it's been cut with something and doesn't work as well as beeswax from a beekeeper.

You can usually find a beekeeper at farmers markets and sometimes at swap meets.

A little bit lasts a long time.

The right blade helps.
I like a 10 TPI (Teeth Per Inch) blade in my small bandsaw.

Delta and Ridgid brands work pretty good.
You can find Delta at Sears and Ridgid at Home Depot.

 

And again, this is exactly why I love this place!

I checked McMaster-Carr...they don't list "DoAll" or anything like that. They do list three different tubes of wax: One stick, one peel-back tube, and one in a cardboard tube that you pust the wax out of. Didn't say what kind of wax it was, but did say it was for lubricating. Anybody have a part number?

MC also has a really big bandsaw blade section, with recommended blades for aluminum. The pitch of teeth, the stagger (or kerf) and the depth of the trough between the teeth is what they were pointing to for different materials. I've got a course blade on it now (harbor freight-type 4x6 horizontal bandsaw). For the project I'm about to start, I may or may not get the specific blade.

-Brad

 

We always used paraffin which comes in cakes and is inexpensive, also it is available from McMaster Carr or your supermarket in the canning section. We had a job drilling a sand cast part and would just hit the drill witj it and drill away. When doing a heavy cut on a mill we used kerosene and just brushed it on. The thing is you don't want to use too much of a liquid on a band saw as it will mess up the backing on the drive pulley in some cases. This is why I use a wax of some sort. Doesn't need to be expensive.

 

Nice thing about beeswax is you don't have to apply a bunch of it.
Once will do it for cutting a lot of small stuff and maybe twice on a thick piece.

I like some HF stuff - was there in Las Vegas yesterday in fact - but their bandsaw blades leave a lot to be desired.

The HF store I went to was the one on Sunset down from McCarran airport.
They have a lot of un-advertised specials.
Something to do with competing with the other tool store down the road - wherever that may be.

Got an 800# hydraulic transmission jack for $100. and a 20 gallon parts washer for $70.

If you're close to LV perhaps that helps.

Every once in a while 3-4 of us will head up the highway to LV's HF store . . . and the Boulder City Mexican food restaurant.
(Tico's, in the shopping center near the signal at the intersection of the main drag and going down the hill to Hoover Dam.)

We see the dam 3-4 times a year, a project of the 1930's and it's still takes your breath away.

The byp*** bridge is pretty impressive as well.

Getting back to the subject . . . sorta . . . the 14 TPI blade works well on most everything else.
In fact I'll cut aluminum with it if it's just a one-shot small deal.
The beeswax helps keep the finer toothed blade from clogging.

To help your small bandsaw cut square, an easy modification is to drill and tap a new hole in the left side slider/guide.
Then you can run the slider/guide up closer to the right slider/guide, get a good start on a square cut then shut down and move the slider/guide back to the normal place so it can cut all the way through.

The first pic shows the newly drilled & tapped hole and how close the slider/guides are together.
2nd pic shows the slider/guides in the original close together position.

 

and if you gotta job workin' with alum and ya got no wax , grab a cake of soap outta the bathroom ........that works too

and dont forget , if your drilling or tapping alum , swipe a bit of wax on the drill bit or tap